13 September 2020

Holidaying

Cow on the sea bank near Leverton

In my last post, I was bending the truth slightly. We are not in Boston at all - just in the borough of Boston. We are four miles north of the town in a holiday rental property called Curlew Cottage. It's the first time Shirley has slept away from home all year and I have only had one night in London when I was on van driving duty for the beloved daughter and her prince.

Black horse on the sea bank - by a memorial to a local farmer

We drove over here on Saturday afternoon. A pleasant two hour journey. The cottage is splendid - clean, comfortable and peaceful. The kind owner left us a pint of milk, biscuits, teabags and coffee. After unpacking, Clint took us to the nearby sea bank for a short circular walk.

This part of England is as flat as a pancake. The sea bank is essential to prevent the waters of The Wash from flooding the rich agricultural land beyond. If you look at a map of the east coast of England you will see a place where it appears a giant has bitten a huge chunk out of the coastline. That is The Wash.

It was lovely walking in the early evening sunshine. Sheep, cattle and horses grazed on the grassy embankment and in the fields we saw rows of enormous cabbages awaiting harvest. Many of them were quite literally the size of footballs (American: soccer balls)

Further inland there's another sea bank - now redundant.  It is known as "The Roman Bank"and certainly the Romans did build a sea bank near here but the one we walked along is most probably medieval.

Riverside scene in Wainfleet All Saints

Today we visited Gibraltar Point near Skegness, busy Skegness itself  and a lovely inland village called Wainfleet All Saints. At four o'clock, we entered "The Bricklayers' Arms" near Wrangle for a late Sunday lunch. Oh my God! It was superb. Every element of  that lunch was excellent from the slow-cooked beef  to the golden roasted potatoes, the leeks in cheese sauce and the fluffy Yorkshire puddings and beef gravy. That must be what the catering will be like in heaven. My meal was washed down with a foaming pint of "Batemans" bitter. I hope that they serve that in heaven too. What will the internet access be like I wonder?

Tomorrow I think we will venture into the town of Boston itself. Watch this space.

Donkeys on Skegness Beach

25 comments:

  1. I’m glad you enjoyed a superb meal, but if you are expecting to be catered to in heaven, you probably won’t gain entrance there.

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    1. Any idea what we will be eating up there then Bob? I hope it isn't just manna. I find manna rather bland.

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  2. That meal sounds divine! From reading your blog I've come to believe that there isn't an ugly town or village in all of England.

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    1. Mmm... We got ugly Jennifer. Plenty of it. But I am employed by The English Tourist Board!

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  3. You not only get out but go to a very great place.

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  4. Sounds lovely and the photos are lovely too.

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    1. Haven't seen any lilies growing here...yet!

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  5. It sounds perfect and I hope your entire holiday stays that way. Steve used to be taken to Skeggie (as he called it) on summer holidays when he was little, I saw some sweet pictures of him as a toddler playing on the beach there.

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    1. Tacky Skeggie is not really my cup of tea Meike but many working class people love it there. Yesterday they weere out in full force in spite of COVID19. I wanted out of there.

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    2. Steve's family background is as working class as it gets - miners and builders. Only in his generation did the young people start going to uni.

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  6. "Family run for donkeys years!" What a super sign.

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    1. See one of those donkeys has the name "SOOTY" on its bridle. There was another, flea-bitten one called "DAVE", standing apart from the other donkeys.

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  7. Never mind about the internet access in heaven YP - will there be chips and puddings! