England Trip Recap

 The two best purchases we made in the U.K. were a super-king-size duvet and duvet cover and a couple coats--all of which we managed to bring back to the U.S., even if it meant leaving some things behind in order to make room in our luggage (bath towels, a pair of my shoes that were pretty worn anyway, toiletries that are easily replaced). Worth it. It's amazing how much stuff you can pack into a couple carry-ons and a suitcase when you use vacuum bags.

The trip to England was fantastic. I had so much fun! The cottage we rented was well-equipped and comfortable, almost all of Husband's siblings and parents were around at all times, and we all got along very well. Best of all, my MIL was feeling well enough during the trip to accompany the rest of us on many of our day trips to various towns and villages, including on our trip to Wales to visit the family's old stomping grounds in Pencoed. 

I won't bore you with all the details. Here are some pictures instead. 

MIL and the twins in the high street in Bradford-upon-Avon.

Looking up the hill in Bradford-on-Avon. To the left of the bridge that spans the Avon River, you can see the spire of the town cathedral. At the top of the hill, you can barely make out the tiny Norman church we climbed up to see.

Sign outside one of the bakeries in Bradford. The price for a custard slice got a little steep since the last time I was in England.

If the building doesn't look like it's about to fall down, you're entering something built after the 1500s, and what's the fun in that?

Bradford on Avon from the top of the hill, which was an exhausting climb. We trudged up endless steep cobbled lanes to a tiny, ancient Norman church built of stone to get these pictures. The interior of the church was about the size of a large master bedroom, so we stepped in and took some photos there, too. After we had carefully navigated the steep streets back down to the town center, one of Husband's brothers realized he had left his European man bag (murse?) in the church, and it contained his car keys, the key to our rental house, his phone, and his wallet. He took off running back up the hill and made it into the church, desperately huffing and puffing, just as two women were going through the bag to try and figure out whose it was. They didn't appear to be trying to steal anything, but he never removed his bag from his shoulder after that. I couldn't even tease him about his European man bag because it was made of quality leather, and he made it look very fashionable.

In Bradford, we visited a tiny little book store on the high street. We asked the proprietor if we could see his used books, and he directed us through the a dark hallway to the back door and up here (see above video). I found a 1946 set of The Forsyte Saga trilogy, by John Galsworthy, and a little leather-bound edition of Hard Times, by Charles Dickens. Neither of these editions is worth much (the trilogy was £5 and the Dickens was £2.50), but I love the books themselves, so I was happy to bring them home. 

King Alfred's Kitchen on the high street in Shaftesbury. King Alfred built an abbey in Shaftesbury in 888 A.D., so the town does play up the connection to one of England's most famous kings.

Shaftesbury high street

Shaftesbury cathedral on the left

Behind the cathedral in the above photos is a place commonly called Hovis Hill, though its real name is Gold Hill. Hovis is actually a brand of bread, and the Hovis Bread company filmed what became a very iconic commercial on this hill in 1973, which was directed by Ridley Scott (everyone has to start somewhere!). 

I started calling this group the Barbour shop quartet. Left to right: Brad (Husband's next youngest brother), Matt (Daniel's twin), FIL, and Daniel (Matt's twin). The running joke throughout the week was that Daniel, who loves a particular style of coat made by Barbour, managed to convince the other three to buy similar coats, despite the eyebrow-raising price (I think Brad bought his in Bath earlier in the week for nearly £200, or around $240 with the recent conversion rates). Barbour produces high-quality waxed jackets, whose outer canvas layer is infused with a layer of wax in order to repel water--useful in a very wet climate like England's or Indiana's (I wore one during my mission, and it was very good at keeping me dry). It's a sensible purchase, though you kind of end up looking like a wealthy farmer--especially coupled with a flat cap like Brad is wearing. We told Brad all he needed now was a shotgun over his arm and some big black wellies (galoshes), and he'd be set. Anyway, on this day, we ended up making two separate visits to the Barbour store on the high street in Shaftesbury, and both Matt and FIL made their own purchases. Husband was tempted by the family peer pressure, but I reminded him that we live in a desert with very little rain, whereas his brothers and father live in far wetter climates. Husband came to his senses and bought a SuperDry coat instead that he found later in the week at an outlet mall for a much, much better price of £35 (about $40).

Husband snapped this pic and told me that he was now re-thinking his life. What it actually means is that drivers should be aware of a change in traffic direction ahead. 

Bath Cathedral. All buildings in Bath are required to be built in this yellowish Bath stone. Even new buildings in the town center have a facade of this stone so that everything looks cohesive.

Bath street with double-decker buses. The red one is a tourist bus with open-air seating on the top level. The weather that day alternated between overcast but chilly and rainy and chilly--not a good day to be riding around in the open, though we walked everywhere. 

The Sally Lunn house is purported to be the oldest house still standing in Bath. 

The above video shows a tiny little square we visited before going into the Bath Sweet Shop, where I bought some Parma Violets on sale for 50p each. The shop itself was so shallow that there was barely enough room for us to come in off the street and stand in front of the counter.

Pulteney Bridge spans the Avon River and has shops built into it the full length. You can see that some of the windows have been bricked in. Brad explained that in the 1690s, King William III decided to raise money by taxing the number of windows in a house, so people started boarding up and bricking in excess windows. This is when the phrase "daylight robbery" originated, since the king was literally robbing the people of the chance to have daylight in their dwellings.

