In London

So the blog will be in London for a while, doing museums, parks, shows, restaurants, miscellaneous scenery, etc. We'll be back in Winter Garden, June 23nd.

Dawn from our flat in Pimlico

British Out-Takes, 2026, 2

 More British road-trip out-takes...

In Gloucester, gotta' love a city with a community toilet scheme, 
and proud of it

And a frog bench

And a hairstylist whose clients bring him fridge magnets

Ex cathedra

Apparently one of the more obscure northern saints

Sorry we missed it; a show called "The Full Bronte," at the Edinburgh
Fringe years ago, was one of the best we've ever seen

Cracked me up

Wool churches were particularly into the agnus dei thing

Still pondering; how do you shift gears?

She made me do it

Ever popular Sheela-na-gig at The Henge Shop, Avebury;
looks somewhat Cycladic to me...sort of

Royal Mail beautification campaign

Awaiting transport to 18th century Scotland

Flying just above us at Kilpeck, in the midst of multiple Romanesque
epiphanies

From Powys, one can see that Medieval castles had to
be defensible from every room

"I am the Lord, thy Master, thou shalt have no other gods
before me..."

Not very old headframe; still in Wales

Sufficiently poignant that I will not provide a link to
Peter Cook's "My Experiences Down the Mine"

There are a dozen or more principal charity shops in Britain; "Cats
Protection" is new to us; maybe it's for protecting people from cats

Anatomically interesting Chester door fixture designating a 

female toilet; no male counterpart

In Chester; of course

Still wondering what forest dogs are and whether they want to be rescued

British Out-Takes, 2026, 1

From our weeks on the road...apologies for any duplicates of the already-posted...think of them as running gags...

It was in the North, the fall of 2009, at a Home Depot-like
place, that we had our first lesson in sorting it out...in that case,
choosing the right trolley (we were (foolishly) purchasing
insulation for the exterior plumbing on our camper)...

So it was no surprise, when we got to Winchester, in 2026, 
that British stores were still helping us to sort things out

Photos by Vicki; notice I am heading for the exit, hoping
not to be apprehended...

Further sorting; but note there was no similar assistance for
sorting out mens' under-garments, which are also somewhat
complicated

Next to godliness in Winchester Cathedral

All over Wells we saw these more than life-size swan figures,
depicting scenes about the city

Also posters of the various swans of Wells

The police department swan was a bit of a shock...maybe OK for the UK

But might not have been OK in the US

At the parish church...pigeons are indeed a threat...hoping to
audition for the role of Holy Spirit in next year's Easter pageant

"Grope Lane"...per capita, Wells has to be the most fun you can have
in a UK city

Please remove shoes before playing the organ; shoe-born
feces foul the mechanisms

Diocesan dirty laundry

In the Wells Cathedral chained library

Soon to be replaced by an AI-controlled Holy Roomba

A huge selection of Holy Socks in the Wells Cathedral shoppe

A tribute to Well's Olympic long jump champ of yesteryear

Gold medal, world record...top that!

Now en route to Gloucester, via Bath, being
reminded that this is how, prior to 2009, we 
used to navigate

In Gloucester, wondering where the George is, not to
mention the Upper George 

British Food and Drinks

 A round-up of interesting and curious items from our Britannic road trip...

"Picky Bits"...so British

At every National Trust site; also grocery stores; priced
pretty much like human ice cream

Brand differentiation underway

The gin craze continues

Especially in cathedrals

Branching out; at least we did not see ice cream for
dogs, even at the avowedly "dog friendly" cathedrals

At The Fountain in Gloucester

Reading material at our table

But still--three visits in a row over a dozen years--the best fish and
chips in the Isles

Flavored crisps...ever more varied than in the US

Personalized candy bars

Vicki's standard breakfast; except in Wales

A pasty...not at all like in Butte...where it would have been slathered
in brown sauce or even chili

In this amazing sequence, you will see a bag of McDonald's
burgers lifted and transported from the restaurant, at a freeway
rest-stop, to the remote drive-through pick-up station...the
lady in red is fastening the bag to conveyor

Up it goes, on its way

Ever upward, ever onward

To meet its fate...uh-oh, I have attracted the attention
of the assistant night manager trainee and others and
the amazing sequence must end...

Among the hazards of dining al fresco at a seaside resort 

Very popular British gelato flavor

Sorted (the Bowl is silent)

Very uppity tapas joint; not ice cream; 1494?

Just a reminder, next time you're in Chester, dine at Chez Jules

Vicki's memorable duck pizza in Ludlow

We could find no scones (nor clotted cream) in Wales nor in
the northern counties we visited...but found these Welshcakes
to be a very acceptable substitute...despite clocking in at 132 calories
per cake (the size of a White Castle patty)

Ever inventive, the British

Oops! We're in London!