The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Yorkshire

The Route I'm noticing that I have more time to write up the daily diary when we are in a rental than when we're in a hotel or B&B. I suspect it has to do with the social obligations of being with others, but finding the 2+ hours it takes to do this every day is likely to become increasingly more difficult on the last half of the trip for that reason.

It is becoming apparent that Margene is sick. At first we thought it was allergies ... and it may have started that way but over the counter allergy pills weren't having much effect. Then it seemed more like a cold so we tried medicating in that direction with only marginal success. We have been resisting the idea that she's picked up the flu, but the process of elimination is leading us ever in that direction.

Aside from a bit of morning congestion, I'm still feeling fine so there is at least that blessing, but being sick definitely takes the fun out of the trip for her (and me!) There's not much else to do but to keep soldiering on, fighing the good fight as best we can and hope that whatever has a hold on her is a) not contagious and b) short-lived.

But this is the trip she has wanted to take for a long time, and take it we will. Today was our day to poke around York and see at least some of what this famous cathedral city is all about. Margene took the cathedral tour while I relaxed in the sun on a bench in the park. I appreciate the cathedrals more for the architectural and engineering expertise it took to construct them than for the religious art. I overdose on that pretty quickly. Still, you must appreciate that back in the day, the church was a powerful political force and called the shot for much of medieval society.

 

 



I'll try to give a bit of background on these, going left to right from the top. I really enjoy some of the (seemingly) classic pub buildings, many of which also offered rooms. The Museum Gardens were once the site of St. Mary's Abbey. I thought this sandwich board had a cool message: "What you really need now is a half decent scone with clotted cream and jam." So much more civilized than another "buy me, buy me" message

York Minster (cathedral) is the 400-pound gorilla in the room. The upkeep on buildings like this must be astronomical, so I can understand the need to charge admission, but I wasn't curious enough to pay $15 to wander through. Ye Olde Starr Inn is allegedly York's oldest pub (1644) and makes no secret of it. Just that fact was enough to cause me to wander back to check it out. (The place smelled strangely of vomit so we moved on!) There are lot of small tea rooms scattered everywhere -- a very civilized place for an afternoon break.

The street called "The Shambles" is a classic narrow land jammed with shops (and tourists!) Actually, this part of the old town is all narrow lanes lined with shops and tourists, only just a bit wider than The Shambles. Clifford's Tower is all that's left of You's 13th-century castle -- the site of a gruesome 1190 mass suicide of local Jews who locked themselves inside and set the castle on fire rather than face death at the hands of bloodthirsty townfolk.


Our tiny village of Millington has a history as well. The new brick house on the corner is built on the foundation of an old Roman building and apparently the old Roman well is still preserved inside. Adding indoor plumbing to old stone buildings usually involves punching holes in the walls and running the waste lines on the outside. Few took the time to paint the pipes as nicely as this. The Gait Inn, the local pub is finally getting a new roof. You can see that the old one has been completely removed down to the 11th century rafters. No one is quite sure how long the last roof was on there, but some speculation had it being 800 years old! The new one will be the same timber and tile as the old one.

We took Maureen to dinner at the pub tonight for a slice of local life. Like many old village pubs it is small, dark, cozy and filled with local characters for whom the pub (public house) serves as a communal living room. The resident character at the Gait Inn is Frances, a wonderfully wacky 86-year old who lives next door. Stan runs the bar and his wife Helen is the cook. Both are very good at what they do. My steak pie was exceptional and Margene had her first experience with Yorkshire pudding ... and where better for that to happen than in Yorkshire!


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