Ship Shape and Bristol Fashion

Tuesday 28 May 1998. In the previous entry Fran and I visited the S.S. Great Britain in Bristol Docks. The well-known saying that is the title of this entry was stamped onto the ship's bell.

In its ship-building days, Bristol had a reputation second to none and that led to the saying becoming part of Britain's folklore. Along with such gems as "Red sky at morning - shepherd's warning" which meant that if the clouds were low enough to be tinged red by the rising sun it was likely to rain. Its sister saying is "Red sky at night - shepherd's lass is a bit o' alright!" or something like that...

Anyway this has nothing to do with our entry here except to pad it out as, although I took plenty of photos, I don't have plenty of tales to tell!

The Great Britain is a fair bit away from the city centre so we took a ferry through the old docks. Bristol has a history not only of ship-building but as a port, where not all the goods are to the city's credit. Slavers used Bristol with over 2000 slave ships setting out in the 110 years from 1697 to 1807.

It was an important wine port also. England's best known sherry, Harveys Bristol Cream, is so called because the Harvey family were based in Bristol.

We came to the city centre and immediately noted the sky. "Dark sky in afternoon - makes it hard to play the bassoon".

There being no such thing as mobile Internet in 1998 we went in search of a Tourist Information Office to find some accomodation for the night. The place was absolutely full. So was Cheddar, Wells, Weston... We spent two hours in the Tourist Information Office and didn't have any luck until we said we were going to head towards the Cotswolds and was there anything up that way?

We eventually secured a room in a guest house in Cirencester - the place we started this holiday with a brief stop at the Roman arena! It was an hour's run so we set off back towards the car which was parked near the Great Britain. The sky wasn't quite so threatening now. "Sky turning fair - don't put Domestos on your hair" so we walked back down the docks instead of taking the ferry. Well ok - the ferry was nowhere in bloody sight actually, but the walk was ok.

This wasn't a ferry, but a pleasure cruise around the docks where they tell you things like the dockside Post Office had to have the cellars excavated and when they did, the skeletons of scores of people were found. Must have been hellish working for the Post Office in those days...

Now I remember that story because I had been to Bristol for a conference a few weeks previously and they had taken delegates on such a trip and it's the only story I remember! Oh the days of hospitality...!

As we neared the car we came across this little fellow, quite unperturbed that his home was bobbing up and down as the wind got up and the sky was definitely going dark again! "Daytime street lighting - tomcats start fighting!"

Look, alright, I'm making these up as I go along, ok? I have visions of folks in other countries going, "Here! Look at what they say in England!" I could start a national trend in Mozambique or somewhere where folk gather and intone solemnly "Daytime street lighting..."

So we head north to Cirencester where we find our guest house is managed by a very friendly Chinese couple. We walked into the town centre to eat in a pub and found just one customer with a dog and a pint and no-one behind the bar.

"If you serve yerself, can yer pour me a pint?" said the customer, nodding sagely whilst the dog stared at me with a look that clearly said "When the sun's done shinin' on that hillock - take no notice, he's a pillock..."

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Brunel's Great Britain

Tuesday 28 May 1998. Having spent this Tuesday morning in the Roman baths and walking around the city of Bath, we have motored up to Bristol for the afternoon prior to continuing onwards towards the Cotswolds for the rest of our holiday.

We had looked around Brunel's steam ship S.S. Great Britain soon after it opened to visitors in Bristol after being salvaged and brought back from the Falkland Isles where it had been rotting to bits for a considerable number of years.

The last time I saw this ship was 1977 and it was still a hulk, with more holes than was good for any lump of iron designed to float on water. The 6-bladed propellor had just been fitted and I can't remember seeing much of the inside of the ship at all.

The design of black squares by the way was deliberate to fool any pirates that the ship had a row of gun ports.

The interior of the ship looking towards the stern windows. Passenger cabins are behind the doors to the sides and a couple of these incredibly tiny rooms have been restored to give an idea of the cramped space that even first class passengers endured. That old couple who snuggled up in the film of Titanic had a really luxurious space compared with this ship!

The dining room had been restored to a state where it could be booked for parties or functions. It looked rather splendid, but - surely those chairs were not quite of the correct period? They looked suspiciously like conference chairs that could be locked together in rows...

We saw the engine compartment, but not an engine. A replica of the engine was being built and presumably has been duly fitted at some point since 1998. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the engineer, had fitted an engine sideways into his ship to drive a propellor rather than side paddle wheels. It was the first ocean-going propellor-driven iron ship.

We emerge onto the deck through the door of a tiny little protuberance on the deck - if you weren't sure what it was you'd have taken it for a privy.

