Do you recognize this couple?

This couple is known to many. Do you recognize the scene? Think ...."Pride and Prejudice", the latest version, the last scene. We were visiting Chatsworth near Sheffield and came upon this touching scene! No it isn't Gweneth Paltrow and her husband. It is none other than M. and N., the couple ...... each from a different continent, well loved by both families, planning to "tie the knot"....."say the vows"..."take the plunge" in December, 2006.

We spent a day of our holiday with Nigel and Michal and visited Chatsworth, a grand home and garden. We spent most of the afternoon wandering the garden and didn't even have time to go into the house. That's for another visit, another year. Other pictures were taken in the garden......
On the right (or above), you see another view of the fountain in the first picture. No, the rainbow is not coming out of George's ear, but from his right temple.....as a promise from God that there will be no more flooding.


To get to this statue on the left, go straight toward the house from the lounging couple, then go around the house to the right. You will find the statue, but not me (unless I go with you). The house and grounds are open to the public. Many people pay to get in and then, on a hot summer day, spend the day picnicing and playing in a manmade cascade of water or at the "squirting willow".
These pictures were all taken last week. Since then we went to see Sophie and have come back to Manchester.
Today is our day off from travelling. It's very restful with time to take a moment and add another page to this blog. 11 more days of our trip. It has seemed long but now that we're counting the days down...the days are passing by quickly.

Wells, England

We have been travelling quite a bit around Britain......Manchester....Yorkshire Dales...Scotland..Orkney Islands..etc. Most recently, we just returned from the south western part of England....Bristol, Bath, Wells area in Sommerset. We stayed with a kind and dear friend, Sophie, who we met when she and another couple with baby were visiting Nigel in Vancouver. We always tried to insist that she join us for dinner. Well, she, in return, insisted that we visit her in Bristol! ....which we did.
Last Wednesday she took us to Wells. She went off to visit her father who was in the process of moving and we wandered off for a happy day of exploring.
This picture was taken in a town called Wells. Wells is famous for a well called St. Andrew's Well. Well, the story is that the town, the cathedral and the bishop's palace were all built up around St. Andrew's Well. Well's cathedral is huge with amazing architecture and sculpture on the front face. The vaulted ceiling is extremely high like all the cathedrals we have seen in this fair land. After visiting the cath. and walking on "Vicar's Close", said to be the oldest street in England, we wandered down the street and saw a smaller (but still large) church. A woman walked by and said "Oh that church is St. Cuthbert's and the ceiling is even more beautiful than the cathedral!" Just before we ventured across the street, we thought to take a picture. I took this one! and just as the ceiling in the church in the background is highly decorated, so is the space above George's head. Both that space and the interior ceiling were a riot of colours...actually George's head dress is more subdued than the church ceiling...... I won't say more.

Thus ends a simple but weird story of a hot day in Wells.

In Scotland

I can't believe I haven't added anything since we left the country, the continent! We are in Scotland after leaving being in northern England...and we are about to go visit a castle and castle gardens. ....and maybe a ceileih tonight.?? I must write more later.
Amm