Helen and Alice, Here's Your Picture!

Several things happen after arriving home from housesitting.  We unpack our suitcases swearing to never wear these clothes again, because after four months we are sick of them.  We sort through the papers we have from all the places we have visited; you know, receipts, entry tickets, and brochures, sometime asking outselves why we saved this stuff.  Bill downloads all our photos to his big desktop computer which has his favorite photo editing application, and goes to work turning pictures right side up, deleting the fuzzy or eyes closed pictures.  This is where we hit paydirt!  You see, we thought we had lost the picture of Helen and Alice, the homeowners in Werneth Low.  Try as we could, it was not to be found.  Then, on arriving home, there it was.  Not exactly on the date we took it, which is what threw us off, but found none the less.

So, to Helen and Alice, we thoroughly enjoyed staying in your home, playing with your dogs and cat, and getting to know the two of you.  Thanks for letting us housesit for you!!

Two of our favorite home owners:  Helen and Alice with their travel trailer hooked up and ready to roll.


 

Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester

Museum of Science and Industry's unique sign.

Mural on the side of a warehouse at the museum.

We considered taking the train into Manchester, but decided instead to drive in on a Sunday morning, since traffic would be lighter.  It was a good idea.  The museum is in a old part of town.  The buildings were originally 4 warehouses and a train station.  The area around them is being renovated into housing and shops.  On the whole, it's looking good!

The old train station on the right and one of the warehouses that are now part of  MOSI.

The Great Western Warehouse, now the main building.

The Air and Space hall looks very 1890's.

Street plantings are easier when it rains this much!

Our favourite part of the museum was the  Power Hall.  It was full of working steam engines and locomotives.  One of the docents gave a demonstration of this huge steam engine that was originally used in a woollen mill.  Lots of noise and steam and movement. 

The Air and Space Hall is an odd assortment of aircraft mixed with cars and motorcycles.  It was still interesting to look at.  Did you know that several of the aircraft companies in England used Rolls-Royce engines?

One of the first Rolls- Royces.

The prototype of the Vulcan, a bomber.

A home made airplane, built from plans originating in France.

A Walk in Manchester

The Beetham Tower, the tallest building in Manchester.

Manchester was a pleasant surprise.  We knew it had once been a center of industry, which had seen better days.  While there was a grittiness to parts that we drove through, a lot of the area is being spruced up, renovated and brought back to life.

Walking under a bridge, you can see the old red brick bridge next to the newer metal supports for the railroad.

These two boxers were very friendly.  This picture is for JP!

Lunch was Super Nachos, which were amazingly tasty.  They even had Chalula to put on them. 

We walked followed a sign for a Roman fort.  There wasn't much there, but a bit farther was a market under a bridge.  We grabbed some lunch, then walked along the canal.  A barge was using the lock, so we watched.  Then there was another one and another one.  The area which was once warehouses is now apartments and businesses.

Family working the locks so their barge could move upstream.

These folks were waiting their turn at the lock.

The foot bridge over the canal.

The bridge is supported only on one side.

Looking at the engineering of the many bridges was inspiring.  There was a combination of old red brick and modern steel.  The footbridge was a bit unnerving; it bounced when walked on!  The entire area was teeming with people enjoying the beautiful weather.  Everyone seemed surprised that it wasn't raining.

The canal was full of barges, some going, some staying.

I really liked the look of this bridge., an older one made from both red brick and painted steel.

A heron at the edge of the canal.  There were also several ducks and geese.  

That Grand Old Duke of York...

Clifford's Tower build by William the Conquerer in 1069.  It is a Motte and Bailey style castle.

It's a long way up and down.

....he had ten thousand men!  He marched them up to the top of the hill, then he marched them down again.  Now that you have that little ditty stuck in your mind.....  York is a fun place, even though we didn't run into the Duke!

Stairs to the tower.

