[Am writing this entry from Heathrow and am uninterested in having my wallet gouged for internet access. Will post later and backdate.]
This past weekend saw the 0.5 year anniversary of my relationship with the delightful
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ms_katonic on Saturday and, as previously mentioned, my 33 1/3 anniversary of my birth on Sunday. To celebrate these happy occasions, the irresistible
ms_katonic and I embarked on our first weekend getaway together.
Saturday morning, we set out from Skullcrusher Mountain bright and early in my [as yet unnamed] "new" Rover, heading North. We arrived at our destination --
Belvoir Castle[*] in Leicestershire -- just after they opened their doors at 11am. Belvoir[**] has been the site of a castle on a hill -- hence the name, meaning "good view" -- from Norman times, when it was built for Billy the Conquerer by Robert de Todeni. Eventually, it was granted to the de Ros family in 1257. Since then, there have been several castles on the spot, as previous incarnations were destroyed by the War of the Roses (1460s), the Civil War (1640s), and a great fire (1816). The castle has been the home of the Manners family since the 16th century -- Thomas Manners being created Earl of Rutland in 1525 by his second cousin, Henry VIII... and his descendant John Manners, the ninth Earl, being promoted to Duke of Rutland by Queen Anne in 1703.
When we arrived at Belvoir, the weather was surprisingly good. Predictions had called for rain all weekend, so we decided to take advantage of the relative dryness to explore the garden first. After all, we could always flee inside the castle if and when the rain came. We spent over two hours strolling through the various gardens -- sculpture garden, duchess garden, pet cemetery, woodland walk, et cetera -- but the rain only ever came in light, short[***] bursts. The gardens were quite nice, though we were vexed by our inability to locate a letter "B". You see, in the trees of Belvoir are hung large wooden letters[****]. We first noticed an "E" and later an "O"; eventually, we had found a total of "E", "L", "V", "O", "I", "R" -- it stood to reason that there was a "B" hidden in there somewhere, but we simply could not find it! We even asked the staff inside the castle, but it was not to be found!
After exploring the gardens to our content, we embarked on a tour of the house. It was, of course, ridiculously opulent in that style which both amazes me with its beauty and disgusts me by the stark manner in which it emphasises inequality of wealth. Interestingly enough, the fifth duchess was an amateur architect... and designed much of the current building herself after the great fire. I will say that she did quite a nice job of it! Besides the house itself, I think that I was most impressed by the picture gallery. In it was an entertaining 17
th painting by David Teniers the Younger entitled
The Proverbs, illustrating many Dutch proverbs. Best of all, there was a copy of the famous
portrait of Henry VIII that Hans Holbein the Younger originally painted (1537) as a mural in the Palace of Whitehall. Although I first thought the Belvoir painting to be the original -- and was gleefully awed by it as if it were -- that painting no longer exists; it was destroyed when the palace burned down in 1698. However, this copy is still impressive enough in its own right!
Before proceeding further,
( here are some photographs of the castle and grounds )After leaving the castle, we drove further north, to the quaint little city of Lincoln. We checked into our hotel, which was well located in the city centre. Indeed, our accommodations were less than a five minute walk from the two main attractions of Lincoln: Its Castle and its Cathedral.
Once we had settled in, we took advantage of the excellent weather to explore the city. We started off by finding an old Roman arch, still actively used for traffic today -- despite wars and runaway lorries that have tried to do it in!
The Newport Arch in Lincoln
We located two very old homes, known as the Norman House and the Jew's House, both of which were constructed in the twelfth century. Today, the Norman House appears to be a shop and the Jew's House is home to an upscale restaurant. We poked our head in, but did not eat there. We made our way down a street known as "Steep Hill" because -- you guessed it -- it traverses a steep hill. At the bottom was the canal and the waterfront nightlife. Having found our main goals from Lincoln -- leaving Castle and Cathedral for the next day -- we climbed back up the Steep Hill and got an excellent Thai meal for dinner. Finally, we retired to our hotel relatively early and continued our anniversary celebrations in private.
Sunday began with a full English breakfast at the hotel. Indeed, it seems like the only time I eat these is when I am travelling. Just one more excuse to travel, then! Following breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and proceeded to take in the Cathedral and Castle, both of which were built on the orders of old Conquering Bill. On the way there, we stopped to admire an old postbox, twin of my favourite postbox in Oxford:
At it again!
