I read today of the British government's apology to Alan Turing.
I visited the Turing memorial in Manchester, England, last year, as well as the Turing Building at the University of Manchester; pictures, and a little of Turing's story, here. Note the apple in the sculpture's hand...
Showing posts with label England trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label England trip. Show all posts
Friday, September 11, 2009
Friday, March 21, 2008
England 6: Quaker Country
My final day visiting Beloved Wife in England, we headed further up north, into Quaker Country (also called "1652 Country").
(Two wonderful websites about walking tours of 1652 Quaker country: Bill Samuel's Quaker Tour of England, and Dai Williams' An Attender in Quaker Country.)
We were limited to places we could get to by the combination of public transit and our own two feet, and by the time of a dinner date in Manchester that evening. Beloved Wife did some on-line research, and we decided to visit Briggflatts Meeting House and hopefully Firbank Fell.
We took the train to Oxenholme, then the bus to Sedbergh. The bus ride was, um, dramatic: here we were on this big bus, in hilly country, on these very narrow lanes bordered by stone fences, going rather fast. (It didn't seem to bother any of the other passengers -- three elderly women -- at all.)
From the bus, we had a lovely view of Lambrigg Wind Farm. That was neat!
Here we are in Sedbergh:
(Don't ask me why there are palm trees in Sedbergh.) From Sedbergh, we walked to Briggflatts Meeting House and Burial Ground. (For the map, click here. Briggflatts is southwest of Sedbergh; Firbank Fell is northwest of Sedbergh.)
Walking along paths in this part of England involves some interesting customs regarding private property and public rights-of-way. And gates. As with our trip from Edale, we found ourselves walking along paths that bordered as well as cut through the middle of sheep pastures. (In Edale, there were some cattle, too.)
The customs seem pretty simple: don't scare the critters, keep your dog on a lead if you're walking with one, and make sure you close the gates behind you. Interestingly, as we approached Briggflatts, and saw there was repair work taking place on one of the buildings, we also saw signs for the re-routed footpath. Very neat.
So we walked out of town, through fields, over hills, along lanes, and under an abandoned railroad track, until we came to Briggflatts. First we visited the burial ground, then the meetinghouse itself.
The burial ground was beautiful.
The meetinghouse, which dates from 1678, was also beautiful. Even now, just looking at the picture and remembering the deep, deep sense of peace in the meeting room, I find myself with tears in my eyes.
Many of the folks who signed the guest register -- Friends and non-Friends alike -- commented on the simple beauty and the peace of the meetinghouse.
Perhaps, as Friends, we shouldn't care, or it shouldn't matter to us, what our Meetinghouses look like, if they're beautiful or not. But it does. And I don't think worse of us for it.
Briggflatts is in my absolute favorite style of meeting room. There's a meetinghouse in the midwest of the US, whose insides just look like a Methodist church to me: medium-blond wood paneling on the walls, the same shade of medium-blond wood in the benches, pale blue-green cushions, and very modern. Somehow, it just doesn't work for me. (I realize this sense of what's "right" in a meetinghouse is a distinct result of the East Coast Catholic portion of my upbringing.)
There is a small set of rooms in the same building, accessible from outside, that houses the Meeting's library, a bathroom, and even a small kitchen. There were mugs and tea placed out in the library, with a note that milk was in the fridge, and an invitation to eat one's lunch and have a hot cup of tea. Such lovely hospitality!
We had our lunch out in the garden, in spite of the chill, while consulting the map. We sadly concluded that we could not both walk to Fox's Pulpit on Firbank Fell and make our train, and prepared to leave. As we were walking up the lane towards the footpath, one of the wardens, Tess, appeared out of their house to talk with us, and offered to drive us up. This gave us a lovely chance to visit with her, and talk about the life of the Meeting, Quakerism in the US and Britain, her husband and children, and just to enjoy fellowship. It was a treat.
Tess told us how George Fox preached to 1,000 people here. We had heard this, but found ourselves in puzzlement. Firbank Fell is in the middle of nowhere, as you can see in this picture. Why did Fox decide to preach there, and why on earth were 1,000 people there, 350-odd years ago, to hear him?
According to Tess, the people of Kendal and Sedbergh couldn't decided which of the two towns should get the church, so the church was built on top of Firbank Fell, between them. When Fox came to preach, word spread, and so not only did the folk of both towns come to hear him, so also did all their friends and relatives from far away. When Fox was denied entry to the church, he chose this rock, next to the church, from which to preach.