View from the top.  There used to be a roof, but it was accidentally burned while firing a cannon in a ceremonial salute.  Bet that soldier didn't get a promotion.

This fort was also used as a prison for a while.

York has been at the center of history since before there was an England.  The Romans came to rule the locals, then the Vikings, and finally the French who then turned into English.  Whenever Scotland caused a ruckus, York seemed to be in the middle of it all!  Which means, there is a lot to look at in this town.

Looking from the tower across to York Minster.

One of the original gates into the city. 

A Roman column found while excavating around the Minster.

We parked the car and walked in what turned out to be the right direction.  Bill wanted to find the old city walls and the Castle Museum; we found them  both!  The walls are two miles around.  One can walk most of the way on top of them.  We did about a half mile, on walls that had been rebuilt in the 1800's.

It was warm in the sun, so we bought an ice cream from a 1948 van.  Bill's flavour was Hokey Pokey.  I had chocolate.

In the museum, there was a pharmacist telling how he increased his business.  Most of the drugs in the 1800's had opium in them.

A horse drawn hearse.

The Castle Museum was full of displays related to York, of course.  One section was store fronts with cobble streets, washing hanging out, horses pulling carriages in the middle of the street .  Another had rooms furnished according to the time periods,  from early 1600's on.

St Michael le Belfrey, across the street from the Minster.  This is where Guy Fawkes was baptised in 1570.  He later went on to attempt to blow up Parliament.

Walking around York was interesting.  The main downtown area is all pedestrian traffic only.  There was a huge amount of people, both tourist and locals, out shopping.  We had planned to see the Minster, the Gothic cathedral, but there was a 10 pound per person fee, so we declined.  If we had been staying overnight, we would have gone to their Evensong service, with no admission fee.  Looking around the outside, we decided it was very similar to the cathedral in Strasbourg.

Bill having fun as a highwayman.

It was very hard running away from a highwayman; my wig kept tilting in the breeze!

Little Moreton Hall

Little Moreton Hall

From "Your little pocket guide to Little Moreton Hall", courtesy of the National Trust:
"The year is 1599, the 41st year of her gracious majesty Queen Elizabeth I's reign and if you had been alive at that time you would probably be relived to have survived the recent outbreak of the Black Death!

The courtyard where you can view all the ornate wood and carvings that make the house special.

This style of house has carvings on all the posts.

Richarde Dale was the name of both the father and son carpenters who built the house for the Moreton's.

Recent harvests had been poor, leading to starvation and disease, but William Moreton's estate was growing-the hiring fairs at Little Moreton Hall would be busy as more and more poor people sought work.

While an electrician was working on the walls, he uncovered this painting, which was in style from 1575 to 1600.  The Trust preserved it for us to see.

When this went out of style, the entire wall was covered with oak panelling.

England, however, was enjoying a time of peace and greater prosperity as trade grew, and in far off London people were enjoying the delights of the newly opened Globe Theatre, where William Shakespeare was showing his new work, Hamlet."

Upstairs, a platform bed was built into an alcove.

The family believed in education.  Too bad they didn't believe in engineering.

Little Moreton Hall was originally two stories, but as the family prospered, they wished to show off their wealth by adding another story, the long hall.  This space had glass on all sides, another sign of wealth.  Unfortunately, they didn't use their money to consult a good engineer.  This addition was only supported by the ceilings of the floors below instead of the walls.  So, the entire building leans as the lower walls are pushed out.



The docent in the long gallery, which is the name of the addition, put a small level on the fireplace.  The fireplace is level, the walls are not!

They added metal rods to pull to walls together.  Notice the beautiful designs on the ceiling.

In the 1700's, the owners added bars to pull the walls together.  Then after the National Trust took ownership, an additions 3/4 of a million pounds were spent to add steel beams to keep the building from collapsing!

The side of the house showing the intricate brickwork on the chimneys.

The gardens with small boxwood hedges.

One of the inhabitants of the moat.