And no, they didn't grow lettuce and cucumbers onboard - those are not frames, they are skylights to light the decks below. When you consider that this was the largest ship of its time, it still seems (not seems, but is) small compared with the liners of today.

Miss Franny had a go at steering the ship. She is however facing the rear end. There would be two people steering, which they would do from each side of the wheel. Then if one got washed overboard or needed to break off to do a quick hornpipe or something, there would still be one man left to steer.

Despite the engine the ship was rigged to carry sail, which it did to conserve fuel and do its bit for the green movement and sustainability.

At the forrard end (14 years since I worked at Fleetwood's Nautical College but the terminology just trips from my fingers!) we found the ship's bell and as you can guess it didn't take me long to discover someone had removed the clapper. Undaunted I gave the inside a hefty swipe with the edge of a coin and it gave a nice little ding! Nobody rushed up with a tot of rum though... quite disappointing!

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Ships and Boats Index

We Take a (Day in) Bath

Tuesday 28 May 1998. The staircase from the Roman Baths led Fran and I to the rooms above; the famous Pump Room of Georgian times where the likes of Beau Nash would gather to drink the mineral water from the same spring where the Romans had worshipped their goddess Minerva so long ago.

The room was a highly fashionable place to be and to be seen. Today it still retains its genteel character. It is possible to sit and take one's tea to the gentle sounds of chamber music being played live from one end of the room.

A glass of mineral water can be tasted for a modest fee and is served by elegant footmen dressed in the costume of the Georgian period. The water is high in various minerals and quite strong tasting.

I'm afraid I didn't find it to my taste, but reflected that no doubt it was doing me a world of good. One should drink the waters of Bath with a self-righteous air of superiority, as though it is an every day occurrence. The woman next to me says, in an indignant American accent: "Well! I don't know how they drink this stuff!" With a carefully schooled face, masking my own doubts, I drain my glass and smile... We left soon afterwards as I don't suppose up-chucking all over the place is encouraged. The water is vile. My opinion only of course. But vile...

Ah yes... and mindful of a few comments received recently from friends both here in the UK and across the Atlantic I thought I'd better show you Hands Dairy Cream Tea Rooms where you can order (and we did, we did!) clotted cream teas. Ah... just the thing! I've no idea why such a wonderfully tasting repast can cause such outpourings of shock and revulsion folks, but then again, if spreading clotted cream on scones was described as "spreading clabber on biscuits" as the Americans have it, then perhaps I'd think twice also. But what excuse Cathy has, Northamptonshire lass as she is, I just don't know... Get it down you, it'll do you good!

Once while I was down in Somerset running a workshop I bought 4 tubs of clotted cream and to keep them fresh, as it was a hot summer's day when I drove back north, I had to keep the aircon on in the car and I was freezing all the way back, but having phoned ahead, Fran got set to making some fresh scones for when I got home!

One of the must-see sights in Bath is this. Pulteney Bridge was completed in 1773 and designed by Robert Adam who was inspired by Ponte Vecchio of Florence and the Rialto Bridge in Venice. Rows of shops line the parapets of the bridge which is an elegant 3-arched bridge over the River Avon.

Sailing under it is a tricky if not dangerous undertaking because of the 3-stepped wier, but that feature gives this view another element of the unusual and pleasing.

Looking along Pulteney Bridge from road level. The shops are small. Perhaps sensibly Adam was not tempted to have them overhang the actual edge of the bridge as is the case in Florence. I was looking for a reference to our visit to Florence, but it was in 2006 and I have yet to blog about that particular holiday - a joy (whatever!) to come, then!

We had on a previous visit walked up to look at the great Georgian circus of town houses but I've never seen a better view of it than on this bought postcard image taken by a particularly tall photographer.

So that was Bath. The other place we were hoping to visit that day was Bristol. We have the afternoon left to get there. Next time!

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More Grass? Mere Grass? Grasmere!!!

Son-in-law Eddie has been down to cheer Blackpool on at West Ham today so Gill decided to relive the days of outings with Mum and Dad! We went up to Keswick and had lunch then walked along the market stalls and I went to my favourite antiques shop for a look round. Sadly he's given over stocking old 78rpm records but it's still a great shop to look round!

We spent all that time in Keswick but the lens cap didn't come off the camera until we were on our way back and called in at Grasmere around 3 o'clock this afternoon. The sun was low by then and conditions were spot on!

Gill and Fran are shown here about to drop "Pooh sticks" over the bridge into the river. Apparently I should have known what this was all about - racing sticks down the current... Alas when Gill said "You have to pick up a Pooh stick!" I got my hands bit messy...

Not only that, but as the ladies' two Pooh sticks floated off down river, mine sank straight away!

