Long road journey today, well is long for me..!

grahamg

grahamg

Old codger
Location
South of Manchester, UK
I'm due to start work (via my agency), down on the south coast of England, 270 miles or so away from where I currently live.

When I was half the age I am now I set off on an impromptu holiday, making my mind up at 4pm and catching a ferry to France at midnight, having done all the packing etc., needed for weeks stay into the bargain.

That was then, no problem, this is now, when I find I need to stop more often when driving on motorways, and mostly dislike or hate the experience, and often take the slower "A" roads instead.

Still, looking forward to the change of scene, and I know and like the manager there. :)
 

Ah the joys of the M6, M5 etc.. When I lived in Hampshire I often had to visit client sites in the midlands and north. Occasionally, I would pick up a "Trade plater" for a bit of company, though you don't see many of them these days.
(for the benefit of those not familiar with the term, a Trade Plater was a person who delivered cars to dealers or customers, but was then responsible for getting themselves back home. A Trade plate was a temporary number plate for use on new cars)

I remember one day returning from Leeds? the road crossed over a canal and as I glanced out, I saw a narrow boat chugging along it. I remember seeing a man, wrapped up, steering, and smoke drifting from the cabin chimney. I thought to myself, what the **** am I doing here? Not long after that my work was mainly in Europe, so most commutes were by air.
 
MarciKS said:
Have a good day Graham
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Maybe getting a bit smarter in my seventh decade, decided to break the journey by stopping overnight in Oxford, just over half way, as I'm twice as old as I was when I did the whole trip in one go after 4.00pm, so that makes sense doesn't it, (if those grey hairs don't mean we've learnt a thing or two, what hope is there?).

Therefore, like the "tortoise and the hare", I'm not going to be anything like as stressed or worried about the weather on the journey, and I worked in Oxford two months ago, and even have a special deal on the guest house accommodation, (cushty! :) ).

Thanks for good wishes, and "the surgery" will be open again tomorrow with any luck!
 
grahamg said:
Made it safe and sound to Oxford, just two stops for coffee etc. on way.

Canterbury on way down to south coast tomorrow morning, then find accommodation already booked up, ("piece of cake"..., we'll see!). :unsure:
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Take good care @grahamg. Stay safe. We are in lockdown until Dec 2nd and then tier 1, 2, and 3. Will you be ok to travel back to your home. It all seems very confusing.
 
grahamg said:
I'm due to start work (via my agency), down on the south coast of England, 270 miles or so away from where I currently live.

When I was half the age I am now I set off on an impromptu holiday, making my mind up at 4pm and catching a ferry to France at midnight, having done all the packing etc., needed for weeks stay into the bargain.

That was then, no problem, this is now, when I find I need to stop more often when driving on motorways, and mostly dislike or hate the experience, and often take the slower "A" roads instead.

Still, looking forward to the change of scene, and I know and like the manager there. :)
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Wishing you the best, Graham!

Good luck!
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
Wishing you the best as you travel to your job.
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Thank you, very nice warm welcome from the owners of the guest house when I finally reached the south coast, and excellent meal to follow.

Briefly stopped to clock Canterbury Cathedral in the distance on my way, and hope to go there next weekend, if its open and this is permitted during the pandemic lockdowns, the rules being due to change a little next week 🙏(?).
 
@grahamg,what a beautiful cathedral. Is it as lovely on the inside? Nice that they welcomed you so warmly. Sounds like you are off to a good start. Hopefully the virus won't hinder your sightseeing.
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
@grahamg,what a beautiful cathedral. Is it as lovely on the inside? Nice that they welcomed you so warmly. Sounds like you are off to a good start. Hopefully the virus won't hinder your sightseeing.
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We have such a wealth of beautiful cathedrals, and at the moment, maybe because it is the last one I visited, Eley Cathedral takes the biscuit, and its history, plus being in such a relatively small modern city or town is amazing in itself, (Salisbury and Norwich are up there too, Wells is another one, although I'm not familiar with Westminster Cathedral in London).

On Sunday I was told access to Canterbury Cathedral was only for prayer, and my need to complete my journey took precedence, but I'm hoping some rules might be relaxed a little in time for my visit next weekend.
 
On my way back today/yesterday, breaking my journey in Oxford again I'm very glad to say.

Visited Canterbury Cathedral briefly in the morning on my first leg of the journey, and was lucky with parking due to the lockdowns, although access to the inside of the cathedral was simply for prayer at one end of the building, and I found myself the only person there besides the very nice lady on the door taking your details.

I did walk all around the cathedral, and appreciated or was impressed by the extent of the cloisters, (some young people were enjoying them too, with one young couple canoodling in one section, though not too embarrassed when I came along. 🥵.

Canterbury itself is beautiful too, with a very very old charity book shop reputed to have been mentioned in a Charles Dickens novel, ass it leans over so much into the street, its upper tiers being built right out and the whole building have warped so much the front door has become a rhombus, and the young woman tending it had to use a big wedge to hold it back so you could enter, and it swung upwards. 📓📖.

One awkward aspect of the visit is a bit prosaic or embarrassing, "lack of toilet facilities" during the pandemic lockdowns. You cant use the local bars or restaurants facilities and some public toilets are closed too. I ended up at the railway station, mighty relieved when I eventually got to speak to the ticket office guy, who told me I could use there's but there was yet another hiccup when he incorrectly told me the gents were locked so I had to wait for the disabled one, (which turned out to be the one that was locked anyway, whilst I found the gents were okay when I tumbled to the fact). 😅.
 
Aforementioned leaning shop:

https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/story-peculiar-leaning-canterbury-building-3729550

Crooked House.1.jpg

http://www.canterbury-archaeology.org.uk/dickens/4590809481

Quote:
"Despite never living in Canterbury, he clearly knew it well. Apart from many direct references to Canterbury in his voluminous output, particularly in David Copperfield, he was quite able to act as a city guide when showing friends round. A good example arises in the diary of Annie Fields, wife of Dickens' American agent, where on one visit she "explored the city under Dickens' direction till it was nearly dark". No fewer than 17 Canterbury sites have laid claim to some association with the much loved writer or with his literary characters. These are summarised below, the more convincing cases followed by some which seem wholly speculative:
  • Dickens clearly was familiar with the cathedral (Image 1). Annie Fields (mentioned above) attended evensong with him during their visit. In David Copperfield, David attended services there regularly; and Mr Micawber wanted his son to become a chorister."
 
MarciKS said:
I don't know what to say to that.
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Well, we could try researching it to test if it had any credence couldn't we!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/znjnb9q/revision/2

Some more info:
"Finding a suitable marriage partner should not be a primary reason to belong to a church, of course. And at least for the past 100 years, the church has not been a prime spot for finding a mate. As Stone points out, only 4 percent of people today meet their spouse in church, down from a peak of 12 percent in 1940."

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/shortage-young-men-churches-affects-marriage/
 
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