I found this in my drafts folder. I figured I might as well post it.
Our Stay in Bath
When we awoke in the morning, we discovered that which we already should have known. It’s rather chilly in England at the end of May and it rains in the morning. I had only brought two long-sleeve shirts and not a single sweater, and my jacket was practically useless. It wasn’t even water-resistant!
My mother had given me a digital camera and England was my first chance to use it. But I wasn’t quite comfortable with the technology yet, and I wasn’t sure what problems I might encounter in trying to charge the batteries, so I brought my regular camera, too. I took pictures at some places on only one of the cameras, but at some places, I used both. In Bath, I often used my film camera, so the pictures had to be scanned to include them here and they are consequently a little grainy.
Now, as I write this in 2011, I wonder why I’m so determined to set down my memories of this trip. After all, it was just three weeks out of one year, and just one year out of 38. I think the reason is that because over the course of time the days start to blend together, the weeks become a blur, and finally even the years go by in a flash that’s far too fast to recall in detail. Events, such as vacations, are the markers we use to remember our lives. If it weren’t for vacations and occasions like graduations, births, weddings, and holidays, there would be no way to differentiate one year from another, no markers on which to hang the notes of our lives.
In 2002 I had been at my job for nearly seven years, and I had been dating Faithful Reader for about two years. It was less than a year after 9/11. And that, offhand, is about all I can recall of 2002 except for this vacation. Remembering how I felt and thought during that trip helps to connect me with that time of my life, a year otherwise almost completely lost.
To continue, on the morning of the 28th we went to the famous Roman Baths. Because I’m something of a hoarder, I still have my ticket, so I know that it cost £10.50 then (about $16.00) and I bought it at 11:37 a.m. It was worth the money. It was warmer than outside!
Then we went to the Bath Abbey. There are tablets all along the walls of the abbey. They were placed there as monuments to various people of Bath whose family members had had the money and the desire to memorialize them. I took pictures of some of the monuments because I found the inscriptions funny and/or interesting. Here are some examples.
Fletcher Partis, Esq., who died August 31, 1820
…He evinced his gratitude for the blessings a kind Providence had bestowed on him, by repeated acts of Liberality, to several Public charities during his life, and also by a desire to alleviate the sufferings of his Fellow creatures in providing an Asylum for thirty decayed Gentlewomen being Widows or Daughters of Clergymen, Merchants, or Professional Men, whom adverse fortune had deprived of brighter prospects, where he hoped they would find rest and comfort in the evening of their days, and which his widow is anxiously desirous to see Established….
Alexander Thomson, Knt., a lawyer who died April 15th, 1817
His Understanding was sound and strong, his knowledge in every branch of the law, accurate, extensive, and profound; his attention to criminals unremitting, his humanity judicious. He was patient in hearing, laborious in investigating, cautious in deciding, and his judgement (on which every man had more reliance than himself) seldom erred. Simple and unostentatious in the application of his talents, and courting neither favour nor popularity, he deservedly obtained the confidence of the country. To these public virtues were added, in the habits of his private life, a general acquaintance with literature and the arts, unaffected piety, unassuming manners, and steadfastness in friendship, with the kindest heart.
Some of the other things we did in Bath included…
- A cruise of the Avon River. I saw a fox. Fun, but I was freezing the whole time!
- The Museum of Work. Loved it!
- The costume museum. Yawn.
- Bath After Dark tour. Hysterical.
- Shopping for rain gear. We realized after a long, cold day that we needed some protection from the rain. We each bought a jacket which lasted us not just for the trip, but for many years after. I still own mine and even use it occasionally. I also bought a pretty little umbrella. It was green with a hint of iridescent purple, and it was small enough to fit in my jacket pocket. It lasted through the trip and then stayed with me for many years, until one day I forgot it at the office. It was weeks before I was in the office again and thought to look for it. It was not there and no one could remember seeing it. I hope it was picked up (because it was presumed abandoned) rather than stolen.
- Sally Lunn’s
- Touring the sites, such as the Circus, the Crescent, and Pulteney Bridge.
Cat of the Royal Crescent
Avon River
