After yesterday’s fantasy about a murder mystery in a country garden, today we got to visit a library with ominous bloodstains in front of the fireplace. More on that later. Visiting old houses, the library is always my favorite room if they have left the books there. This library was at Baddesley Clinton, a moated manor house. There’s been a fortification there since the 12th Century, but most of the current building was late 16th Century. That was a relatively…
“Warping” is the process of pulling a ship from one place to another by using ropes rather than an engine or sails, so that when a ship is traveling at warp speed it is actually going very slowly. We moved the boat less than a mile today (thankfully using the engine, not warping), but it was all uphill, a total of nine locks. Even with the assistance of one of the Canal and River Trust’s wonderful volunteer lock keepers that…
We now have our own fleet of battle swans, sitting on the tiller. The tiller (that’s the bit you steer with) is attached to the rudder post by a metal pin, often with a brass ornament on top. There are a number of businesses run from canal boats, and one of them sells tiller pins, as well as rope-work fenders and rugs. I’d seen the boat, Hakuna Matata, on the Oxford Canal, and again on the Grand Union in Warwick,…
Today we went under Ugly Bridge. It I have no idea how it got that name as there are many even more grotesque bridges carrying roads and railways across the canal. Here is what it looks like from the canal. I mean, it’s not that bad, really. Of course, cygnets look no worse than the typical duckling, so that whole “Ugly Duckling” schtick is a load of bollocks, too. Look, here’s a cygnet. Yes, there is something about the look…
Today I decided to do the Riverside Walk through Leamington and Warwick. This follows the River Avon, and its tributary the Leam. Of course, River Avon is a tautology as “Avon” is the Celtic word for “River”. In fact there are nine River Avons in the British Isles, though this is the one that runs through Stratford-Upon-Avon, so it is the most famous. The Welsh word for river is still “Afon” (pron: Avon with a short “a” and a Welsh…
Smith Street in Warwick is an eclectic collection of shops and restaurants housed in an eclectic collection of buildings, from Tudor to Victorian. Rather than having a music shop, the street boats both a drum shop… and a guitar shop, so that drummers are not forced to mingle with mere guitarists when upgrading their kit. I spent some time in a used book store on Smith Street this morning. It was a little frustrating, as there is no room in…
Who’s been sleeping in my bed? Warwick Castle was a fortification from 914 onwards and a family home up until 1978. They were a very rich family. Several nondescript members of the nobility stayed in this guest room, but far more importantly… Just down the corridor is this room. Aleister Crowley used to hold seances here. The oak paneling was originally in Kenilworth Castle where it was commissioned by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (remember him, the guy who founded…
It appears that the people of Warwick worship a giant blue porcupine. Apart from that they are very nice. I suppose it makes as much sense as any other god. There was a guy in San Francisco who started worshipping a parking bollard in Golden Gate Park, because he thought it was a lingam (the Hindu god Shiva as represented by a phallus). Eventually other people joined the cult and started leaving offerings for the god. Unfortunately, having a religious…
Two thousand pounds ($3,000) as it turns out. It was a full size aftermarket plug compatible Dalek in a toy shop window. Apparently if it had been a genuine ex-BBC dalek with working death ray it would cost twenty five thousand pounds, so it’s nice to know that the market provides a more economical alternative for anyone fancying a quiet evening of Extermination and Annihilation. Seeing it close up was scary, particularly as the store had no sofa to hide…
Today we moved a few miles and two locks from Royal Leamington Spa to its next door neighbor Warwick (pron WORR-ick). Though the towns are next door to each other they have a completely different feel. While Leamington is mostly regency and victorian, Warwick dates back to the year 914, and there are many fine medieval and Tudor buildings there. For instance the Lord Leycester Hospital. This was built between 1126 and 1450. In 1571 Robert Dudley, first Earl of…