Do you miss library book sales?

I do!  Mind you, there are hundreds of books in this house I have not had time to read.  But there is nothing as delicious as ambling into a used bookstore or going to a library book sale and finding an old treasure, discarded by the library or a patron, that is not available elsewhere.  Alternatively, sometimes one finds an appealing but unknown book or something one meant to read but had not got around to, such as The Goldfinch.  Or a handful of paperbacks to bring on vacation.

England 2018, Day 11

When we arrived on Sunday night it was too late to fully appreciate the charm of the Edward Hotel in Gloucester. The hotel is located a few blocks from the historic part of town near the cathedral and was built in 18th and 19th century. Our room was accessed by climbing a flight of stairs then walking a narrow hallway across the length of the building to another flight or two of stairs. The room had slanted ceilings but was quite spacious and had its own bathroom. There were biscuits thoughtfully tucked next to the tea making supplies.

Gloucester Cathedral from the west

Downstairs there was a large breakfast room and nice-looking bar. There were hundreds of pictures of historical items in the passageways and public rooms of the hotel, including a puzzle in the dining room about the connection between several of the pictures. We were intrigued but got sidetracked by breakfast: croissants.

The Cathedral's secluded garth

The male owner of the Edward Hotel in Gloucester provided tea and croissants, which made us happy (a cooked English breakfast was available but not our preference). His wife had suggested we ask him for sightseeing advice to supplement our visit to Gloucester Cathedral, and first he asked my niece if she was a Harry Potter fan.

The Great Cloister with magnificent fan vaulting (but no Harry, Ron, or Hermione)

Overlooking the Garth (courtyard)

Intrigued, she said yes, and he told her that Gloucester Cathedral had been used for filming some of the HP movies.  It has also been used for The Choir (dramatization of Joanna Trollope's book), Wolf Hall, and the Hollow Crown.  Then he very kindly offered to meet us there at 10:30 to provide some historical background: he even knew some fascinating connections with Boston history which had us intrigued, involving the organist's (practically a hereditary position) family.  

Robert of Normandy (c. 1054-1134)

We left our luggage in the front office, then headed on our way, spending a little over an hour in the Cathedral ourselves.  We saw the great Cloister with its beautiful fan vaulting where the original Abbey's monks lived and prayed, which were featured in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, HP and the Chamber of Secrets, and HP and the Half-Blood Prince.   Edward II, not one of my favorite English kings, is buried in this cathedral, as well as, more intriguingly, Robert of Normandy, eldest son of William the Conqueror, who did not get along with his family so never became king.

The lectern's majestic eagle crushes a dragon-like monster to symbolize the triumph of good over evil

Mine host was waiting for us on the steps of the Cathedral and led us on an amazing tour.  I had to ask his name, which was embarrassing not to know, and it turned out to be St. John (pronounced Sinjin as in Elswyth Thane; of course, a delightful bonus) and I introduced the three of us. He took us around the exterior of the Cathedral, pointing out many historical and architectural facts. My favorite story was his description of a visit paid to the Cathedral by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, showing us which gate they would have approached, that they had stayed in the Bishop's rooms, and had probably come because Henry wanted to hunt nearby. He told us that when Henry stayed out late hunting two lackeys waited at the gate with torches to light his way back to the Bishop’s House and that Anne Boleyn supposedly gave them a gold coin each, enormous largesse, which caused a stir. “The next day,” St. John said deadpan, “there were 20 men with torches!”

He took us throughout the town, which was extremely kind, and continued to be fascinating, pointing out, for example, the “New” Inn (1450) which is the most complete surviving example of a medieval courtyard inn with galleries in Britain, and it is possible Shakespeare performed there with his company. From the exterior, St. John showed us how the eaves jut out of the walls and how there was no privacy at such a busy place – people could stand beneath to listen and that is the etymology of the word “eavesdrop.” I would recommend that anyone visiting Gloucester see if he would be willing to provide a tour.

The nave is Norman but the Cathedral's many additions are Gothic

My mother and I were enjoying every word but eventually he had to get back to work at the hotel and left us on our own.  We continued through the town and visited the Victoria dock and warehouses, then headed back; Lily’s Tea Room where, in addition to sandwiches, we shared our last Victoria Sponge Cake of the trip. This was a fancy version with frosting flowers that were very tasty.

