Feeling pastoral
Quiet family day in this small country town with the castle and cathedral and very little else apart from antique shops. Bought a book on Victorian art and culture. Took some photographs of the river.
There are some delightful aspects to the English small country town experience. Unfortunately, there are also too many things that irritate - whether the inevitable sinking feeling when you are greeted by the decor of your "bed and breakfast" accommodation, the self-satisfied snobbiness of the locals or the blandness of the historical, cultural, culinary experiences on offer. Our blessing was to 'enjoy' a cafe lunch in what could have been a delightful local watering hole, had it not been for the waitresses inability to be even the slightest bit accommodating, e.g. in allowing us to combine two tables or in leaving sausage and toast off the usual breakfast to benefit our caeliac sufferer etc, and had the food not looked like it had come straight from the local supermarket's pre-packaged-and-frozen-for-a-year counter.
Expecting a tip? The tip is - learn about customer service !
The above picture deserves some pastoral mucial accompaniment - folk-with-attitude - which speaks of some of what is good about the english countryside. Was thinking Nick Drake, or Keith Christmas, but have chosen this one by Bill Fay instead.
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