10-18 Rain and reflection

We’ve been in Brighton for about a week now and have been blessed with mostly beautiful,, if chilly weather. The forecast has been threatening rain, and today it delivered, so I’m using the day to catch up on the blog and to reflect on my travels so far.

Since I retired, we’ve travelled to England every year except during COVID lockdown. The original trip was Bruce’s idea because he didn’t want to go to Kenya, which he perceived as too dangerous at the time. I have friends in Lancashire with whom I worked on cruise ships and we’ve made it a point to get together on several of these trips. Two years ago I learned, through Ancestry DNA, that I had a cousin in Lancashire. She and her husband are the nicest people (I’m not just saying that because we’re related) and I feel so lucky to have been able to spend time with them. And happily, I’ve become friends with a couple of the people I sat for through Trusted Housesitters. Sometimes you just feel an instant connection. Right, Christine? These people are certainly motivation for visiting England, but there’s something more that keeps us returning.

Certainly part of it is my love of history. We’ve visited places whose history goes back to Roman times. Wave after wave of peoples invaded and influenced the British Isles; Vikings, Normans, Anglo-Saxons, heck everybody wanted a piece of this beautiful land. And the great part of visiting the UK is that there are so many places to visit that date back centuries and tell the stories of those invasions; places that bring to life the various dynasties and tell of royal intrigue. The first year we came, we visited Chedworth Roman Villa in Gloustershire and Speke Hall outside Liverpool. We were so impressed that when we got home, we joined the Royal Oak Foundation which helps to advance the work of the National Trust. As Americans we aren’t allowed to join the National Trust, but through the Royal Oak we can enjoy the same benefits, and we certainly have. We’ve visited so many Trust Properties over the years, from Beatrix Potter’s house in the Lake District to Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s home in Kent, and so many in between. We’ve seen Sheffield Park Gardens in Sussex and the Back-to-Backs in Birmingham. Last year when we were sitting in Milton Keynes we took the train one stop to spend the day at Bletchley Park (not a National Trust property) the headquarters of the code breakers of WW2. It was so fascinating that I had to go back for a second visit. Around every turn there seems to be a wealth of history waiting to be explored.

For Bruce, the pubs are the big draw; old historic pubs like the King’s Head in Chester and the Old Wellington in Manchester. Being a beer lover, he goes to try as many different local beers as he can, especially cask ales that you can’t get in the US. The pubs themselves are often beautiful, featuring carved wood, tiles, brass or elaborate plaster work. A lot of them have great stories attached to them of the people who used to drink there. He likes chatting to the old guys in the pubs and admiring the architecture on the walks between pubs.

Then there are the people we’ve been lucky enough to meet. Often just asking for directions will lead to a great conversation with someone who’s happy to share their favorite local places or recommend things for us to see and do. People say it’s the same the world over, but it’s been my experience that that’s the rule, not the exception, here in the UK.

And as for culture, well – as they say in NYC – “Don’t get me started.” The museums in London alone could keep me enthralled for years. Then there’s the theatre, and not just in the West End, but all over. This is, after all, the home of William Shakespeare and the theatre is taken very seriously. I’m seeing a worrying trend, though. Social media is pervasive and I wonder if future generations will become as self-obsessed and fame-obsessed as Americans have. In the US, theatre companies are folding left and right, as are orchestras, and I wonder if we’re seeing the dumbing down of future generations world over, especially among the economically disadvantaged. When we were in Ventnor, we got chatting to a group of teenaged girls. They were so excited to meet Americans, but all they wanted to know was whether we knew anybody famous and how we pronounced Adidas. Okay, I was a mindless teen once, I get it. Still, I worry.

I’m asked why we keep going back there when there are so many other places to go. Well, I was lucky in my youth. I worked on The Ocean Princess, a ship that sailed all over the world, so I’ve been down the Amazon, I’ve been to Antarctica, I’ve been all over Europe so I have seen a lot already. This year’s trip to Kenya ticks off the item at the very top of my wish list. And yes, there are other places to visit, but I suspect that I will continue to visit the UK for the inexplicable connection I feel here.