By the time we had ambled down to the next bridge, the two sticks had long gone by. They said it was my fault, stopping to scrub hands on tufts of grass, but I think it was just sour grapes... Anyway you can imagine the triumph of watching my effort rolling along the river bed as we looked down...

Herdwicks. "Heard of wicks? Course I've heard of wicks... What have candles to do with this though?"

Baa baa brown sheep,
From rolling in the poo,
I'm not a sheep you twit,
I'm a cow - moo!

Sorry - but I always used to make up songs for Gill, I thought it was called for...

There you are - we were out for a full day but the blog post came out of just a half an hour stop just before it started to go dark!

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The Roman Remains at Bath

Tuesday 28 May 1998. Fran and I had spent the third night of our holiday in the seaside town of Weston Super Mare, in the Corbiere Hotel, named after a famous race horse. Weston is a wonderful centre for touring the Avon area, with Bath, Bristol, Cheddar Gorge and caves and numerous other places within easy reach. We were aiming to visit Bath and Bristol before moving northwards into the Cotswolds for the last half of our holiday.

After breakfast we made for the city of Bath and headed first of all to the remains of the Roman bath complex where folk would flock to take the waters a mere 1800 years or so ago. The Great Bath. Fed by the warm spring of the spa, this was the great communal pool. The baths complex had several pools, warm, tepid, cool etc. and sauna areas heated by a furnace and hypercaust system.

There are a couple of mosaics on display. This one shows some fanciful "sea" creatures disporting themselves and is displayed in a raised casing.

Walkways have been built above the original Roman paving to ensure that there is no further wearing of the stone from visitors' feet. The ground level of the Roman days is several feet below today's pavement level.

The goddess Minerva was worshipped at the sacred springs that disgorge hundreds of gallons of hot water every day. This bronze head of the goddess is displayed in a case in a prominant position. I waited patiently for quite a while but at no time was I able to get a photograph without someone standing right behind it. In the end I just cropped this close and cut him out...

This is the outlet from the spring. It is England's most impressive volcanic activity. There's a steady production of hot water that just keeps coming. The Romans attributed it to the benevolence of Minerva and piped it off to heat the waters of the Great Bath.

This is the cold plunge pool. I wouldn't have fancied it myself... There is lots more to see at the Baths complex and it's a really interesting place to visit. Once we leave ancient Rome, we move forward into Georgian England (and you have to wait for the next entry) for a look at the Pump Room and maybe a taste of the spring water.

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On Safari at Longleat

Monday 27 May 1998. Leaving Salisbury, we headed west. We wanted to visit both Bristol and Bath and were hoping to stay somewhere near the two towns for a couple of nights.

Fran wanted to go through Longleat Safari Park if we had time. It was an hour before last admittance when we reached the entrance and the weather had turned a little dull, but remained fine.

The lions were not in a mood to entertain guests and apart from one lioness who was sitting in the shade, the rest were having a siesta.

Actually the first animals we came to were the giraffes. This was a youngster who was quite unconcerned at the visitors who had got out of their cars to watch him or her. Note for readers: even though the giraffe only has the same number of bones in its neck as a human does, it is not recommended for anyone to try this manouvre at home...

We happened along at just the right moment in the elephant enclosure as this group of young elephants crossed right in front of our car. I gave the monkey enclosure a miss, thinking that the windscreen wipers and aerials might come in handy later on...! I was quite relieved later that I hadn't gone through as we saw a couple of cars park near us in the car park whose drivers had to get out and try to straighten bent wipers...

We bought a tub of dry meal bits and Fran had oodles of fun feeding Bambi. ...or perhaps not... "It feels horrible!" she complained as I snapped away with the camera.

The wolves were a bit more co-operative than the lions, a couple of them crossing behind the car on their way to join a third who was ripping something to pieces enthusiastically. Bambi's slower brother perhaps... I remember reading somewhere that 99% of all animal life on earth dies being eaten by something else. I'd be happy to be in the remaining one percent personally! I wonder if being eaten by midges counts...

No! Before someone starts - I do not want to recall that bloody song by that wee Scottish boy!!! Too late... Google Stuart Anderson - I think that was his name. "The midges, the midges, I don't wanna kid yez..." Why should I be the only one to wake up screaming...?

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The Green Fields of France - Creeping Bentgrass

For Remembrance Day. There are only a few gigs where it is appropriate to play this song but whenever we do it is not uncommon for me to get a lump in the throat and to hear a catch in David's voice.

Salisbury City and Cathedral

Monday 27 May 1998. Fran and I are on holiday in Wiltshire and have now left the ancient hilltop fort of Old Sarum and are in Salisbury.

