During a recent trip, Susan and I were taken by the certainty by which some cities and villages try to keep us in our place.
Walking from our hotel to the 750 year old Cathedral in Salisbury, England we chanced across this sign. Now, I fully acknowledge that youth is rapidly passing me by. I really didn't need the city fathers of Salisbury to point out the failings of my generation in signage.
Salisbury is the closest city of any size to Stonehenge and is quite near Avebury, which is supposed to be Stonehenge without the fences. This piece of information was courtesy of a riding companion on the train. Of course, we believe that he claimed to have invented gravity, so his claims about Avebury were taken with a grain of salt. The trip to Stonehenge was left undone because of the weather. Maybe next time.
The cathedral in Salisbury is remarkable in size and acoustics. The picture at the right was taken from very nearly the middle of the cathedral, which may give you a sense of scale. It truly dominates the landscape of the entire city, and attracts huge crowds of people. We happen to be there on a Saturday, which is Market day for the city.
Huge numbers of vendors selling everything from produce to books to clothing were out in force. Unfortunately for us, so was the rain. But, we braved the weather, bought some berries that were delicious, and capped off the afternoon with a semi-traditional English Tea at a local estanblishment. The tea was very hot, but the service was not. Since it wasn't tourist season, we have to believe that's the level of service that the locals get yearround!
