For many years Mr C and I have wanted to visit the Temple church in London. The church is only open to visitors Monday to Friday and we have historically visited London on a Saturday.
We recently took a day trip to London using our discount railcards with the specific aim of visiting the Temple Church.
Before visiting the church, we had lunch in the Spaghetti House where due to the glorious weather we able to eat outside.
We enjoyed our visit to the church and learning the history behind it.
“Temple Church, steeped in the history of Christendom, this country and the whole Common Law World. 1162: the Round Church was built to be London’s Jerusalem. 1214–19: Magna Carta was negotiated in the Temple, and its greatest hero was buried in the Church. 1584, 1776, 1787: from Raleigh’s expeditions through the colonial constitutions to the American Declaration of Independence and Constitution, the Temple was the birthplace of American Law. And to this day the Church serves the legal colleges Inner and Middle Temple, London’s residents, visiting jurists and travellers from all over the world with some of the most uplifting services, music and discussions in London. “
After our visit we walked through Victoria Embankment Gardens soaking up the sunshine. Then with time to spare we intended to visit the National Gallery but there was a long queue so we decided to walk around the corner and visit the National Portrait Gallery instead.
Before entering the galleries, we had cake, sharing two different types with a raspberry and lime refresher to drink. We were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed the gallery and how much we had changed since our previous visit over 20 years ago.
Next, we visited Foyles book shop which was on Mr C’s ‘To Do’ list for the day. He didn’t purchase anything but somehow another board game found its way into my bag…
Now it was time to head back to the station for our return journey. We purchased refreshments including a New Yorker Rye Roll to eat on the train.
The train was on time and much to the surprise of our friends were able to join them for last orders in one of our local hostelries.
13 Comments CherryPie on Jun 25th 2024
We are all born originals – why is it so many of us die copies?
Joseph Campbell
2 Comments CherryPie on Jun 23rd 2024
It was lovely that Mr C had the opportunity to join me on my post shift walk. He chose to walk one of my favourite walks in the opposite direction…
I like to walk clockwise on a circular route rather than anti clockwise. I wonder what that says about me?
6 Comments CherryPie on Jun 19th 2024
A few weeks ago, I acquired a new unopened copy of the out-of-print board game; Snowdonia: The Deluxe Master Set. When it arrived, I organised the box content but due to a mini vacation and a full diary I hadn’t had the opportunity to play it.
I enjoyed the first time outing of the game. We were learning the rules and ran out of time so didn’t complete the game. We played long enough to know I love the game and I am looking forward to playing it again.
7 Comments CherryPie on Jun 19th 2024
We arrived at breakfast to find our proprietor, Paul, cooking and serving breakfast assisted by a lovely young lady who hadn’t long been working at Cathedral View.
By the time we had finished our breakfast and checked out it was still only 9.30am, which was too early to visit the Parish Church of St Mary Magdelene or the Saturday market. So, we left Lincoln and travelled the short distance to the outskirts, where the International Bomber Command Centre is located.
As we arrived it started to drizzle with rain so we opted to visit the exhibition. The exhibition is engaging and thought provoking. It acknowledges the efforts of Bomber Command during WWII and also covers the stories of those who suffered as a result of the bombing campaigns.
By the time we had made our way round the exhibition the sun had come out so we were able to take our time walking to the spire memorial and the walls of names of those who died with Bomber Command during WWII. The panels are designed so that memorial poppies can be added next to the names.
We took advantage of the café for lunch before setting off homeward. We called in at Essingham farm shop to pick up something for our evening meal and other essential (food) supplies to see us through the weekend.
Back home we unpacked and caught up on the latest episode of Doctor Who before dining on the patio. It was a little chilly outside so after dining we retreated to the warmth inside.
2 Comments CherryPie on Jun 18th 2024
After breakfast we walked down Steep Hill in order to join the 10.30 guided tour of Lincoln’s Stonebow and Guild Hall which has been the meeting place of the City Council since Medieval times. We arrived early so we spent a few minutes in Waterstones where I perused the board game section.
When it was time to join the tour, we returned to the Guild Hall where a few minutes later we were greeted by Richard, who, because as we were the only two, treated Mr C and I to a personal guided tour.
The tour and talk covered the council chambers, the history of Lincoln, the Mayors and Sheriffs of Lincoln and the basement where all the city’s ceremonial regalia and other treasures are stored. We learned about ceremonial swords versus swords used in combat and the orientation of the markings on the hilt.
One of the swords in the collection is the actual sword used by King Henry VIII (Henry Tudor) at the Battle of Stoke Field in 1487. He presented it to the city in an attempt to secure the loyalty of Lincoln’s aldermen and with them the city.
The mace in the collection is from the time of Charles I and is unusual because it is unaltered. Most such maces had their Royal markings removed by Cromwell’s government during the period of Commonwealth.
In this room we were also shown various charters and seals presented to Lincoln by different monarchs over the years. This almost made up for the missing magna carta.
As we walked round the building, we noticed a photograph of a more recent Royal visit which also pictured Richard in his ceremonial hat. We recognised seeing him it the day before as part of the Freedom Parade.
The tour was excellent, I would recommend it to anyone interested in history.
After the tour we returned to Waterstones to finish browsing the board game section before visiting another local independent board game shop. We were specifically looking for games that accommodate 6 players or more but these are few and far between. We left empty handed but by now Mr C was on a mission and there was just one more board game shop in Lincoln. This turned out to be further away than he thought and when we arrived it turned out to stock mostly miniature figures for war and fantasy games rather than board games. Our route to the shop took us past the 16th century St Mary’s conduit which supplied drinking water to Lincoln until 1906.
The owner chatted to us and it turned out he was originally from Walsall and we started reminiscing how that area including Birmingham had changed over the years. When we had finished chatting it was time for lunch. Suitable lunch options were a bit sparse in the lower town so we returned to Madame Waffle before embarking on the walk ‘up’ Steep Hill.
Mr C stopped to enjoy the model shop and I continued walking up the hill. I paused at the bottom of the steepest part of the hill and a passing lady stopped to ask me if I was alright. I was, but how lovely of her to stop and ask.
Back in the cultural quarter we visited the Museum of Lincolnshire Life where I was captivated by the same displays, I enjoyed on my previous visit in 2016. We then sought out a nearby secret garden, the John Dawber Garden, which on arrival we realised we had visited before when we stayed in the adjacent Charlotte Hotel.
We made our way back to Cathedral View stopping for drink at the Lion and Snake on the way. The weather was lovely so we were able to enjoy it sitting outside in the sunshine. Back at the B&B I was challenged to another game of 7 Wonders Duel and just to be consistent I lost again…
We dined in Thailand No. 1. We found it to have a warm and vibrant atmosphere and delicious food. We returned to the Lion and Snake (next door) for a night cap before returning our billet for the evening.
8 Comments CherryPie on Jun 16th 2024
