Ely, Here We Come!

Around here trains are a very common way to get from place to place, yet the children had never been on a train.  Sooooo...their first train ride EVER was to a little village near Cambridge called Ely (pronounced "eel-y"), so named because this area at one time was very swampy, with lots of eels, and many were caught (and eaten-ugh) here.  Ely is built on a chalk hill, and was once a strategic and inaccessible island in the middle of the once marshy and treacherous area. 

Ely is best known for its huge cathedral, which was begun in 1083, and took 268 years to complete.  It survived the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII in the early 1500's.  Note how the cathedral is lop-sided--the mirroring tower that should be to the left of center fell some centuries ago. 

Do you see, on the left side of the picture, six "enclaves" in pairs along the front of the building?  There used to be statues in these, but Henry VIII had statues in cathedrals/churches removed thruout his kingdom because he considered them idols, thus breaking the Second Commandment.  We found this cathedral immense...breathtaking...cold...very cold (we could see our breath INSIDE).

As we walked along a VERY narrow ledge outside between spires of the church, THIS was the view...you can just make out the rainbow.  This photo is one of my favs. (Well done, hubby. :))

With this next photo, can't you just imagine the Fens (what they call the open, flat, fertile expanse that was the swamp until the 17th century, when Dutch experts were brought in to drain them) teeming with eels all around this hill with this enormous cathedral atop?

The newest chapel in this great cathedral is called the Lady Chapel, and is a chapel dedicated to Mary.  I couldn't believe it.  Mary?!?  An entire chapel?!?  Seriously?!?   (Again, note the emply enclaves around...many on ground level, others above.)  The only reason Mary is still standing is she was added quite recently, and by a modern sculptor.  To me she looks WAY out of place in this nearly 1000 year old cathedral...

Unbelievable windows...interesting note about tour guide, John (above).  When Brad and I were here a couple of years ago, we stayed at a B & B in Ely ... at John's house!  It was delightful to see him again, and he let all 3 kids go to the top of the cathedral, even though you're supposed to be 10 years old (which would have excluded Daniel and Victoria).  Nice fella.

I can't even tell you how high up this octagon is in the nave, but it is WAAAAYYYY up there...so far up, that my hands are sweating as I type this just remembering it...that is Daniel peeking thru these panels that open.  It was most nerve-wrecking.  Ranks right up there with being in the St. Louis arch on a windy day...

Recollecting our favorite parts of our day as we wait at the train station for our train.  Happy days...:)

St. Peter's Church, Anglesey Abbey

St. Peter's Church...charming...quaint...country.  In fact, it's very similar to the Alamo, in that the city has grown up all around it, but here it remains, basically untouched from pre-Reformation days. We discovered St. Peter's one day when we were a bit early for a Friday lunchtime concert at Kettles Yard.  This church is literally in their backyard.  The kids and I heeded the call to explore! 

Note the prominent font, commonly seen in early churches.  Wondering why the decorations are so modest?  Glad you asked.  On December 30, 1643, William Dawsing, the notorius "visitor of churches" whose job was to remove all signs of popery from parish churches, visited St. Peter's.  He held a big bonfire in the churchyard, and burned all holy pictures, altar railings, and anything else reminiscent of the Pope or the Catholic Church.

Look carefully at this stone on the floor of St. Peter's and you will see etched into the stone itself a figure of an apostle, or perhaps a child, which was originally inlaid in brass.  There are many of these stone etchings around in churches/cathedrals, but only a very few of them still have the brass inlay.  Most of the brass was removed and melted down for bullets during war time.

Changing gears a bit, one wintry day several of us went to Anglesey Abbey, an immense estate with The National Trust here in England, that has tours each February of their over 200 varieties of snowdrops (shown above).  This is variety number 149.  Oh my.  Were we in over our heads!  We must have been the only non-professional horticulturists in the bunch.  I mean, the questions the others on the tour asked contained words I'd never even heard of before!! (How I wished my dad had been there...he would have LOVED it!! As would you, Mrs. Jenkins. :))  So, I now feel quite educated about snowdrops.  You have questions?  I have answers. :)

Dramatic.  These silver birches in the garden reminded us of those found in Alaska, only these are WASHED every week to enhance their ultra-white color.  Anyone out there wash THEIR tress?

And, what ARE these people looking at?  Our newest "blue coat" convert, Marion Jongkind, has six children, and is a sweet friend of mine here.  She reminds me of another sweet friend I have with six children...enter Lady Van Neste. :)  Note to future Cambridge visitors:  children do not find snowdrop tours enthralling...:)

As we were leaving, Caleb captured this photo of snowdrops (beneath tree).  An interesting cultural note here:  Trees are not for climbing in England, as a general rule.  Nowhere we have been have the children been allowed to climb them.  It's really a shame because there are some GRAND old trees that would be PERFECT...

