Monday, May 01, 2006

What shall we do for bank holiday

He said.

I had already declined, nicely, to get up at 5.00 am to go to Oxford and join the hung-over revellers from various May festivals and balls in listening to the singing at dawn on the roof of a tower. I'm sure it's lovely. I just can't bring myself to think of dawn without a shiver.

We thought about it for a day or two and I suggested Kite hunting in the Chilterns and a nice pub we saw last time we were there.
He suggested some other things but then decided against them because I wouldn't be interested (the Watercress Railway Line for instance which I'm sure would have been a nice trip and would have given me food for photos).
So we went kite hunting in the Chilterns and found an extremely nice pub for lunch (for once we started looking for it before lunchtime and were able to get a nice meal in a pleasant garden, sitting down). We stopped on the way to look at the Maharajah's well in Stoke Row (which has a sweet story about some well off Englishman and the Maharajah of Benares building wells in each other's countries because they were concerned about each other's thirsty people.
After lunch at the Bull&Butcher in Turville








we got a bit daring and went to the Hell Fire Caves near Wycombe. Very tame and tidy they were. Barney used to do caving at Uni and I got taken down one once and we like them a bit more dark and slippery with real stalactites and narrow bits and bats for preference.
And the blurb on the walls about the Hell Fire Club didn't sound very lurid at all.
Though there was a funny moment when a young woman in a wedding dress hurtled past us, screaming. Not a ghost we decided, much too solid.
This lady has been there so long she's grown moss. It looks sort of cosy.








We went to the top of the tower on the church on the hill to admire spectacular views. I was very, very brave and let go of the middle bit and held the camera with both hands and sbut my eyes. Photos duly came out. I can only assume the camera has no fear of heights.






Well done that camera.






The stairs in the church tower.





Then we found kites and my afternoon, at least, was complete.

5 comments:

At 9:50 PM, Blogger mig bardsley said...

DCI, The wedding dress lady was doing a bit of re-enactment...this one just stood there looking unsuitably cuddly. And a bit pissed off!
Sherbert, I just googled indian fighter kites (never heard of them before) They look fantastic. Mine were red tailed Kites (will put a couple of pics up soon) as in scavenging birds. Also fantastic.

 
At 10:50 PM, Blogger frangelita said...

You should hvae come to Oxford, we could have got together in a gently hungover state.

 
At 11:37 PM, Blogger mig bardsley said...

What's gentle about hungover at 5.00am?
but apart from this small misapprehension, yes it would have been nice!

 
At 3:45 AM, Blogger Kata said...

Ok..forgive my bad eyesight and crudeness, but is that a condom in front of the moss lady statue?

Great photos as usual mig!

 
At 12:05 PM, Blogger mig bardsley said...

It would probably be useful if it was (given all the stories about the hell fire club's 'goings on').
But I think not.

 

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