(Evidently, he later took over the pulpit in the church, too.)
Tess offered to drive us to Sedbergh to catch our bus, but because of her help, we had plenty of time to walk back to town; so we asked her to drop us off back at her house and the meetinghouse. When we got there, a committee meeting was about to start, so we got to meet several folks from the Meeting. In spite of all the visitors they get every year, they welcomed us enthusiastically (in an understated British way). Like the warden in York, they seemed to feel some extra kinship on learning that the two of us are part of the unprogrammed tradition.
To walk back to Sedbergh, we cut along the old railway bed so we could walk along the Dales Way footpath.
We were in good time to catch our bus, and then our train, and then to have dinner with folks in Manchester.
The day was definitely one of the highlights of my trip.
Click below for the full album.
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| 2008-02 England 6: Quaker country |
Sunday, March 9, 2008
England 5: York
Another of our day trips was to York, where there was lots to see and do.
When we got off the train, we walked up the hill to the Cathedral. It's a beautiful space. (What an understatement.) We appreciated the open spaces, the stained glass windows (many with notes regarding who took responsibility for their preservation during WWII, or for their restoration over hundreds of years), the organ, the fact that it's a working faith community, the atmosphere in general... I really liked the fact that there was an atmosphere of worship that nonetheless welcomed tourists; that combination felt really nice. And the docents were lovely to visitors.
I particularly noticed the stained-glass window "sacred to the memory of the women of the empire who gave their lives in the European war of 1914-1918."
In general, the mix of old and new, historical and present-day, was much less awkward in the parts of England I visited than what I've experienced in the US. (And -- aside from places like the pueblos in Frijoles Canyon in New Mexico -- "old things" in Europe are definitely older than "old things" in the States!)
We took the dare of climbing to the top of the tower. I like taking pictures of spiral staircases, but the two staircases to the tower are closed, not open, so I did not get any nautilus-type pictures of the spirals. Given just how long the climb is, it's probably better that way: I couldn't tell how much further we had to go up. Down, of course, took much less time and effort...
The stairs up the tower are so narrow that you can't pass while on them. Therefore, they only let people up every half hour. Everyone who's going in that time slot goes up, and nobody else goes up til they've all come down.
There's a lovely stop in the middle, where you walk along the outside edge of the roof, over to the second set of stairs. Also a nice place for a picture.
Happily, there are chairs at the top for wimps like me... Actually, I can't claim wimpdom on this one: the docents recognized us later as folks who'd made the climb. "Are we so memorable?" I asked. "No," one docent answered, "we just haven't had many people go up today," in a (Britishly understated) tone of admiration.
We had a lovely lunch of Cornish pasties, which we ate outside in St. Helen's Square. Then we wandered around the old part of the city, including the Shambles.
From the Shambles, we walked to the other side of the old part of town and visited Clifford's Tower, the remaining part of the Castle of York. More stairs -- first, up to the tower, then, in the tower. As my wife pointed out to me, there was a theme to our day... However, I did get a partial spiral stair picture out of the climb.
After Clifford's Tower, we crossed the River Foss, one of York's two rivers, and walked along most of the remaining city walls. This was fun.
And then we had afternoon tea in a Tea Room. Hee. Yum. We had lovely tea, accompanied by divine sultana scones and a Yorkshire curd tart. This made me happy.
We discovered mention of the Quaker Meetinghouse in a tourist map's list of "places to eat your lunch out of the rain." I insisted we go find it, and find it we did. Friargate Meeting is a lovely place, and visiting it -- especially so unexpectedly -- was one of the highlights of my day. The warden was also very hospitable, and we were very glad we stopped in. The Meetingroom itself is a place with a deep sense of peace, and it was a centering experience for me to spend a few minutes there. As I said, a highlight.
The warden showed us a picture of the interior of the old Meetingroom -- destroyed in WWII? I don't quite remember -- and Arch Street Meeting in Philadelphia is a spitting image of it.
I felt very welcomed and at home among British Friends, when we worshipped in Manchester, and when we visited Friargate and Briggflatts.
After visiting Friargate Meeting, we dashed back up the hill to the Minster for choral evensong, which was beautiful. (The organ was amazing!) Beloved Wife noted with amusement the addition of scripture regarding earthquakes. She also clearly found evensong a centering experience, a good end to our day in York.
