mundane life , two black cats, & other stuff
If there is any place where the pictures in my scrapbook fail to do justice to my memory of its beauty Wells Bishop’s Palace & Gardens is it. I also believe there have been a lot of improvements made to this attraction since my August 2005 visit. 
The first time we went to Wells to visit the Cathedral we were unaware that the Bishop’s Palace & Gardens were there just around the corner. Luckily we found out about them on made a return trip to visit both. And my husband and I need to get back to Wells England again as we have yet to catch a service and hear their choir live.
Time to share another scrapbook page. I pulled a red binder off my shelf and found memories of an August 2005 trip to England. My husband was on a mission to see a number of cathedrals and while there are tons of pictures of them I enjoyed taking shots of the landscape while we traveled mile after mile on trains. These photos include some crops being harvested. 
I could not figure out what the crop was. If you know, or have an educated guess I am interested in learning.
I’ll be posting more pages from this particular trip in the weeks to come. Until then…
Here are two scrapbook pages from an October 2009 day in Bury St. Edmunds:
After arriving by train we spent some time inside the St Edmundsbury Cathedral followed by a pleasant stroll around the Abbey Gardens. 
There photos were taken in 1999. The Road Train that takes you to the National Railway Museum from Duncombe Place (next to York Minster) gets you into the mood. 
A historic logo -
The National Railway Museum in York & Shildon is the largest railway museum in the world. Learn more by clicking here.
This photo of a lovely formal floral display was taken in 1998 during by very first trip to London. I really wanted to walk through Regent’s Park because it is the setting for part of Virgina Woolf‘s novel Mrs. Dalloway. It did not disappoint me. I think it is still my favorite of the Royal Parks in London.
Making plans when you travel can help you get the most out of your trip. Then again the things you come across accidentally can be the most enjoyable aspects of a day. When we took a bus to Tewkesbury, England we had two nice surprises:
Surprise # 1 – 
this lovely little shop.
Surprise # 2 - 
there was an adult choir festival taking place at the Abbey so we were able to listen to rehearsal. We also decided to skip whatever it was we had planned for the rest of the day so we could stay for an afternoon performance/service.
Some form of an English peers’ robe may originate back to the end of the 14th century. The ceremonial robes made of crimson silk velvet, trimmed with white ermine & rows of black sealskin spots date back at least to 1614. It looks like the robes below have 3 rows of spots, or perhaps 2 1/2 rows. That would mean that the robes belong to an Earl or perhaps a Viscount. A Baron would only have 2 rows of spots, while a Duke would rate 4 full rows. 
Carlisle Castle sits on the northern border of England. When it was first built this region, called Cumberland, was still considered a part of Scotland. The intention was to claim the area for England, and later it was used to protect the north of England against the continued threat of invasion from Scotland. 
We toured the castle on a damp and dreary day that aided the imagination as to what a harsh place it must have been for guards and prisoners (including Mary Queen of Scots) alike. 
I would not want to be an Englishman manning these cannons or a Scottish raider with them aimed at me. My heritage on my father’s side is mainly Scottish but there is a good deal of English blood on my mother’s side. I am quite sure none of ancestors, however, hailed from these region. Good for them & probably for me.