I just loved the name of this restaurant, though it made me remember nearly biting into a slug while eating a salad from our garden when I was a teen--and I had washed the lettuce thoroughly! 10/10 wouldn't eat here for that reason alone.

The high street in Marlborough. This was my least favorite visit as it was a Saturday, the town center was packed, and the weather was more unpleasant than usual. Also, we were all hungry, and there was no place to eat--or the places had shut down for the afternoon.

The nice thing about visiting Marlborough was that we met up with Husband's oldest brother, Warren, his wife, and his two sons, whom I had never met. Left to right: Husband, Toby (Matt's oldest son), Brad, Matt, Daniel, Ronan (Warren's youngest), Corie (Warren's oldest), Julianne (Warren's wife), Warren, MIL, and FIL

Pencoed, Wales, town centre. In Wales, all signs are written in Welsh first and then English.

The fateful roundabout in Pencoed where Husband and Brad were knocked off their bike by a car when Husband was 11 and Brad was 9. Brad's knee was dislocated, and Husband's femur snapped. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was put in traction. He was in so much pain, but the doctors kept telling him to just deal with it until his mother stepped in and demanded another x-ray based on the fact that Husband is not a whiner about pain. The x-ray showed that some tissue had become caught in between the jagged ends of his femur bone. A quick surgery fixed the problem, and Husband was able to heal properly after that, though the long hospital stay while he was in traction was boring beyond belief.

Overlooking the pool at the leisure center where Husband, Brad, and Warren spent hours and hours as kids practicing with their team, the Pencoed Pirates. There is "good" old and "shabby" old in Britain. This building was shabby old, as many places seem to be. Still, the nostalgia for Husband and his brothers was strong.

Ogmore Castle ruins in Wales. Husband's family made many visits to Ogmore Castle and Ogmore Beach during their growing up years. 

Husband on the Ogmore Castle ruins. 

27 years ago, on the lawn inside this wall, our oldest daughter, Siân, who had just turned 1 year old, said the word "flower" for the first time. She had just toddled over to pick a daisy from the grass. We were all properly amazed. It was a little surreal to be in the same spot remembering that moment now that Siân has two little children of her own, with one on the way. At the time of this picture, it was flooding in many parts of Wales and Southern England due to heavy rains (that river in the background is flooded over its banks). The moat that originally surrounded this castle was filled with water, which Husband and his siblings had never seen before.

Ogmore Beach, looking south to the estuary of the Ewenny River that runs along the coast and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. This was one of the favorite spots for Husband's family to spend time in the summer. 

Group shot at Ogmore Beach. Left to right: Tiffany (Husband's only sister), Derek (Tiff's husband), Daniel, FIL, Matt, MIL, Brad, Husband, and Benjamin (the youngest of the siblings). It was an incredibly windy, cold day. I run pretty warm, but even I had to button up my coat against the gale-force winds coming off the ocean.

When you go to England, you make a special effort to sample as many of the delicious cheeses as you can.

The gang at Gregg's Bakery at a MacArthur Glen outlet mall in Wales on our way back to England. We had already consumed our pasties and sausage rolls, exhausted after a long day of driving, walking, and shopping. 

A full English breakfast, though it's missing the fried tomatoes. You've got a rasher of bacon, sausage, potato wedge, beans, fried bread, mushroom, and a fried egg. 

Everyone enjoying a full English breakfast at a Toby Carvery restaurant. From left to right: Daniel, Matt, and Husband.

Toby Carvery. From left to right: Brad, Benjamin, and Daniel.

Spotted this monstrosity at the grocery store. Peanut butter in England is not sweet like it is in the U.S., so it is considered a savory food. Most Brits would gag at the thought of pairing peanut butter with jam in a sandwich, so I guess this pairing makes sense in a horrible, nightmarish way.

The main living room of the Mews Cottage in Trowle, England, where we stayed for the week. It was a lovely place to stay, with five bedrooms (it could sleep fifteen people), two bathrooms, two living rooms (with a little alcove with a pullout couch in the small living room), and a large kitchen. The back garden was also lovely, though we never got to enjoy it due to the weather.

Husband's family (almost) all together for the first time in 30 years, minus Warren (Brad is holding up his phone with a picture of Warren). Left to right, front row: Daniel, FIL, MIL, Tiffany. Back row: Husband, Brad, Matt, and Benjamin.

MIL with Tiffany's children. Left to right: Kimmy, Abby, Eleanor, James, and Luke.

Warren's rebaptism. His father baptized him. I was not able to attend this because of some car troubles, but Daniel sang, Matt spoke, and Husband gave his mother a powerful blessing after the ceremony.

FIL and MIL. I love this photo because it captures FIL's wry humor and MIL's love and adoration for her husband. 

It was a lovely trip, and, like I said, MIL had some very good days and was able to join us on our adventures (not all of which I have documented here, you're welcome). Unfortunately, since that time, MIL has not done well. She recently had a colostomy bag installed because the tumor has wrapped around her bowels and stopped their ability to operate, and she is in constant, debilitating pain. The chemo has stopped the tumor from growing, but it is also very hard on MIL's health. She is considering stopping the treatment at this point, though she has faith and hope for what she will enjoy in the next life. In fact, she is currently sharing some powerful stories of faith on a Zoom call with her children. She is a force for good in this life and will be a force for good in the next world.