Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts

Friday 21 September 2018

A Walk Back in Time

Pleasant Memories are hovering near! We spent the most beautiful mini vacation in a medieval style village of Rye. But the delightful charms didn't begin when we disembarked from the train. Oh, no. The journey through bucolic landscapes was so intriguing. I had never dreamed there were so many 'meadows' with fluffy white sheep in what I had assumed was the crowded British Isles!  There were high embankments on either side of the railway tracks which didn't give for the greatest view all the time, but I did note how massive some of the trees were. (They don't grow deciduous trees like that here in northern Alberta.)
Rye here we come! Ever since I researched for my book Two Mothers, Twin Daughters, I fell in love with the coastal villages of England so you can be sure I was thrilled when the opportunity to explore one actually came my way!

If you ever plan to visit England, do stop in at Rye, It is most delightful. There is a towering---massive--which is the right word? stone gate over one of the roads. The pavements (sidewalks) are incredibly narrow in places, and the streets do not allow any room for passing! Don't forget you are in England, now, so do remember to drive on the left-hand side of the road.  What else can I say? Oh, yes, there are such lovely courtyards, and the roses were blooming most abundantly. The houses and many other buildings were very tall and antique looking, with moss covering them here and there.

Did I say this is a seacoast village?  Well, that is not quite accurate, 'cuz I never did see the sea from there. Way back before your time, or mine, either for that matter "Good Queen Bess" called it Royal Rye, but it did have a reputation. Ahem. Apparently, it was notorious for being a smugglers cove, although it sure seemed safe enough while we were there! Actually, in those days, it had been an island, but we couldn't tell.

I wanted to show you a picture of the Rye Lodge we stayed at but couldn't find one! Sorry!

If you are planning to put this on your bucket list, do take time to climb up to the steeple of that ancient church on the hill. You'll be so glad that you did! Be warned! It's quite a climb though! Starting off it looks innocent enough, but soon you'll be clambering up long ladders, and around narrow curves that are either banked with stone or wooden walls some so narrow you'll wonder if you'll be able to squeeze through all of them if they get any narrower!

Well, I was just informed that "Dad" wants to go, so better tie this up and HOPEFULLY find some compelling pictures to post with it. 

Thursday 10 July 2014

More About Africa. Soon.


More About Africa! Soon.

Wow! Look at that! My laptop is actually working! It’s sure handy having a son in law visit that is more knowledgeable than I am when it comes too messed up computers! Even he couldn’t fix the PC though. It was threatening imminent failure long before that infamous hacker got his fingers on my files.

Okay, okay, I know you came here to check out the details of our trip so I’ll get to it. Be assured of one thing, though. These reports shouldn’t sound quite so much like they were scribbled off in haste while the library clock was ticking ‘cuz now I can work at them at home and maybe even catch my errors before you do!






Let me see: have we left the Heathrow airport behind? Maybe we left Rye too quickly! I never told you about the antique and tea shops and famous English breakfasts! (I had delicious smoked haddock, though!) Oh well, find out for yourself if you’re drooling with curiosity. We’re heading for the terminal.

World Travel is just another name for Hurry Up and Wait, right? I don’t know how many times we did exactly that. We had time on our hands after arriving at the airport so did a little Short-Distance exploring. We hadn’t walked very far down a busy, bustling street when we met an interesting character. He was a street person with all his earthly goods piled into a grocery cart. We stopped and chatted for a while and learned that he had spent the last seven years caring for his mother who had dementia. As the story unfolded it became more disturbing. As a lad “Johann” had grown up Greek Orthodox but was now agnostic. His father, while in a drunken rage, would beat him and his mother cruelly in spite of being most pious on Sundays.


When his mother became ill, did he help? No, it was up to “Johann” to support her and watch, alone, as she gradually went downhill. She died two or three months before we met him. But like I said “Johann’s” dad was very devout, so guess what he did with the inheritance that normally goes at least partly to the children? He donated it to the church so that his soul would be prayed for, for 36 Sundays.

In the course of the conversation we admitted that many atrocities have been done in the name of Christ, but they were definitely not the Father’s will. We encouraged him to make a direct connection with the Father, because God is love, and He can lead him. As you read this, please whisper a prayer for this gentleman. I would love to meet him in Heaven and find out how his story unfolded from there.