At the Castle, we climbed the observatory tower -- ostensibly constructed for security, but actually more used for amateur astronomy -- and took a stroll along the castle walls. As with so many castles, parts of it have been used as a prison through the years. Indeed, there is still an active courthouse on the site. We decided to skip the old prison buildings and, instead, enjoyed the site of an old Roman well, a keep, the remains of an
Eleanor Cross, and a peaceful graveyard. Best of all, though, was the Magna Carta exhibit! Lincoln Castle is home to one of the four surviving original Magna Cartas, sealed by King John in 1215! I have already seen one -- in Salisbury Cathedral -- now I am up to two! Two more to go! Luckily, the Magna Carta is kept encased in glass; this prevented me from drooling upon it!
The Observatory Tower at Lincoln Castle
As for the Cathedral: Well, it is not as spectacular as some of the others that I have seen -- for instance, York Minster or Canterbury Cathedral. Still, it is quite magnificent[*****] and well worth a visit. In particular, I was impressed by the West Front.
The West Front of Lincoln Cathedral
Of particular historical interest is some of the bodies whose remains are kept there. Katherine Swynford is there -- she was the third wife of John of Gaunt, making her step-mother to the usurping Henry IV as well as ancestor of Henry VII and the Tudor dynasty. The tomb of Eleanor of Castile -- first wife of Edward I and the one for whom the Eleanor Crosses were erected -- is also located there. As we toured, I was impressed by
ms_katonic's knowledge of English history. I have already been impressed by many of the other fine, er, virtues that she possesses... but I had not realised before how educated she is in English history. Since this is a fascination that I share, it only serves to make her all the more appealing. Interestingly enough, our knowledge seems complementary: I know more about the older monarchs (especially in pre-Norman times) and have a better memory for dates; she has much better knowledge of consorts and knows a fair bit of trivia that I did not.[******]
Of special interest to me was learning that Bishop Richard Fleming of Lincoln Cathedral had been the one to found Lincoln College in Oxford, back in 1427.
Eventually, we saw all we had come to see in Lincoln so we drove back down to Oxford. I brought
ms_katonic to the coach station so she could return to London, then proceeded to spend the rest of the evening sequestered with
cheshcat, as we celebrated my third-of-a-century anniversary with some quality alone time of our own.
Highlights from the week, in brief, include:
Monday, I brought our new kitten -- Aethelbert of Giles[*******] to the vet for his first visit. Although he does have fleas and, being a kitten, we assume worms, his health is otherwise good. At eight weeks old, he weighs 1.9 pounds -- fairly big for a kitten his age -- has a glossy coat, bright eyes, and firm stools. I am very pleased to hear it, as the little fellow is fast growing on
cheshcat and I! We gave him his first jab and brought home meds for worming and de-fleaing both him and The Boy.
Monday evening was the last ice skating lesson of this term. Since we had all passed the level five test, we spent the lesson learning the level six skills. These include: (a) Continuous backward chassés around a circle, (b) Forward two-foot slalom, (c) Forward outside 3-turn, and (d) Backward skating, stepping forward in both directions. The next term at the rink does not start until September, so knowing the skills now gives me a chance to practice them before the next class begins. It also gives me time to purchase and break in my own pair of skates!
Tuesday evening,
cheshcat and I went to see the Oxford Theatre Guild perform
As You Like It at the Trinity College Gardens.
resourceress and I saw them do
The Tempest there
two years ago. This was not a new play for me, so my
Shakespeare count does not go up. I saw the
British Shakespeare Company perform this play last year at the Wadham College Gardens. Still, the performance was enjoyable and it was nice to take in the gardens again.
Which brings us to the present -- Wednesday -- when I am off to the States for my summer vacation. Back in Oxford in just under three weeks time, on August 4
th. New York City, Starwood, and Chicago: Look out, here I come!
[*] It appears to be a new tradition that I visit a castle in early July, the weekend before heading to the States for my summer vacation / Starwood trip. Last year, the lucky destination was Leeds Castle.
[**] Pronounced "beaver", believe it or not!
[***] "Short" == "Two or three minutes long"
[****] And one inexplicable giant metal hula hoop! (Don't ask!)
[*****] And, I must confess, more impressive than our beloved local cathedral at Christ Church.
[******] Since cheshcat is also more knowledgeable than I am in the area of early ecclesiastical history, it appears that I am well situated to have stimulating conversations with both my UK-based partners on this topic and we all stand to learn much from each other. This is a Good Thing.
[*******] "Bertie" or "Giles" for short.![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