(My reaction, particularly coming right after being in the Friargate Meetingroom, was, "Thank you, Goddess, for making me a Quaker!")
We crossed the River Ouse at sunset, on our way back down the hill to the train station.
For more pictures of our day in York:
When we got off the train, we walked up the hill to the Cathedral. It's a beautiful space. (What an understatement.) We appreciated the open spaces, the stained glass windows (many with notes regarding who took responsibility for their preservation during WWII, or for their restoration over hundreds of years), the organ, the fact that it's a working faith community, the atmosphere in general... I really liked the fact that there was an atmosphere of worship that nonetheless welcomed tourists; that combination felt really nice. And the docents were lovely to visitors.
I particularly noticed the stained-glass window "sacred to the memory of the women of the empire who gave their lives in the European war of 1914-1918."
In general, the mix of old and new, historical and present-day, was much less awkward in the parts of England I visited than what I've experienced in the US. (And -- aside from places like the pueblos in Frijoles Canyon in New Mexico -- "old things" in Europe are definitely older than "old things" in the States!)
We took the dare of climbing to the top of the tower. I like taking pictures of spiral staircases, but the two staircases to the tower are closed, not open, so I did not get any nautilus-type pictures of the spirals. Given just how long the climb is, it's probably better that way: I couldn't tell how much further we had to go up. Down, of course, took much less time and effort...
The stairs up the tower are so narrow that you can't pass while on them. Therefore, they only let people up every half hour. Everyone who's going in that time slot goes up, and nobody else goes up til they've all come down.
There's a lovely stop in the middle, where you walk along the outside edge of the roof, over to the second set of stairs. Also a nice place for a picture.
Happily, there are chairs at the top for wimps like me... Actually, I can't claim wimpdom on this one: the docents recognized us later as folks who'd made the climb. "Are we so memorable?" I asked. "No," one docent answered, "we just haven't had many people go up today," in a (Britishly understated) tone of admiration.
We had a lovely lunch of Cornish pasties, which we ate outside in St. Helen's Square. Then we wandered around the old part of the city, including the Shambles.
From the Shambles, we walked to the other side of the old part of town and visited Clifford's Tower, the remaining part of the Castle of York. More stairs -- first, up to the tower, then, in the tower. As my wife pointed out to me, there was a theme to our day... However, I did get a partial spiral stair picture out of the climb.
After Clifford's Tower, we crossed the River Foss, one of York's two rivers, and walked along most of the remaining city walls. This was fun.
And then we had afternoon tea in a Tea Room. Hee. Yum. We had lovely tea, accompanied by divine sultana scones and a Yorkshire curd tart. This made me happy.
We discovered mention of the Quaker Meetinghouse in a tourist map's list of "places to eat your lunch out of the rain." I insisted we go find it, and find it we did. Friargate Meeting is a lovely place, and visiting it -- especially so unexpectedly -- was one of the highlights of my day. The warden was also very hospitable, and we were very glad we stopped in. The Meetingroom itself is a place with a deep sense of peace, and it was a centering experience for me to spend a few minutes there. As I said, a highlight.
The warden showed us a picture of the interior of the old Meetingroom -- destroyed in WWII? I don't quite remember -- and Arch Street Meeting in Philadelphia is a spitting image of it.
I felt very welcomed and at home among British Friends, when we worshipped in Manchester, and when we visited Friargate and Briggflatts.
After visiting Friargate Meeting, we dashed back up the hill to the Minster for choral evensong, which was beautiful. (The organ was amazing!) Beloved Wife noted with amusement the addition of scripture regarding earthquakes. She also clearly found evensong a centering experience, a good end to our day in York.
(My reaction, particularly coming right after being in the Friargate Meetingroom, was, "Thank you, Goddess, for making me a Quaker!")
We crossed the River Ouse at sunset, on our way back down the hill to the train station.
For more pictures of our day in York:
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| 2008-02 England 5: York |
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
England 4: Manchester & Alan Turing
One of our days in Manchester, I briefly visited the new Alan Turing Building at the University of Manchester, as well as the memorial to Alan Turing in Sackville Gardens.
Alan Turing was a brilliant mathematician, cryptologist, and computer scientist in the first half of the 20th century. When he was discovered to be gay, he was arrested and convicted; lost his security clearance, his livelihood, and much of his participation in the world of mathematics; and was forced to undergo hormone treatments. Turing eventually committed suicide.