The Victoria Warehouses (1849) were used for corn storage

My mother went back to look at the Cathedral while my niece and I (churched out) scouted a place for lunch and did a little shopping. She found some pretty sterling silver earrings at Debenham’s and I charitably donated the two paperbacks I had brought to read on the plane to Oxfam. Somehow, I found myself buying three more but they definitely weighed less than the two I discarded, so definitely a net gain. I was proud of myself for being restrained and didn’t do any serious book hunting elsewhere. At the appointed time, we retrieved my mother and had lunch at

Then we took the train to London, where we hugged my niece goodbye (she was eager to get back to her dashing student life and architecture paper) and a difficult Tube ride to Gloucester Road with far too many stairs. Our new residence was extremely elegant and well appointed: Hotel Xenia, a boutique hotel affiliated with Marriott, with very courteous staff. Under other circumstances and wearing snappier clothes, I would have enjoyed hanging out in its trendy bar, but we were so tired they couldn’t tell us our room number fast enough! My mother was thrilled because although the room was small there was a luggage rack (which she feels strongly should always be provided), a wardrobe for our coats, Kleenex in the bathroom, and – mirabile dictu – a washcloth! I took a walk to figure out the best Tube station for the following day and to buy us a snack at a large Sainsbury next door as she was not interested in dinner.

Gloucester Cathedral

Cathedral count: one

Book count: donated two, purchased three

Miles walked: 7.8

England (and Wales) 2018, Day 10

We had breakfast at our guest house and arranged to leave our bags before heading out to Mass at St. Peter's Church, the oldest surviving Catholic Church in Cardiff, and fortunately only half a mile away. Afterwards, I flagged down a bus and thanks to its helpful driver was able to buy an all-day group bus pass for £10 for all three of us. One of my ideas for Sunday had been to visit St. Fagan's, a living history museum on the other side of Cardiff, but there didn't seem to be any Sunday bus service there. The other plan was to visit Penarth, a seaside community on the other side of Cardiff Bay.

We were a little dubious in case the rain began again but set off regardless, jumping on a bus that arrived barely two minutes after we reached the stop. I told my companions we were heading to the Vale of Glamorgan, which sounded very glamorous.  From Penarth's town center (an appealing-looking bookstore was closed), we walked about 20 minutes down to a pier and impressive sea view.

England 2018, Day 8

Enid Blyton lives as we begin our adventure

In which we travel to the original Worcester:

It was time for my niece to be swept from her studies at IES by two of the family historians (and we could have used my brother Peter on many occasions). We met at Paddington (where we expected but did not see many stuffed bears for sale) and zipped off by train to Worcester, a city of 100,000 in the West Midlands. Why, Worcester, you ask? Not because Simon de Montford, one of my favorite historical characters was killed there in 1245 (I don't recall which Sharon Kay Penman book recounted this sad event but I remember needed lots of Kleenex!)  It was more because I had heard that the Cathedral was beautiful and that there had been two significant battles in the English Civil War in Worcester, including the final battle.

Our luggage had gotten heavier (at least mine had! I wonder why) since arriving in London, and it was great to have additional hands.  We were pleased to find our hotel was directly opposite the train station, the Worcester Whitehouse Hotel. Sometimes the hotels near the stations are seedy but this was very nice - by far the most spacious of the places we had stayed (you could have got about 4 or 5 of our London room into the twin room my niece and I shared) and my mother was pleased to have a luggage rack.

Composer Edward Elgar, native son 

We set off for the Cathedral which was a ten-minute walk from the hotel, and was impressive even on a gray (yet again) day. The two most interesting (non-architecture) aspects of the Cathedral were the tombs of Bad King John (died 1216; you may recall we saw his effigy on Day 1 in London at the Temple Church), younger brother of Richard the Lionheart and, more unexpected, the tomb of Prince Arthur, older brother of Henry VIII. Arthur was just 15 when he died in 1502, having been married to Catherine of Aragon six months earlier. The story goes that his father, Henry VII, did not want to return Catherine's dowry so insisted she marry his second son (later Henry VIII) after a suitable mourning period. Had Catherine's parents, Ferdinand and Isabella of Columbus fame, known what sorrow and humiliation were in store for their daughter, I hope they would have sent an escort to bring her home, no matter how beneficial an alliance between England and Spain would be!

With King John I (more or less)

Next we stopped at the Cathedral Café for a fabulous lunch! I had a Coronation Chicken panini, my niece had a cranberry and brie panini, my mother had mushrooms on toast (this was not a punishment - she requested it), and we shared a slice of Victoria Sponge cake between us (the first of many amazing desserts on this trip) as I had been yearning for one since my last trip. An army marches on its stomach!   Everyone was in a very good mood as we left the Cathedral, and headed for the Commandery, a historic building / war museum that served as Charles II's headquarters during the last battle of the Civil War. It had some good exhibits but is desperately in need of funding and some high-tech embellishments. I did think my nephews would have enjoyed all the weapons!  Some of us may have told the locals we were from the Worcester in the United States, which is only a slight exaggeration as it is barely an hour away and I visit my friend Judith there regularly.

