Back to the Past: History and Literature

When we are almost at the end of our part tour of Great Britain having covered Pembroke, Roslaire, Dublin (distinguished by the likes of Yeats, Synge, Shaw, Joyce), Belfast, Liverpool, Edinburgh( UNESCO World City of Literature) , Lake District ( the haunts of Coleridge and Wordsworth), Yorkshire (Sculpture Park) , Wakefield (setting for Oliver Goldsmith's lampoon), Stonehenge, Stratfort-upon-Avon  (Shakespeare's birthplace), Woodstock, Oxford and Cheltenham we arrive at Bath.

Rub your eyes, pinch yourself

Bath,  as the name suggests, is named after ,what else(?), baths, Roman baths. The World Heritage site is known as one of the great spa towns of Europe. During the Victorian era it was a popular destination for holiday makers. Ambling about we find our selves at the Circus, a crescent shaped building made up of 30 three storey Georgian terraced houses, once populated entirely by the elite. Then we stroll through what seems to be a busy street filled with cafes . And, lo and behold! I'm  rendered speechless when  Mr Darcy stands before me, and incredibly, with him is Elizabeth Bennet (identified by their Victorian era period costume)! Has my imagination gone wild? They are characters from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, my favourite author. Then it strikes me. She lived in Bath for a few years in the nineteenth century. The characters are beckoning us into The Jane Austen Centre, a museum that helps bring alive the Victorian Era in which Austen wrote. I'm so overwhelmed and totally immersed in the past that there's a buoyancy in my step now as I walk towards the historic Roman Baths, temporarily oblivious to the 21st century.

Quirky enthusiasts or heritage celebrants? 

As we drive from Cheltenham to Bath we stop by at Bleinhem Castle, birth place of Sir Winston Churchill. I now realise that it has featured in James Bond movies and period dramas. The extensive landscaped grounds are enchanting. What's  that movement behind the trees? No need to be a sleuth. Can't be harmful since the Unesco World Heritage site is definitely well guarded. But just out of curiosity, since my mind has registered something peculier, I edge closer. A group of men and women dressed in Victorian costume, all hatted and bonnetted and corsetted, sitting at a picnic table, are gingerly sipping tea and enjoying pastries and sandwiches! I didn't venture a conversation for I preferred to register the moment and imbed it into my subconscious literary self, to be "recollected in tranquility" in later years, taking the hint from William Wordsworth. 

Needless to say, it took a while before I could enjoy the landscaped garden, which was being set up to for a musical entertainment. I was somewhat more grounded by the time I entered the Malborough residence and the displays from Churchill's childhood and his artistic talent attested in his watercolours and hallmark cards.

Of, for, by the people

In one of our trips to the US we spend a few days with friends in Harrisburg.  The Pennsylvania Capitol building takes our breath away with its dazzling Parisian staircase,  imposing renaissance themes , murals, stained glass windows, etc. 

We are then encouraged to visit the Hershey Chocolate World nearby.  Taking the complimentary tour, somewhat like a children's fair ride in cars on rails, through the different stages of production, 'coated' by the aroma is an experience we would have enjoyed more had our grandchildren been with us. 

Putting Roal Dhal behind us we pay a vist to Gettysburg ( we hadn't realised it was that close to our host's home). Being a rainy day we only have a glimpse of the area in which the museum stands. This is where Abraham Lincoln made his famous speech on the nature of democracy. But as we are climbing the stairs we spy men and women in period costumes. Were they staff? Actually they happened to be patriots who had participated in the Veterans day celebration. There had been a parade just before we arrived, and of course, just before the rain. What we see upstairs is spell binding. It is a cyclorama made up of  massive panoramic paintings, about 50 feet high and at least 400 feet in circumference, hung in a 360 fashion that allows visitors to seemingly step inside a 'live'battle , replete with gunshots now and then and also wisps of smoke. This was created  before the days of mass communication through radio and TV, but the effect is not compromised ( perhaps only imax can recreate the same effect)!

Representing a cuisine.

When in Tallin we are greeted by waitresses in retro medieval  dresses. But this, of course, is to attract customers to try traditional cuisine.