St Mary's Church, Shrewsbury

During our Christmas shopping trip to Shrewsbury, we intended to have an afternoon cuppa in the Cafe within St Mary’s Church but unfortunately the cafe was closed for refurbishment.

It was a pleasure to see the Jesse Window and the detailed roof panels. Seeing the window reminded us that after a previous visit in December we had always intended to go back to visit the church in summer months when the light is more favourable to explore the finer details of the church.

The church is now the only complete medieval church in Shrewsbury. It dates from Saxon times and has beautiful additions from the twelfth-century onwards. Inside, the atmosphere is peaceful with the soaring stone arches giving way to the church’s great treasure – its stained glass. There are panels in glorious colour including the world-famous fourteenth-century ‘Jesse window’; filled with figures of Old Testament kings and prophets, and scenes from the life of St Bernard – a Medieval cartoon strip that shows him ridding flies from an abbey, riding a mule and curing the sick. No other church in the country has a collection to equal it.

Most of the glass was brought from elsewhere, much of it from Europe, by two remarkable clergymen, and installed in St Mary’s during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Warmth and richness is also provided by superb Victorian coloured tiles on the floor.  Lifting your eyes upwards, you will see the wonderful fifteenth-century carved oak ceiling of the nave, with a profusion of animals, birds and angels.

No Comments CherryPie on Dec 10th 2023

Fort Ricasolo

On one of our walks around Valletta a road had been blocked off due to filming taking place near one of the buildings. I wasn’t able to find out what was being filmed but during my search I saw that Fort Ricasolo was being used as a film set for Gladiator II. Part of the fort is leased to the Malta Film Commision and is used as a location in many films. We had noticed the Gladiator II film set from the other side of the harbour but had not realised what it was at the time.

Gladiator II Film Set

Fort Ricasolo is currently closed to the public due to its dilapidated state. Some of the fortifications have been eroded and fallen into the sea but approval has now been given for the proposed restoration plans.

Today, Fort Ricasoli remains largely intact, although it is in a dilapidated state.[40] The headland that it is built upon is prone to coastal erosion, and some of the walls between No. 3 and No. 4 bastions have already collapsed into the sea.[41] In 2004, the Restoration Unit of the Ministry of Resources and Infrastructure removed, restored and re-attached part of the fort’s walls,[42] but nothing has been done to restore the entire fort.[43]

No Comments CherryPie on Dec 9th 2023

… Attingham Park decked out for Christmas

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

Christmas at Attingham Park

4 Comments CherryPie on Dec 4th 2023

Ozzy the Bull

We had a bit of miscommunication on how we were going to get to the train station. I thought we were walking, there had been mention of Glühwein from the Christmas market…

I know how long it takes me to walk to the station and time was running short so I went on ahead and told Mr C I would meet him at the station. When I had been at the station for a few minutes there was no sign of him catching me up so I phoned to see where he was and thought there was no way he was going to get to the station on time. A few minutes later I saw him running towards the platform, arriving just as the train pulled into the station. Talk about cutting it fine. Later he mentioned that he intended that we should drive to the station!

There was standing room only on the train which meant by the time we arrived in Birmingham my left knee had become a bit stiff. This caused me to stumble on the stairs and bang my leg. Oops! The young man behind me helped me regain my balance and walked beside me for the last few steps of the stairway.

Ozzy the Bull

At the top of the stairway, I was impressed to see Ozzy the mechanical bull that was created for the Commonwealth Games.

This years Christmas market and Christmas lights were less impressive so I wasn’t able to take my replacement camera through its paces.

Back in Wellington we had just missed the Christmas Lights ‘Switch On’. The lights looked lovely lighting up the town. The atmosphere was lovely and uplifiting with a long queue waiting to enter the market’s late night opening event.  We visited one of the local hostelries (which was packed to the seams) for a glass of something warming before our walk home.

6 Comments CherryPie on Dec 1st 2023

Breakfast Room View

We enjoyed our last breakfast in Malta before checking out of the hotel and leaving our cases with the concierge. Our taxi to the airport was due around 1pm leaving the morning free.

Triton's Fountain

The British Royal Family

We walked into Valletta to visit Muza, the National Museum of Art, which is housed in the Auberge d’Italie. The Auberge building needed to be restored before the art collection could be displayed. We enjoyed the architecture of the building and also the excellent artwork within the museum collection. I particularly enjoyed some of the religious artwork.

Christmas Has Arrived

Before returning to the hotel to wait for our airport transfer, we had just enough time for me to enjoy a fresh orange juice in a café we had used on previous occasions.

On arrival at the airport, we were greeted by a Jet2 rep who directed us to the baggage check in desk.

On our outward flight there were lots of pool players heading to Malta to compete in an international championship. The championship had concluded the previous day and as we waited to check in our luggage we were once again in the company of the competitors.

