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Post by spindrift on Jul 17, 2009 17:19:47 GMT
Lola - I've enjoyed this thread so much. It struck me that there is wonderful English countryside all around where I live and yet I tend not to notice it! I'm so used to it, I suppose. Now, when I visit villages round and about I'll try and remember to take my camera with me.
You saw a lot in your short time in England.
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Post by Jazz on Jul 18, 2009 8:23:08 GMT
Lola, your thread is beautiful and calming. I need to go back to England and see more of the countryside, most of my time has been spent in London. The photos are great. I most love the beautiful harpist...I can almost hear the music... and the frescoes. Thank you.
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Post by auntieannie on Jul 18, 2009 9:32:09 GMT
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Post by lola on Jul 21, 2009 19:13:47 GMT
Kerouac, I must admit I like the English style garden more, though for me it's a real tossup whether the English or French countryside is more beautiful. It's really necessary to get away from Paris to understand the French, I think, and their love of beauty and food. Hwinn, thanks! bjd, we not only saw the twisted spire, prepared by guide books, but had five different versions from locals about the legend behind it and the 'real' reason it twisted. It is truly twisted. Tillystar, Major General's Review is very much worth it. I loved the kilted Irish and Scottish guards, bagpipes, the grey horse backing halfway down the parade ground. We heard only British accents in the stands. The Colonel's Review the following week would have cost us 10 GBP, and by the Trooping of Colour it's 20 GBP, with ascending dress code strictness.
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Post by lola on Jul 21, 2009 19:22:16 GMT
Spindrift, yes! We take our own locations' beauty for granted, don't we? I used to live between Taos and Santa Fe NM, and commuted 30 min through the Rio Grande valley and some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. I'd find myself having fretted or schemed or daydreamed as I drove sometimes, oblivious to it all.
I'd love to see any local photos you can post.
Thanks so much, Jazz and auntiannie.
I hope to try making Bakewell pudding on my own. The flaky pastry. The rich filling.
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Post by lola on Jul 22, 2009 14:53:56 GMT
We visited Chatsworth, too, which would have been walking distance from Bakewell if we could have found the path. Ornate splendor surrounded by wonderful grounds and gardens. The present Duke and Duchess of Devonshire display contemporary art alongside the 18th C etc things. The village of Eyam quarantined itself in 1666 after the plague had gotten a foothold there, no doubt saving lives in surrounding Devonshire. Eight miles and a scenic bus ride from Bakewell. The minister who had proposed the quarantine eventually closed the church, held services in the open, and had people bury their dead outside the churchyard. His own wife died that year.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 22, 2009 16:25:14 GMT
Wow ~~ fabulous English countryside, Lola. This was a special cheap thrill for me, since I recently watched "The Dutchess".
That piece of history coupled with the photo of the church really makes it all so immediate. Is there a story behind the copper clock on the side of the church? (I'm assuming copper because of the color.)
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Post by lola on Jul 22, 2009 16:36:06 GMT
Chatsworth has a room devoted to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. Also personal things like a letter written to her son in her blood and costumes as worn in the movie. We watched The Duchess the other day and were disappointed that Chatsworth wasn't seen much. It would have been quite a coach ride to London in her day.
Chatsworth is said to have been Austen's inspiration for Pemberly in Pride and Prej.
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Post by bjd on Jul 23, 2009 13:41:16 GMT
If you read anything about the Mitford Sisters, then you get an idea of Deborah (the youngest one who is the current Duchess of Devonshire). I recently read their letters and she talks a lot about breeding animals, and doing farm shows and homey things like that. The is the only surviving sister.
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Post by spindrift on Jul 23, 2009 16:25:12 GMT
Lola - thanks again for the pics.
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Post by auntieannie on Jul 23, 2009 20:10:30 GMT
It never ceases to amuse me how the Devonshire have a home so far from their County. (although I know the story...)
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Post by lola on Jul 24, 2009 0:50:41 GMT
Bixa, I didn't hear anything about the clock. School groups were going through the churchyard as we sat sketching, and I evesdropped on the guides' talks. I didn't think at the time how some of the current villagers would be descended from the plague survivors. I might have looked at them differently. bjd, I forgot about the Mitford connection. Debo must be the dowager dutchess, since the current pair are middle-aged and have had the title a fairly short time. Here's another garden scene there. The Duke of Devonshire had his servants leave food and other necessities at Eyam's boundary during their quarantine, to help encourage everyone to stay put.
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Post by cigalechanta on Jul 24, 2009 2:46:17 GMT
Thank you for those terrific photos. Years ago I visited England and Wales when friends were living in Liverpool and showed me around the country.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 24, 2009 3:25:46 GMT
Schmoos! What could be better than topiary schmoos in the garden?! (this may be generational, but here are the schmoos, & here's a picture: )
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2009 18:11:48 GMT
I will apparently be spending a week in London in October (for work), but I'll probably just be taking photos of dustbins or some such, as per my usual quirk.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2009 18:28:42 GMT
;D
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Post by lola on Jul 25, 2009 22:42:01 GMT
Kerouac, please post your dustbin photos. Quirky is the best.
Schmoos! Probably a Mitford touch. I looked them up, had just vague memory. My favorite Dogpatch character was Moonbeam McSwine, if just for her name.
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Post by lola on Jul 25, 2009 22:52:22 GMT
Back in London for one more night, we had very nice pretheatre dinner at Brown's on St. Martin's Lane, then saw The 39 Steps at the Criterion at Piccadilly Circus, loved it. All of our big splurgey things were at the end, including breakfast at the Wolseley our last morning.
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