Kenilworth...Coventry...Costco!

So the restaurant Dave and Marian had chosen for our reunion was in Kenilworth, in the very shadow of the great ruined castle. Vicki had found a camping place very near...the Kenilworth Rugby Football Club (which housed a very popular neighborhood pub), and Dave and Marian picked us up there, and we had a most pleasant 4 hour dinner together, catching-up, discussing future plans, and so on. They are travelers, as we are, and so the talk mostly was of travel. They're going to do western Canada and Alaska next, very shortly, on their 1200cc BMW motorcycle, for their 50th wedding anniversary. (Le Duc is only 1900cc, but it has twice as many wheels.) Alas, as is often the case in such reunions, we got so involved we forgot to take any pix. Oh well. We have our pix from Africa, and those are the best. Next day we proceeded on, now to the east, but not before a visit to Coventry's Costco (!). Yes, Costco. A bit of home, far abroad.

Quite a lively place, especially after the pub opened at 6

Actually, but not disappointingly, it was pretty much exactly like a Costco in the
US; Kirkland stuff everywhere; we got a fine poulet roti for 4.99L and even
had lunch at the food court

There were a few concessions to British tastes and preferences

The most significant, and positive, difference, was that there were free samples
(tapas) even on the booze aisles; seriously

Food court offerings

Ever adventurous, I went for the Aberdeen Angus Cottage Pie--1/4 inch of beef
mince buried under 2 inches of mash; definitely a once in a lifetime thing

Vicki wisely went for the "gelato"

Oxford And The Ashmolean Museum

Coventry and our dinner date was not very far from Winchester, so we decided to spend a little time in Oxford, on the way, and specifically at the Ashmolean Museum, the museum of Oxford University. We had visited a few years back, and, alas, remembered little.

The Ashmolean

"Not another museum"!

Tea, anyone?; a giant historical collection of tea cups, saucers, services, etc.

A whole room of stringed instruments, including two Stradivarii

How to make a violin in 13 easy steps

By the time we'd seen all the paintings rooms, we remembered why we didn't
remember much from the Ashmolean...it's really more of an archaeology sort of
place than an art history sort of place; Ucello's The Hunt in the Forest is definitely
memorable, indeed the only painting in its collection that the museum promotes
among its biggies

Proof that the Mother of God was a Remainer

Thus

Anyhow, we moved on to the archaeological collections of interest, Egypt, the
classical world, prehistoric Europe...

Wine container from el-Amarna, Egypt, 12th century BCE or
thereabouts...

I checked in the Hugh Johnson Guide we keep in the camper, and the year 7 was
indeed a good vintage

Unusual classical pose

Big collection of Cyclades

And ceremonial jadeite axes

 

Alas, it would have been nicer to simply wander the
interesting streets of Oxford...but it was time to move on
to Coventry

Oh-Bo-De-0h-Do

This was our third visit to Winchester Cathedral, one of my British favorites: its long history, its transitional nature (north transept thoroughly Romanesque, crude masonry; the rest, increasingly sophisticated Gothic, Perpendicular), the literary lights buried there, its great size and majesty, the William Morris windows, the story of its being saved from collapse in the early 20th century, the New Vaudeville Band Grammy-winning song.... Looking at my 2009 and 2016 posts on Winchester--http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2009/10/winchestercathedral.html, http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2009/10/winchester-cathedral-ii.html, http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2009/10/cultural-treasures-of-winchester.html, http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2016/05/winchester-cathedral-2016.html--I have only a few new scenes to add.

Winchester has long had an excellent visitor education program, which has only
gotten better since our last visit

Outside, descriptions of the building of both the old Minster (Saxon, 10th) and
the new (Norman, dating from the 11th; and then Gothic and Perpendicular)

Foundations of the Minster still visible

Huge church, in length, 2nd only to St. Peter's in Rome; they say

The visitor education program now includes a three-story
special exhibit area in the south transept--with an elevator!
Winchester is said to be the only cathedral with an elevator;
alas, no fotos in the special exhibit area

Tournai Font, 11th

Romanesque in the north transept

Love those transitional scenes

Nicely-lit choir (or quire, as the Brits say) looking toward beautiful screen

Above, HB=Henry Bolingbroke

Ever popular Anne Boleyn statue (actually a 13th century
sculpture found in the cathedral dean's garden

Finally, there is now a nice exhibit on Jane Austen, by the
floor stone (which gives no clue she was a writer) and her
brother's memorial brass plaque that says only that she was
"known by her writings" or somesuch; judging from the
town's gift shoppes, she's an increasingly big draw for
Winchester

Wonderful place; we may well drop in for another visit
next spring when we're doing the garden thing

Winchester

In worsening traffic, radiating out from London, we drove on to Winchester, a beautiful, ancient town--the capital of Saxon England--which has one of our favorite cathedrals. Also a car-park with camper spaces near the old city...a few pounds and relative quiet. We spent the next day in the old part of town, mostly pedestrianized, enjoying the sights and the shopping, and then the great cathedral.

Morris Minor woody, 50s

Downtown scenery

Hat Fair! and I'll miss it!

Still looking for a Mary Berry baking cookbook

Tons of wonderful historical signage

I'd be impressed if it said oldest pub

Vicki describes this style of building--of which we'll see far more in the East of
England--as "Fred and Wilma" (Flintstone)

The historical signage is great: a self-regarding place

Wood models in a street market

Toddler rain-suit: quintessentially British

City hall

Weights, measures, proper location