Breaking News - Boy from America Handcuffed in Court Drama!

It's true.  There we were in a dramatic presentation of a court case reenactment set in the 18th century, and the "eye witness" Daniel Green, who was present simply to observe the trial, was, in the end, handcuffed by the bobby.  Outrageous!

In other news, this blue-coated family is winning converts, as evidenced by their South African friend Werner (red and gray ball cap), with his BLUE coat.  This is the Blue Coats 3rd rugby match, and, after helping to explain the Super Bowl to Werner, he obliged to explain a rugby match to them.  (You may recognize Will Kynes, of hair clipper and St. John's tower fame, next to Werner.  Then there's Will the Scribe, also an American and friend, who was WRITING ABOUT THE MATCH...FOR THE SCHOOL NEWSPAPER!  I was ON THE FLOOR!!!  He knew about as much about rugby as we did.  I saved the newspaper article from the next days paper---I could not believe that I had been at the game that he had described--it was written masterfully.  I guessed I had drastically underestimated his understanding of the game, until, that is, the next time I saw him, and he, with a twinkling in his eye said, "I have a good editor.") 

This picture makes me laugh for another reason, too.  Notice that three people are watching the game:  the one who understands it, and the two who want to play for their birthday party.  The others? Great smiles. :)

Great St. Mary's Church

I must begin this blog with a confession.  I have written back to virtually every comment posted on the blog, but I fear that many of you have never received my replies.  I'm not sure where in cyber space they are, but, if you know, please enlighten the rest of us, and someone please help me.  I don't know how to respond to your comments so that you actually receive them. Do I need to post a general comment to the blog or is there another way...any ideas out there?  Highest bidder wins. :)

OK, back to business...Our lives keep intersecting with this historical church, Great St. Mary's.  It has dominated the Cambridge marketplace for over 800 years.  Not only is it the parish church for the centre of Cambridge, but also, since it has ties with the University, is known as the University Church.  Being already on this site in the early 13th century, it was inevitable that the University emerging nearby should choose the church for its ceremonies and official meetings.  Although no longer used for these purposes, it continues to be used today for many others. 

There are many stories to tell about this church...the first one involves, how shall I say, "church climbers".  (If anyone knows the actual name for this activity, do tell.)  We have seen this on several occasions, where college-age guys jump from one part of a building to another without touching the ground.  Apparently, Great St. Mary's is a hot spot for this unusual sporting event.  Here's the idea:  Victoria is stationed at the first spot, and these guys, clad in Spiderman-type shoes, JUMP from Tori's column to Caleb's (yes, it IS as far as it looks).  Then they jump from Caleb's to Daniel's, then from Daniel's to the ledge ON THE CHURCH ITSELF, then hold onto the concrete designs on the front of the church, going OVER the door to the other side, which has 3 mirrored "posts" (exactly like where the 3 kids are , but on the other side) to complete the loop.  The whole thing probably takes around 40 seconds...a very entertaining 40 seconds, I might add. :)  We just stand there "gob-smacked" watching them.  As an interesting aside, one day while riding bus #7 out of town, we saw what appeared to be Saturday morning church-climbing practice--young guys unmistakably practicing  jumps on the side of a building...no ropes...no gear...no thanks...

Anyway, Great St. Mary's has a church tower with 123 spiralling steep steps to the top.  This photo doesn't do it justice, really, but perhaps you can get the idea.  Unlike St. John's tower, which we climbed earlier, this one was prepared for tourists--well lit with railings at the top.  The children preferred St. John's. :)

 

King's College Chapel, Cambridge's most recognized landmark, in background.  On the way back down, we happened to be passing the bellringers room at exactly the same time a pair of gentlemen were leaving, and to make room for them, we had to go INTO the bellringers room.  The children were delighted!  This room is usually under lock and key, and no one unofficial is allowed in.  Though they did not actually get to ring the bells (they can be heard all over Cambridge when they ring), they did get to put their hands where the ringers put theirs (note the soft, red material on the ropes) so they won't get rope burn. (Bellringers at Great St. Mary's date from 1724--the oldest bellringing team in England. ) The grandfatherly porter at the bottom of the staircase could not BELIEVE the children's good fortune.  

Ever wonder what the pulleys look like that pull the ropes that ring the bells?  Wonder no longer...

The nave of Great St. Mary's Church.  It's amazing to me to see these centuries old churches still being used today. Note the balconies along either side.  Brad sang in the Messiah here last weekend. 

  He's the handsome one on the front row.

 The conductor was some world-renowned guy.  Must have been, as he played the harpsicord AS HE WAS CONDUCTING THE MESSIAH.  Is this humanly possible? 

