TO VISIT OR NOT TO VISIT.....THAT IS THE QUESTION

mars 29, 2014

So, we were off to Norfolk. This was planned by Pierrette during my brief stay in Meldreth. I had heard a lot about the region from Borgy over the years but still was not exactly sure where it was situated. My sense of geography has not improved with age.

  Up we were and although the day was not exactly springtime, Pierrette and I went off in her car to the "park and drive" where would take the bus to Norwich, the capital, an hour and a half away. Certainly better than taking the car and even more so as the bus terminal was in the centre of town.   We were informed to go out and queue ten minutes before the bus arrived. Just behind another couple and in seconds there was a crown behind us. I was somewhat surprised that so many people could be going to the same place. The bus arrived - we moved forward - and then without opening the doors, without even a glimpse of the driver, the bus drove off. We were both thunderstruck. Yelling at the top of our voices « we’re here, we’re here…. » The next half hour was a nightmare. No way would someone answer the bus company ‘phone even if « your call is very important to us, so do hold the line…. » Let it be said I was calling on a French mobile….

Is the English bus system so inefficient? The man on the desk told us that this had happened a number of times. He too tried to call with the same success. The other people waiting were going to London…..but how did the bus driver know that?

Of course Pierrette had a contingency plan. She was very upset as I was - but I think I was more stunned than anything else.   We would go to Bury St Edmonds. In Suffolk. Of course I knew the name of the county. I didn’t admit that I couldn’t say if it was north, south, east or west of where we were in Hertfordshire.

This little town grew up around the powerful abbey of St. Edmondsbury in the middle ages. For over 500 years pilgrims came from all over the world to worship at the shrine. St Edmund was the patron saint of England until the dragon slaying George took his place. Unfortunately the buildings fell into decline although you can still get an idea of its size from the ruins in the garden. It’s a gem of a town but what impressed me most was the inside of the cathedral.

On display was an exhibition of childrens' work from kindergarten to their final years including all the schools in Suffolk. Hung or placed in such a way, in the cloisters, next to the stained glass windows….that it became part of the setting. Some of the work was extremely sophisticated as you will see below.