The statue in Sackville Gardens was dedicated in 2001. Not one major computer company contributed towards this memorial to the father of the computer and computer science.
Yet, he is honored in many other ways.
Still, his story gives me the chills...
Alan Turing was a brilliant mathematician, cryptologist, and computer scientist in the first half of the 20th century. When he was discovered to be gay, he was arrested and convicted; lost his security clearance, his livelihood, and much of his participation in the world of mathematics; and was forced to undergo hormone treatments. Turing eventually committed suicide.
The statue in Sackville Gardens was dedicated in 2001. Not one major computer company contributed towards this memorial to the father of the computer and computer science.
Yet, he is honored in many other ways.
Still, his story gives me the chills...
Monday, March 3, 2008
England 3: Edale and Mam Tor (Heights of the Mother)
One of the first things I noticed in Manchester is what birdsongs I was hearing, and what birds I was seeing. The first of these was definitely the magpie, who seems to be a cheerful and sociable bird.
Our first day trip outside Manchester was to the town of Edale, in Derbyshire. It's in the Peak District National Park, halfway between Manchester and Sheffield. (Click here for the Ordnance Survey Map.) We headed south from Edale, up to Hollins Cross, then headed east (and further up!) towards Mam Tor. It was quite a climb! At the top, it was very, very windy; the closer we got to Mam Tor, the more the wind tried to knock us over. (My wife compared it to Mt. Washington in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the US.)
The weather ranged from bright and sunny to cold and very windy, and everything in between, including (of course) a little rain. Somewhat like Michigan in that respect. We saw lots of sheep, and even a few cows. We also saw lots of gorse, and even a little heather, although none was in bloom until we got back down into town.
It was an amazing day spent out of doors, doing lots of walking. Our mileage wasn't actually as high as one might expect, but I was pretty proud of myself for doing as much as I did and under such conditions. I might not be up to what I used to be able to do before my injury, and my improvement might still be long and slow, but I can keep reminding myself that I am definitely improving... :)
Our first day trip outside Manchester was to the town of Edale, in Derbyshire. It's in the Peak District National Park, halfway between Manchester and Sheffield. (Click here for the Ordnance Survey Map.) We headed south from Edale, up to Hollins Cross, then headed east (and further up!) towards Mam Tor. It was quite a climb! At the top, it was very, very windy; the closer we got to Mam Tor, the more the wind tried to knock us over. (My wife compared it to Mt. Washington in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the US.)
The weather ranged from bright and sunny to cold and very windy, and everything in between, including (of course) a little rain. Somewhat like Michigan in that respect. We saw lots of sheep, and even a few cows. We also saw lots of gorse, and even a little heather, although none was in bloom until we got back down into town.
It was an amazing day spent out of doors, doing lots of walking. Our mileage wasn't actually as high as one might expect, but I was pretty proud of myself for doing as much as I did and under such conditions. I might not be up to what I used to be able to do before my injury, and my improvement might still be long and slow, but I can keep reminding myself that I am definitely improving... :)
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| 2008-02 England 3: Edale & Mam Tor |
England 2: Manchester
I worshipped with Friends in Manchester on 24th February, at Mount Street Meeting (Central Manchester Quaker Meeting). On the whole, I found British Friends very hospitable, both in Manchester as well as in York and Cumbria (more on those visits later).
We didn't make it to Pendle Hill, but I was nonetheless entertained by the name of the bus service we'd have taken if we had gone.
Spring is definitely further along there than in this part of the US; I have some pictures of crocuses, daffodils, and snowdrops (and later, a cherry tree in bloom).
More pictures from Manchester:
We didn't make it to Pendle Hill, but I was nonetheless entertained by the name of the bus service we'd have taken if we had gone.
Spring is definitely further along there than in this part of the US; I have some pictures of crocuses, daffodils, and snowdrops (and later, a cherry tree in bloom).
More pictures from Manchester:
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| 2008-02 England 2: Manchester |
A trip to England
I've just returned from spending a week in the north of England, where my wife and partner is spending the semester. We were based mostly in Manchester, but took several day trips -- Edale, York, Cumbria/"Quaker country." I have lots of outdoorsy, nature-worship things to share, and also lots of neat Quaker historical things to share. I'm in the process of uploading pictures, and will add posts as I get my thoughts together.
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