Harpsicord = black keys + white "black notes" .  Great marketing ploy. :)

Shepreth Wildlife Park, Playground Edition

So, one of the most celebrated aspects of our day at SHEPRETH WILDLIFE PARK actually had nothing to do with wildlife.  Into this unassuming cafe, positioned between the lemurs and the lynx, we ventured to thaw our frozen-in-place appendages, when what to our wondering eyes should appear, but a magnificent room, all Nerf and good cheer!  Yes, we had just discovered the most elaborate indoor Nerf playground we had ever seen.  It was astonishing...like the first time you discover bubble gum inside your Blow-Pop...  Here, Daniel and Victoria are bombarding Caleb (armed ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM with his own launcher) with balls from these impressive Nerf cannons! Thus the war began...twas splendid. :)  

What would a playground be without a zip line across the "remains" of a sunken ship?!?  Do you see that Caleb's head is pointing DOWN in this shot--that is his HEAD with the black cap on.  Heaven help me.

...or without an enormous pirate ship, complete with tunnels, secret passageways, slides, and gangplanks?!?

So, all in all, memories were made here...the only thing that could have made it any sweeter is if friends like you had been with us...I mean that...

Now, on to some other very important breaking news:  have you ever had one of those moments with your children when you think, "Well done, our training and teaching are paying off!"?  I had one of those moments recently.  We were trekking thru town one day when the children, all three, grabbed me, and said, "MOM!!  LOOK!!"...and then proceeded to usher me into this shop.  "What in the world?!", thought I, and as I turned around, I realized that my remarkably astute children had ushered me into...the CAMBRIDGE FUDGE FACTORY!  I was so proud.  They ARE listening.  Living with me is making a difference.  :) 

This reminds me of a funny story, which I'll share after these mouth-watering shots of

 the Cambridge's own "Fudge Kitchen":

So,  here's the story.  Over here folks just don't understand home schooling, which I'm doing with the children.  Plus, in general, the British just don't take their kids out and about with them as much as Americans do.  These two things combined have resulted in some very confused, and quite frankly, disapproving glances, as my kids are the ONLY children we ever see during the day around town, when all other children are in a "proper" school.  So, an astute ally suggested that when I am asked about the children (which is almost daily), that I should speak language the English would understand, like, "these are the Green children, and I am their private tutor. Their father is studying abroad for several months, and they are in my care."  Then smile confidently and politely, as if to say, "any other questions?"   I'm seriously considering pulling this off sometime...Brad is worried...he knows I just might...:)

Shepreth Wildlife Park, Animal edition

Have you ever decided on an outing for the day, thinking, "This sounds like it might be fun."  And then it turn out to be more than you ever DREAMED it would be?  That describes our recent trip to SHEPRETH WILDLIFE PARK.  It was a cold, rainy Saturday, and it turned out to be the PERFECT day to visit:  few folks, countless critters (the aforementioned adjectives and nouns are dedicated to my son Daniel, who is learning about alliteration).

One of our first stops was to the "Bugs World" section.  Yes, that is yours truly holding a living, venom-intact tarantula!!  YIKES!!  One funny thing that happened as I was holding it was that it kicked off some of its leg hairs onto my hands.  The trainer said that it didn't like something about my hands--probably the scent left from hand lotion--and it was letting me know, and that I should wash my hands immediately or the leg hairs would irritate my skin and cause severe discomfort.  That little stinker!

Have you ever seen a blue lobster?  Blue is this species' natural color...dazzling bright blue...stunning!

Lots of good memories here...fruit bats dive-bombing Victoria in the bat house because she had fruit-scented shampoo...tigers hunting enormous chunks of raw meat hidden thruout their enclosure (you can just see some meat between the 2nd and 3rd tires in above photo), black swans (!), petting kangaroos, chasing  monkeys (they were free to roam!), and running from Billy Goat Gruff who wanted to see how my jacket tasted!  Brad and I both commented on how the children cherished our time there.  Perhaps because it had a familiar feel to it...at any rate, it was good for the children...and for us too...

Monday's Mid-Afternoon Distraction

SNOW!!!  Today we awakened to a beautiful blanket of white snow, which was all that was needed to turn an ordinary Monday into a memorable one!  Our plans for the day quickly changed as we discovered a winter wonderland just waiting to be enjoyed!  Here are a few of the highlights: 

Editor's note:  The rugby ball in the following 2 photos is being used by express permission of Caleb and Daniel Green.   The snowman was not harmed in any way during the taking of these shots.  No artificial snow was used.

So then, it was time to warm up, so inside we came, and Victoria and I nabbed some girl time to pamper each other a bit at "Di's Day Spa", where I chanced upon these two eager photographers:

Thankfully, their prices were reasonable, so I employed them to capture the moment as customers emerged from the day spa...

Hey, wait a minute...I thought the photographers were supposed to be BEHIND the camera!!

And then, upon leaving the Spa, homemade chocolate chip cookies were to be relished and remembered by all for years to come.  And they lived happily ever after.  The End.