Parish Holiday Day 5 -- 9-6-10

I don't know why but I discovered that I can now cut and paste pictures in this blog. Don't know when that miracle occurred, but. . . . I'm thinking that perhaps it has to do with the Internet provider; maybe Firefox will permit it and Internet Explorer won't. Probably once I'm in London at the hotel, on WiFi, I'll need to use Internet Explorer again. If so, will test this theory. No matter the cause, it is crazy making!

Woke up to some sun, but the forecast wasn’t good; storms moving in, possibly by mid-afternoon.

We drove off at our usual 10 a.m. starting point to head to Chawton, the Hampshire village where Jane Austen lived and wrote most of her books. Because it’s located more than a 30-minute drive from Sherfield English, it wasn’t placed on the original schedule. Several of us were very interested, however, so the schedule was revised to include it – and I’m so glad. The house was most interesting, and one got a real sense of Jane Austen’s life. It was amazing to look at the tiny table on which she'd written so many, and such long, books. An added bonus, from my perspective, was a display of porcelain artwork done by local art school students after they had spent time in the house, absorbed Austen’s work, and listened to visitors. I didn’t like all of it, but the perspective it offered on how artists gain their inspiration and create their work was quite enlightening.

After the house tour we repaired (sounding a bit Austen-like?) across the street to the Greyfriar’s Pub for a ploughman’s lunch. I chose Tunworth for my cheese; it’s local, produced in Hampshire, and is a soft cheese, somewhat like brie. Quite delicious, and the quantity was huge. We were told the building was 15th century; don’t know if it has always been a pub. So Jane might not have popped across the street for a quick half of cider. . . .

Next door to the Austen house was a thatched cottage which had a porcelain cat on the roof. Don't know why, but I liked it. . . .

We then resumed the official schedule and drove into Winchester. We had about an hour to explore the city. Since I had no interest in shopping, I walked around the High Street enjoying public gardens, the statue of King Alfred (2½ times life size), the Mayor’s residence, the butter cross (denoting the market place), the Guildhall, and actual and fake Tudor buildings (Starbucks was fake).

Then it was on to visit Winchester Cathedral which lays claim to the longest nave of any English Cathedral. Friday it was the tallest spire; today the longest nave. . . . This is a largely Norman Cathedral begun in 1079 and consecrated in 1093; major remodeling of the nave was done in the 14th century which added some Gothic influences.


I especially enjoyed the library which had on display four pages from the Winchester Bible, an illuminated Bible made in Winchester sometime between 1160 and 1175. Amazingly, it was written by one monk who wrote over 1000 pages in a five or six year period. The colors of the illuminations were remarkable, remaining bright and alive.

From the Cathedral we walked back to the car park seeing on the way: remnants of the Roman wall, parts of the medieval wall, remains from Wolvesey Castle, the house where Jane Austen died, a charming parish church located on a bridge across a street, the Itchen River which runs through town with some lovely scenes.



Arrived at the car at 4:55 p.m. and drove off, as the rain began about 5:05. Perfect timing since it didn’t rain at all during our touring time. Most lucky.

After dinner I spent time on the Internet searching for a hotel room for my four days in London. Found one – more expensive than I’d like, but it seems to meet my requirements as to location and amenities. I can only hope… .