As we emerge from the huge car park, our first view of Salisbury, is the river. It cuts under the shopping center in a huge black hole to emerge on the other side of the buildings, hissing and roaring over a wier. Facing the shopping centre and culvert we had to turn round to see this much more attractive view leading towards the old bridge with its arches.

There is an excellent covered market cross with some old half-timbered black and white buildings nearby.

Down one of the streets leading off this crossroads is this arched gateway. Going through it leads into the cathedral square.

Salisbury is one of England's most famous cathedrals. Building commenced in 1220 - late for an English cathedral, but we must remember that Salisbury grew only once the old hillfort city of Old Sarum was abandoned. The Norman cathedral at Old Sarum was built from 1075-1092.

The famous spire is England's tallest at 404 feet or 123 metres and leans around 27 inches from the vertical.

This is the oldest working clock in Europe. It was made in 1386 and originally installed in a bell tower that was demolished in 1798. It is still ticking away and the cathedral website informs us (and I love this!) that it has ticked more than 5 million times since it first started measuring the time! Actually it is probably two and a half million ticks and two and a half million tocks...

Despite never having been an abbey it has cloisters - not sure what it is about walking around a cloister but I always have to do it when visiting somewhere with one! And this is the largest cloister in England.

The great treasure of Salisbury is the best preserved copy of the original Magna Carta, agreed by King John at Runnymede on 15 June 1215 and which laid down the beginnings of English law, since copied around the world. Thirteen copies of the Magna Carta were made, only four of which still exist. Two are in the British Library and one lies at Lincoln within the castle. The one at Salisbury was taken originally to the cathedral at Old Sarum.

At Runnymede King John was urged to sign by his half brother, William Longspeé. A sculpture of this moment can be seen in the cathedral and William was buried there. In another wonderful bit of gossip, the cathedral website informs us that when his tomb was opened after many centuries there was a dead rat with traces of arsenic in it found lying inside his skull. A strange way to die, poisoned by a carrier rat eating its way into your head - you'd have thought someone would have noticed and shooed it away...

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The Legions of Rome

Monday 27 May 1998. Now, for those of you who have stumbled here by accident and haven't a clue how you got here, Fran and I are on holiday in Wiltshire and on this particular public holiday are at Old Sarum, the fortified town that was abandoned in the 1200s at which point Salisbury was developed.

Those nice chappies at English Heritage had arranged a display of Roman Army tactics and equipment entitled The Might of the Roman Army.

No "might" about it - here they are! The performers for the day were members of four groups: the Ermine Street Guard, Gemina Project (from Holland), Vexillatio Legionis Geminae and The Troop.

They were representing Imperial Roman soldiers from the second half of the first century A.D. You would not want a Glasgow kiss from someone wearing a helmet like that! They are also carrying the Roman javelin. A volley or two of those would thin out the first couple of lines of mad marauding Celts and Picts. Please note that I have myself recognised the tendency of this blog to become a little bloodthirsty over the last couple of entries but we shall soon be back to normal!

The troupe were representing Imperial Roman soldiers from the second half of the first century A.D. This would be the conquering army of Britain, though they were hard pressed by the guerilla tactics of the native tribes. Their equipment and tactics were well fitted to each other though. On the face of it a great hairy Celt, dressed in nothing but a bit of blue paint and beard and swinging a long sword should have no problem dispatching a chap in a skirt with a short sword.

But long swords are best when swung and when two armies are pressed together by weight of numbers there is no room to swing a sword without lopping off your mates' heads... So the short stabbing swords of the Romans were apt to win the day as long as there were enough of them to keep the enemy in front of their shield wall.

We stood on the walls of Old Sarum as they marched around the inner sanctum. Here they are passing the foundations of Old Sarum's cathedral. Its replacement was Salisbury Cathedral but you can tell from this photograph that the original was an impressive size.

The chap in the middle of the front row was blowing away at his instrument, which was a relief as I thought for a moment he was going to suck and vacuum the grass... He didn't get much of a tune from it, but no doubt in its time there were plenty of hard pressed Romans who were glad to hear it announce the arrival of reinforcements!

Once in the arena, the various items of equipment were displayed and explained and demonstrations of tactics were given. One of the best displays that we saw was the use of the shields to form the testudo (the tortoise), with the men totally protected apart from their legs as they ran around the arena in close formation. Yes, you're right - I didn't get a picture of it as they were too far away at the time. But an image search on Google for roman testudo will give you ample example. (Nice bit of wordplay thrown in there for free!)

In the next entry we'll get away from all this warfare and take a look at a more modern Salisbury and cathedral and at what is perhaps the oldest mechanical clock in Europe.

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