Our Summer Vacation

 We've been living in England since December 1997.  We moved here after Jeff's German office was bought out and his job became "redundant"  as they say in Britain.  Enjoying being in Europe, we found we weren't ready to head back to the home country quite yet so Jeff pursued job opportunities in England - mostly because of the opportunities it offers to pursue his passion:  Barbershop Quartetting.   

We spent our first three months residing in a one bedroom flat, the original servants' quarters of an estate located in the hills (confusingly known as the "downs") above the beautiful Georgian city of Bath.   In March we moved into our own little house in the Wiltshire county town of Chippenham (pronounced "Chip-num" by the locals.).   Our little market town is situated on the main rail line, less than two hours down from London and just fifteen minutes (by train) from Swindon, where my chorus rehearses every Thursday night, and Bath - probably my favorite city in England.  To this day, all construction in Bath is required to be in Georgian style and faced with that beautiful sandstone.  You can see a clear example of that material quite nicely in the interior shot of Bath Abbey. 

                
 Bath Abbey                               Bath's Avon River                          Roman Baths

        We have the pleasure of exploring this area of England fairly extensively and have come to know parts of it quite well.  Wiltshire is situated more or less in the south central region of the country and is famous for rather unusual sites such as the ancient stone circles of Stonehenge and Avebury, giant horses carved into the chalk-based hills, and mysterious crop circles.  Mysticism, myth and the supernatural combine here to create  a real New Ager's attraction.  Wiltshire is also home to Castle Combe (rhymes with "womb") famous for being the on-location site for the filming of the original "Dr. Doolittle (Rex Harrison - not  Eddie Murphy. )   

We're on the  southern edge of the Cotswolds, here.  This is a region well known for it quaint old stone cottages and thatched roofs, field stone walls and hedgerows  surrounding acres of sheep pastures and picturesque villages caught in a time-warp; jolly old rural England as many folks picture it.  For centuries the whole area was dependent upon the wool trade .  When the bottom fell out of that market, people simply abandoned  their homes and headed for   "greener pastures."  It was all rediscovered during the last century and has been rising in popularity ever since as city folk purchase their little bit of country-life, both for weekend get-aways as well as retirement.                                                                                 

To the west, there are also:         

To the south are the very rural counties of Devon and Cornwall.  They feature a quaint fishing villages, thatched roof cottages and, warmed by the Gulf Stream, a semi-tropical climate for much of the year.  Also the remnants of many hurricanes visit these shores after they have pounded the U.S. shores.  Plymouth, original home of the Pilgrim Fathers (and Mothers) sits right on the border between the two.

More pictures later!

Links to