We arrived at the breakfast room to find that there were a few people there already. The slightly increased numbers meant that there was a full buffet service rather than food cooked to order. The hot offering was tepid rather than hot and there was a limited range of food available. The breakfast was not as enjoyable as it had been on the previous day.
After breakfast we visited the Cathedral. I got chatting to one of the flower ladies as she was leaving a side chapel. She apologised for the mess inside the chapel; the ladies were in the process of creating the Easter garden prior to the Easter service the following day.
She also encouraged me to enter the chapel and look at the altar cloth, which matched the stained-glass windows above and was created by artist Sophy Hacker whose artwork was on display in the nearby North Transept during the Easter period. I enjoyed the themes and pieces of art that were on display.
Steps nearby led down to the crypt where Antony Gormley’s sculpture Echo Sound II is located. I was pleased to see it for the first time partially submerged in water. I lingered a while to enjoy the changed view and capture some photos on my camera.
I also enjoyed the Kings and Scribes exhibition, the creation of which had caused this part of the Cathedral to be shrouded in scaffolding with limited accessibility on our previous two visits to Winchester. Here we were able to see the Winchester Bible and the various stages of creating medieval manuscripts.
The exhibition also unearths the secrets of the six mortuary chests that are displayed high on the walls of the Quire and are thought to contain the bones of medieval bishops and royalty. Whilst I was watching the video about the research into the bones contained in the chests, Mr C went missing. He had missed the entrance to this part of the display which was a shame because he was interested in the contents of the mortuary chests and had asked one of the Cathedral guides about them.
I tracked down Mr C and we visited the Cathedral shop where I got my Cathedral passport stamped. Then we had lunch in the Café. I chose pancakes with blueberry fruit compote and yoghurt. Once again, I forgot to photograph the tasty delight.
After lunch we decided to visit the Gurkha museum which we had both enjoyed during a previous visit to Winchester. We arrived to find that it was closed for major refurbishment and won’t reopen until the autumn. We visited the short-but-sweet temporary exhibition after which there wasn’t enough time to choose another afternoon activity so we walked into town taking in the second-hand bookshop along the way. We returned to the board game shop where the game, Quacks of Quedlinburg, that had been on my radar for a while somehow found its way into my hands and walked me to the till.
We chilled out in our room where I put a few colouring pencils to paper and read some of my book before walking to the nearby Blossom and Palm Sugar Thai restaurant. The food was delicious, although I wished I had chosen a different dish. My choice proved to be a variation on a theme that is available in many restaurants. My original choice was a little different but the waiter put me off choosing that dish.
The Crown and Anchor was too quiet so we returned to the hotel for a nightcap. Surprisingly for a chain hotel, the bar buzzing and vibrant with a friendly barman. He warmed Mr C’s brandy over a glass of hot water. How cool was that!
