First up, above, is a drink vending machine in Bangkok Airport. What caught my eye was something written on the side of the machine ...
Yes, that's right. Survive global warming by installing more electricity intensive machines so your beer can be a little colder than normal ... is that a case of intelligent design?
Down in a little village called Long Compton there is a church and then there is this very old and quaint lychgate to the church grounds. It might be literally parochial but the Cotswolds is a truly beautiful part of the UK.
Then I visited a small church in a village called Great Rollright. The entrance to the church seems innocuous enough at first glance ...
Inside the doorway there's something carved into the stone ...
What is it? Its a carving from the Norman Period (1066CE +). It is very intricate and well preserved ...
A closer look reveals a long row of figures, animals and assorted creatures.
I took a drive to an old disused railway line near Swerford that has become a marvelously secluded meadow of peace and quiet.
A place where you can see bees busy pollinating the local flora.
Off next to the site of the first pitched battle of the English Civil War in October 1642 - Edgehill. Above is a 'folly' which was built on the escarpment above the main battle site some 100 years after the battle and the monarchy had been reestablished. This building is now a pub.
Another old church which I thought most interesting for its Tudor style ceiling which made a nice pattern.
On the way there I was treated to this classic of British place naming. The Cup and Saucer ranks alongside 'The Moon and Sixpence' (the name of a local pub and a novel by W. Somerset Maugham) for its creativity.
My family and I took a day trip to Compton Verney - a restored country home run as an art gallery. This Rolls Royce was sitting outside in the car park.
Walking to the building we caught sight of the country home across the ponds and through the cedar trees.
In the grounds, I found this absurd 'installation', which I thought most post-modern owing to its title being 'untitled'.
Next up was a visit to the National Trust managed property of Upton House - once a playhouse for millionaires at the invitation of the Lord Bearsted Family - the same Bearsted that founded what is now the Royal Dutch Shell Company.
The gardens are splendid and extensive ... the ground staff needed to run the house was 30 + people.
And which 'regal' country home could be complete without a driveway to match .. though this one is currently closed to general traffic.
Inside the house are preserved the rooms and antiques of a grand and rich family of the mid 1930s.
For those who don't know, this is the famous 'Aga' stove ... a behemoth of culinary production. My mother has a smaller version called a Rayburn in her kitchen ...
... though her kitchen is not quite as spacious and neatly preserved as at Upton House.
I would love a kitchen table like this to make bread, pastry etc
One of the many very luxurious rooms at the house.
Finally, this is the view from hills looking over the small valley in which my home village lies. It has been very refreshing to get a change of scenery and climate. The fields go on forever ...Daily Links:
- China picking fights with Indonesia? The only question that needs a clear answer now is whether China is being expansionist and aggressive or defending its sovereign interests. I tend to more perceive the former. Emerson Chang adds nuance ...
- An interesting take on the 'DPP split' in Kaohsiung.
- KMT rolls out model Chinese students to show that the policy to open up to more students will be a good thing.
- It's true. I cry when I hear the names Chiang Ching-kuo and Sun Yet-sen. Just not for the same reasons as Ma.
- Ma may be crying because the reality of his ratings and his party's support is much worse than many realise ... (I'm not getting too excited by this though)
- This posting caused quite a stir. Is 'Tainan Tim' a troll or pendant or something else altogether?