A stool made from the famous Royal Oak that saved Charles II

My niece tries out the 5-meter training pike!

After the Battle of Worcester in 1651, Charles II fled and is reputed to have avoided capture by hiding in an oak tree. I had always imagined a hollow oak with a convenient hole but one exhibit describes him hiding in the branches as Parliamentary soldiers passed below and later a stool was made from the root of this famous Royal Oak.  We were surprised to learn that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had visited Worcester and the Commandery in 1786 (Adams seems to have cheered on Cromwell's victory - I guess not too surprising but regicide is not very nice, John). We stopped at one charity shop on the way back to the hotel (I found a Katie Fforde I didn't have and an Elizabeth Elgin, an author I had not read for years).

No time to visit Edward Elgar's birthplace but I thoughtfully hummed Pomp and Circumstance from time to time so my niece would know what she was missing.

Dessert at Slug and Lettuce

My mother was not interested in dinner after a surfeit of mushrooms (literary allusion) but after my niece and I recuperated for a bit, we set out to explore the Worcester night life. Although most of the city shut down promptly at 5, we found a branch of a chain called Slug and Lettuce (British humor?) that had great food and a lively bar scene. There was one moment when the waitress took my niece's empty water glass away and never refilled it, but we liked the vibe and the dessert was delicious!



Book count: two
Cathedral count: one
Miles walked: 5.0

England 2018, Day 2

Saturday we woke up early and had tea and toast at the Arriva Hotel before taking an Uber to Liverpool Street Station (had I been in a taxi I would have been annoyed as it did not seem like the most direct route based on my inspection of the map) and then a train to Cambridge. It was a good half mile to the guest house but our suitcases wheeled along obediently, and soon we had lightened our load and set off for the university part of town.

King's College

We signed up for a tour of Cambridge including King's College, founded by Henry VI in 1441. There was just time for tea and scone for me/soup for my mother and a quick visit to the renowned Haunted Bookshop before the tour. Book count: just one - Hester Burton's No Beat of Drum. I also resisted the offerings in David's Bookshop and two tables of paperbacks in a church that were only 30 pence each!

A treasure-trove of girls series books on the top floor

The tour, made very enjoyable by guide Andrew (so full of interesting commentary that my mother didn't even object that he told her things she already knew), lasted until 4:15 so we had to run to the Fitzwilliam Museum before it closed at 5 pm. There was only time to see some of the paintings and I spent about 10 minutes in a sampler exhibit that had interested me.

King's College Chapel

King's College

King's College Chapel

Although extremely tired of walking by this point, I felt it only right that we pay our respects to Emmanuel College, alma mater of John Harvard, the poor minister whose deathbed bequest to the "schoale or colledge" founded two years earlier gave it his name . . . It turned out to be one of the prettiest we had seen and the porter gave us permission for a quick look at the courtyard and gardens, which included a duck pond. Extra credit: Where is John Harvard buried?

We walked slowly back past the Fitzwilliam to Brown's restaurant, a charming place with high ceilings in part of a converted hospital. The host took pity on us for not having a reservation and found us a table. We dined on schnitzel and warm sourdough bread and Prosecco.

Punters behind King's College

Emmanuel College

Answer: John Harvard is buried at the Phipps Street Burial Ground in Charlestown, created in 1630.

Church count: two
Book count: one
Miles walked: 8.6

Sue Barton or Cherry Ames?

The Sue Barton series, seven novels about an irrepressible nurse, is set approximately in the 1940s.  It follows the eponymous Sue from nursing school (based on the author's experience at Mass General)  to wife to a busy doctor and mother of three children.  The author, Helen Dore Boylston, was a real person (in contrast to the famous Stratemeyer Syndicate - not that I didn't enjoy those books as well) and friendly with Rose Wilder Lane, the daughter (as you know) of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Elswyth Thane

I love organized bookshelves (daughter of a librarian) so it was painful to remove all the books on the first floor from their bookcases in preparation for the whole floor being painted. In particular, I had to stop to admire two shelves of Elswyth Thane's books. She has been one of my favorite authors since I was about 14 and my mother left a copy of Dawn's Early Light on my pillow. Those with good eyes will see I include two books by Thane's husband, William Beebe, the Jacques Cousteau of his day, although I have not read them yet, rescued by my mother from the discard pile at her library. I believe I own every book Thane wrote except The Bird Who Made Good. Naturally, some are better than others and I notice that Tryst, a standalone that is somewhat dated, has gained new fans recently.
Here is a picture of the guest room with all the books from the living room and my office piled on the floor:
(I did eventually get a copy of The Bird Who Made Good.)