As we went through the hand baggage scanners, it was Mr C’s turn to be stopped and, his case, have his hand luggage and himself checked for ‘substances’! We still had time for a quick snack lunch before going through the gate to await boarding.

Our departure was slightly delayed but on take off I was treated to the sun setting over the clouds, then mostly darkness. For me the plane descent was a little unpleasant due to my recent cold causing excess pressure in my ears. The landing was a bit ‘wobbly’ and we arrived in cold and wet 39F Manchester which was a shock to the system after leaving 80F sunshine in Malta.

Our passage through immigration and collecting our baggage ran smoothly leaving us plenty of time to dine in the Tatton Arms once again before setting off on our journey home.

10 Comments CherryPie on Nov 30th 2023

Malta National Aquarium

After breakfast we set off on another bus adventure, this time to St Paul’s Bay to visit Malta’s National Aquarium. During our hour-long journey, we saw many different styles of architecture, landscapes and neighbourhoods.

The aquarium is split up into different zones that feature both marine life and the history and hidden treasures of Malta. There is also a zone that covers reptiles and amphibia. The aquarium is excellent and we saw several types of fish that were unfamiliar to us.

St Paul's Bay

We had lunch in La Nave bistro (part of the aquarium complex) overlooking St Paul’s Bay and the islands of St. Paul, Comino and Gozo. Even though it was rather windy, we chose to sit outside to with our choice of cake options so that we could enjoy the views. I noticed another lady coming outside and taking a seat only to retreat inside a few minutes later because of the wind. After she had gone back inside, I noticed that, in her haste to get inside, she had left her rucksack hanging on a chair outside. I went inside to tell her that she had left her bag behind.

St Paul's Bay

Back in Valletta we decided to have a cuppa in the room overlooking the harbour rather than going to a café in the city.

Later, we had a pre-dinner drink in the hotel bar before walking into Valletta for our last evening meal in Malta where we dined in La Pira. I chose a stuffed fresh pasta dish instead of my usual fish choice. The food was delicious and the service was laid back but attentive.

View from the top of the steps

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped for a drink in a bar overlooking St John’s Co Cathedral. In comparison to previous days, we found it rather chilly because of the breeze so we returned to the hotel for one last drink before our journey home.

4 Comments CherryPie on Nov 29th 2023

Zurrieq

It was a choice between visiting the fishing village of Marsaxlokk or the Hagar Qim temple complex.

We checked the bus time tables and found that the bus to Marsaxlokk would arrive earliest so we decided that we would go there for the day. Then Mr C noticed a bus that was heading to the temples which caused him to change his mind. It was only when we were on our way that he realised the journey wasn’t direct and we would have to change.

We changed at Zurrieq, a quaint Moorish town with picturesque narrow streets. There were lots of buses returning to Valletta but we had to wait for half an hour one that went to the temples.

Before entering the temple complex, we had a traditional Maltese tuna ftira. The sandwich was so large we shared it between us.

Hagar Qim

The Hagar Qim complex consists of a main temple and three additional megalithic structures beside it. The main temple was built between 3600 and 3200 BC but other structures on the site are even older. Hagar Qim is quite different to other megalithic sites that I have seen.

Hagar Qim Nature Walk

Hagar Qim Nature Walk

We viewed one temple then, instead of taking the direct route to the second temple, we took the route of the nature walk. The ground was rugged and rough under our feet. Thankfully I had put my walking shoes on but, even so, when Mr C decided to walk along the cliff edge I headed uphill, keeping to the pathway.

Hagar Qim

Arriving at the second temple we found it to be a lot smaller in footprint than the first one. Like megalithic structures elsewhere, there are sun and moon alignments to the solstice and equinox. There is even a theory that one of the stones has markings that align it to the Pleiades constellation.

Both temples have a canvas canopy over them to protect them from the harsh elements that would erode the soft limestone rock.

Back at the bus stop we found out that, counter-intuitively, we needed to catch the bus back to Valletta on the same side of the road as we had alighted. We waited for quite some time (other people joining us) and no bus appeared in either direction. After a while we suspected that one of the scheduled buses had been cancelled and we were now waiting for the next one which arrived eventually.

The Grand Hotel Excelsior

Back in Valletta, we decided to relax with a cup of the tea on our balcony before setting off for our evening meal. We settled on the restaurant That’s Amore where we didn’t have the best of experiences. They were extremely slow to take our order and when the bottle of wine arrived the glasses were filled unevenly. Mr C’s empty plate was taken away whilst I was still eating and he was advised that he could order desserts and coffee later! My plate was left in front of me for a long time after I had finished eating. The lovely local rose wine we had chosen was the saving grace of the experience.

Back at the hotel, the bar staff tried to fob me off with a small bottle of inferior wine because they had run out of the normal wine and needed to go to the cellar for some more. I sent it back to be replaced with the higher quality wine that I had ordered on other occasions.

2 Comments CherryPie on Nov 28th 2023

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