AND SUDDENLY IT'S SEPTEMBER

My most sincere apologies to all and sundry. With one thing an another I seem to never have the time to sit down and do this. In the last installment I said that we may be going to church for evensong at Dibley (It's Turville really!). We did and that increased the crowd by about 20 per cent. The Monday was a public Holiday (Bank Holiday) and we decided to keep off the road as everywhere was pretty busy. By Tuesday we were getting a bit 'stir crazy' so headed off for a day out on the roads of England. We decided to have a look at the South Coast as it is much closer to Henley than to Bury St Edmunds. Poor Ann is not coping too well with the traffic, the narrow roads and lack of places to pull off the road for any reason (read a map, take in the view, call of nature, or anything else), the volume and speed on the motorways, her poor vision, etc.etc. are keeping her too stressed for her own good. By the time we got to Brighton she was feeling a bit second hand and we drove for ages to find some where to stop. When we found a place we had to walk miles to see anything. We walked for a while but Ann's hip was playing up so she went back to the car. I went for a walk on the beach and took a few photos. I always knew the beach was pebbles, not sand but was totally unprepared for the size of the pebbles. I reckon some were the size of cricket balls. I took my glasses off and put them on the 'beach' while I took a closeup photo of the 'pebbles' and a couple of other shots. (I can see the view in the camera better without them) I started to walk off and suddenly thought "my glasses!" Panic reigned supreme for a few minutes, without the glasses my distance vision is not much chop, and in the pebbles they were perfectly hidden. There were no distinctive points on the beach and I was in real trouble. I put the camera on the beach, it is easy to see, and used it as a reference point and searched (by feel) in ever increasing circles. Eventually I found them but had obviously stood on them at some stage as they were out of shape but luckily not broken. At about this time I was ready to call Qantas and see if I could change my flight home to the next day and I'm not joking. Luckily Ann is more level headed and talked me out of it. We decided to head home (to Henley) but instead of putting the GPS on just followed the coast of the English Channel westward for a while. After a couple of hours we decided to find a B and B instead of going back to Henley. We ended up at Southsea at Portsmouth (near Southhampton) By this stage I had had enough and was starting to feel stressed also (maybe it is contagious!) As we were driving into Southsea a lineup of cars were on my tail and adding to my 'wish I wasn't here' feelings. To get rid of them I turned up a little lane and there in front of us was a neon sign "VACANCY" It was a guest house and it turned out to be a beauty. Spotlessly clean, plenty of room and only 65 Pounds for the two of us for bed and breakfast. We had to buy a couple of toothbrushes and clean 'nickers' but it was great. Ann put her feet up and I went for a walk. On the way I passed a Pub "The Florence" and noted that there was a great looking restaurant attached. We had a lovely dinner later and I or course had a couple of mandatory pints. It turned out to be a pretty good night. There was a good breakfast the following morning. The chap who owns? manages the guest house is a very likable bloke and has a picture of himself with the late Queen Mother in the lounge room. One of the other guests asked him about it and it seems he served on the Royal Yacht 'Britannia' for quite a number of years. As he was not wearing any uniform in the photo I presume he was "in service" on the ship..
When we left we had a leisurely look around Portsmouth with all of it's naval history. We visited the old Garrison Church which has no roof, the Portsmouth Cathedral and a state in memory of Nelson who spent his last night in England there. The Cathedral was awe inspiring and so steeped in history (as is everything over here). Another memorial which was particularly inspiring was a monument 'To all the seamen who gave their lives in the defence of this country and have no grave other that the sea'.
After that we gradually made our way westward to Bournemouth where we had lunch in a place that we have not seen anywhere else over here, a shopping centre. After lunch we had a visit with a cousin Mary who lives at Lymington. Her grandmother and my grandfather were brother and sister. We had a lovely couple of hours with her and then headed off back to Henley. We are most thankful for our trusty GPS "Deidre" as she keeps us on track and when we do go astray merely says "Recalculating" and tells how to get back on course. She is the best buy I have ever made. On the way home we stopped of at a pub and had 'Cumberland sausages and mash' which was pretty good.
The following day (Thursday) we telephoned the owner of the cabin at Bury St. Edmunds (Suffolk) to make sure everything was in order. He advised that the cabin was vacant so we decided to go up to Suffolk a few days early. On Friday morning (not too early to miss the peak traffic) we packed and loaded up and again put ourselves in the hands of "Deidre". About 3 hours later we arrived at "The Lodge" and were met by the owners. We are very happy with it, spotlessly clean and the owners are lovely people, his name is Dave and he is a fisherman and they are caravaners, need I say any more. The kitchen and bathroom are very small and overall it is 'cozy' but we are comfortable here. We were hardly out of the car before Dave's wife had the kettle on and came over with a cuppa. After that off to the supermarket to get in some supplies. Dave later took me for a drive around town to show me where various things were.
Saturday morning we went into the markets and walked about for a while. In the afternoon we went for a drive to a village of Little Waldingfield. That was where my great grandfather was born in 1852 and baptised in 1854. The village which was much bigger than I expected but still only a small town had this magnificent church dating back to 1200's. Like most churches over here it was open so that we could go in and look and try and comprehend the size and history of the place. I found it a very emotional and moving experience. Sunday morning we went for a drive around town and found another supermarket. Once again "Deidre" came to the rescue and got us home. In the afternoon we went to Evensong at the Edmundsbury Cathedral. Another wonderful experience.
Monday morning Ann became domesticated (washing and ironing) and I went for a look at a Pommie Hardware shop and ended up walking around the city for a couple of hours. After lunch Ann had a rest and went for a walk.
Today (Tuesday) we took some sandwiches and a flask and headed off to visit some of the other villages where various Stannard ancestors were born, lived, married, worked and died. There are several all within a couple or so miles of each other. I decided to make the first one Shelley where my g/g/grandfather was born in 1809 and my g/g/g/grandfather died in 1854. Once you get off of the 'A' roads the roads are winding, narrow (about one and a half car widths) high hedges each side, no shoulders and very few places to pull off much less stop. I sure keeps you alert!
"Deidre" took us to Shelley and I could see no church. I went up to a house, pretty modern, only about 500 years old I'd say, to be greeted by a big golden lab. The lady of the house came out and when I told her what I was about she was more excited than I was. She assured me there was a church, and paused and said, listen to the bells. Sure enough the bells were tolling. Shelley consists of 40 residents in total. She pulled on her boots and coat (it was raining) and walked off down the road with a "follow me". She led us to the church which it a big sandstone building with a big Norman Tower, clock and bells. I suspect it could comfortably seat 150 - 200 people and is in pretty good repair.. They hold weekly services there. It is amazing. We sat in the car beside the church and ate our sandwiches and then went on to Stoke by Nayland. This is a bigger town but so is the church there. It is like a Cathedral anywhere in Australia. I suspect the Norman tower is about 60 feet high and again in good nick. After that we came back to "The Lodge"
I am sorry about the long time between reports, will try to do better in the future. I'm getting weary and I think it is time I turned in. I'll be in touch. Dave and Ann