This was a trip we planned while we were staying in England. After leaving Christopher, Cyndi and Samantha after Christmas, we thought our next visit might be in August as they had already planned a trip to see us in Ohio in April. However, we decided that, since we were home for a few weeks in the depths of winter, it might be nice to see some sunshine—and our family—in California.
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On a cool Thursday evening we were in the City of Ripon for dinner and took advantage of witnessing one of the oldest daily ceremonies in England—that of the “Setting of The Watch” in the Market square at precisely 9 p.m. We arrived just in time to see the current horn blower, a jovial gentleman by the name of George Pickle, approach one of the four corner of the obelisk in the center of the market square. Here he blew about a 10 second “call” on his animal horn with copper fittings—the fourth such horn to be used since the tradition started in 886. Yes, that’s not a misprint and I haven’t missed a digit; the nightly setting of the watch has been carried out for the past 1129 years—without interruption!
After the initial sounding, he walked clockwise to the next corner of the obelisk and sounded his horn once more. This was repeated at the other two corners. After the final blow, he turned smartly through about 45 degrees, bowed and tipped his three corner hat in the direction of a Tudor-style building at the southern end of the square. The ceremony was now complete—for another day.
There were few witnesses to this nightly event on a cold February night but Mr Pickle was happy to greet those who did turn out and, as he said, he is always happy to welcome visitors from the Colonies. He also presented us with a Lucky Wooden Penny which he has taken on as his own project to promote the event and which he assured us would bring us “wondrous opportunities in the days ahead”. I have no doubt that it will fulfill its promise.
I have taken the liberty of copying directly from Mr Pickles’ website the history of this ancient and important event in the life of the beautiful City of Ripon. I certainly could not do it the same justice in my own words. I have also included here a photograph of Mr Pickles, his Lucky Penny and his contact details. I feel sure that he would love to hear from anyone wherever they are in the world and I would encourage any traveler to make a point of visiting Ripon (its magnificent cathedral, fine buildings, racecourse and beautiful countryside) and, as its welcome notice suggests “Stay Awhile Amidst its Ancient Charms”.
Visit nearby Fountains Abbey and Studleigh Royal Estate, stroll its ancient streets and take in its 1300 year history. Perhaps even take the family to one of its more contemporary attractions, the Lightwater Valley theme Park. You can even arrive by boat to the most northerly point of England’s connected canal system (although there may be some Lancashire towns that would lay a similar claim!)
There’s always plenty to do in and around Ripon—but whatever brings you to town, make the nightly setting of the watch a “Must See” event.
Read the history here.
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Scene from the apartment
Beautiful sunset turning the snowy hills crimson
We are now in the final week of our stay in Ilkley in Northern England and will be back in Ohio on February 12. We have been here since just before New Year (see previous Post) and have been following our usual routine when we stay in Ilkley – walks across the moors, almost daily shopping, meals with friends and family and enjoying the restaurants here in town. The weather has been cool (probably between 30 and 40F all the time) and there have been several snowfalls. Generally these have been mild enough that they haven’t interfered with our daily life, although some walks on the higher ground have been quite exciting at times. For the most part, however, the snow has added another dimension to the already beautiful scenery and has created some stunning views from the apartment and on some of the drives we have taken. We hope the few pictures included here give that impression.
We still have a few more days before we leave – including celebration of Molly’s Birthday at a rather swish restaurant this weekend. Then it’s back to see what the winter is like in Ohio.
Molly and Bob
Ingleborough Mountain. Only 2400 feet but a predominant Yorkshire feature at any time of the year.
Ingleborough: a tough climb!
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We left home on December 20 to spend Christmas with Christopher, Cyndi and Samantha in California and then flew directly from there for New Year and a several weeks’ stay in England.
We flew to San Francisco and were met by our California family and spent the weekend in the city. We had a fun time at the Exploratorium on Sunday afternoon and were scheduled to leave directly from there to Sacramento. However, this was delayed by a day as we suffered a theft of several items (including our passports) and had to spend most of Monday in the San Francisco passport office. By late afternoon we had replacements so we could drive to Sacramento for a few days.
Fun at the Exploratorium
Christmas Day
We celebrated Hanukkah as well as Christmas with Cyndi, Christopher, Samantha and friends and family and had a very enjoyable few days before leaving for England on December 26.
We arrived in “our” flat in Ilkley on December 27 and have spent the past three weeks enjoying the wintry weather and joining friends and family on several occasions already. We spent New Year’s Eve with our friends Keith and Zena and had Molly’s brother Robert and her sister Fran (and husband Alan) to stay for a few days. This was partly so that we could attend together the funeral of Molly’s Uncle Brian in North Yorkshire but also allowed for a “mini-reunion”.
We also had an overnight trip to London to visit our nephew Mark, his wife Melissa and their 17 month old daughter, Isabella. She is a very bright and cheerful little girl – with beautiful red hair!
Isabella
The weather in England has been a mix of snowy showers (with some accumulations on the hills surrounding Ilkley) and some beautiful clear spells with bright sunshine. Molly has followed her usual routine of shopping almost every day and I have managed to get in a reasonable amount of walking. In other words, it’s “home away from home” and we are thoroughly enjoying it!
Winter in Ilkley
Hopefully we will be able to send another Post later in the trip.
Bob and Molly
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We have just spent six days in country such as this and are now about to leave South Africa fro the long trip home to Cincinnati after a wonderful visit to South Africa and Namibia. We hope you have enjoyed our posts, including this latest .pdf file covering the last week. More from our next trip. Bob and Molly
Vineyards and Mountains of the Little Karroo
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We have spent the past six days since leaving Cape Town on the Garden Route, which more or less follows the south coast along the Atlantic and then the Indian Ocean. And in case you shared my misconception that the two oceans met at the Cape of Good Hope, I should point out that the most southerly tip of Africa is at Cape Agulhlas and it is there that the official demarcation line is made. Just a little education…………….
In any event, here is the .pdf file of our days on the Garden Route:
We hope you enjoy and will hopefully have one more post on this trip.
Molly and Bob
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We have just returned from Namibia and are now on the Garden Route in South Africa – watching whales from our hotel window. More on that later, but here as a .pdf file is our Post on Namibia.
To see the pictures (and a few words) from the three day trip, please open the following link:
We hope you enjoy!
Bob and Molly
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We have been in Cape Town since late Tuesday night and have experienced some wonderful sights and natural beauty. Tomorrow (Monday) we leave for three days in Namibia, just to the north of South Africa and hope to have a Post from there. Meantime, here is our blog from the Cape Town region – a stunningly beautiful part of the world.
The .pdf file of the past few days is below:
Enjoy! Molly and Bob
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November 12. We arrived in Cape Town last night for a three week trip to South Africa. The first week we are staying in the home of our nephew in Bantry Bay, which is on the Atlantic Coast just outside the city of Cape Town. We have just had breakfast served (!) on the deck (one of several) on a beautiful sunny morning. Hopefully there will be several posts from our stay here as well as a driving trip we will take later. We also plan to visit Namibia for a three day visit. Everyone we have spoken to says it is a beautiful country so we are looking forward to that.
In the meantime, to get started – and to make you totally envious – here are a few pictures (link to the short .pdf file below) taken at our current address. We really are very lucky to be able to visit such places – and to have a very generous nephew!
Molly and Bob
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