Quintessentially English - scenes from our Wiltshire town
Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2011-11-14 10:11:34 - Graham Ellis
The bowling green - brilliant grass, the club house, and in the background tall trees through which you can see the tower of the church. A quintessentially English scene.
Lunch at the Sports and Social club. The older generation gathers at lunchtime for a hot meal, and to meet their friends. Facilities are sometimes a little run down, but the food at places like this is excellent, very good value, and the club provides a real service to the community. I should ask my delegate to forgive me in including his picture labeled "Older generation"; he was the youngest there of about 40 or so last Friday. I also noted that it was only a small minority who were drinking alcohol - what a big change over the years from the pub / bar.
Yesterday was Remembrance Sunday. No traditional pictures from me during the ceremony, as I had an official role. But a moving ceremony, and a fitting tribute and chance to remember how lucky we are, and just how many sacrifices others have made for us.
A House, (actually Our hotel) just over 100 years old, set in a green garden. Whenever I'm coming in to land after an airline flight, I know if it's England of somewhere else I'm arriving by the bright green of the countryside.
Nowhere in England is very far from the sea, and as you pass through towns and villages you're constantly crossing rivers and streams. A few are navigable by larger boats - many more with "porterage" around weirs by canoes and rowing boats. And walking beside the river is a typically British pastime.
Perhaps the most colourful shop in town ... and with brickwork peeping out from between the goods for sale; it's in a truly historic building. History is everywhere - you'll have seen a lot of old stuff on the earlier pictures too.
And England is also about community. For much of the time, the English are polite, keep to themselves, and let others get on with running the country. However, at times of change (and we have some of those times at the moment), there's a lot more community activity. Our local journalist records the scene ...
The bowling green - brilliant grass, the club house, and in the background tall trees through which you can see the tower of the church. A quintessentially English scene.
Lunch at the Sports and Social club. The older generation gathers at lunchtime for a hot meal, and to meet their friends. Facilities are sometimes a little run down, but the food at places like this is excellent, very good value, and the club provides a real service to the community. I should ask my delegate to forgive me in including his picture labeled "Older generation"; he was the youngest there of about 40 or so last Friday. I also noted that it was only a small minority who were drinking alcohol - what a big change over the years from the pub / bar.
Yesterday was Remembrance Sunday. No traditional pictures from me during the ceremony, as I had an official role. But a moving ceremony, and a fitting tribute and chance to remember how lucky we are, and just how many sacrifices others have made for us.
A House, (actually Our hotel) just over 100 years old, set in a green garden. Whenever I'm coming in to land after an airline flight, I know if it's England of somewhere else I'm arriving by the bright green of the countryside.
Nowhere in England is very far from the sea, and as you pass through towns and villages you're constantly crossing rivers and streams. A few are navigable by larger boats - many more with "porterage" around weirs by canoes and rowing boats. And walking beside the river is a typically British pastime.
Perhaps the most colourful shop in town ... and with brickwork peeping out from between the goods for sale; it's in a truly historic building. History is everywhere - you'll have seen a lot of old stuff on the earlier pictures too.
And England is also about community. For much of the time, the English are polite, keep to themselves, and let others get on with running the country. However, at times of change (and we have some of those times at the moment), there's a lot more community activity. Our local journalist records the scene ...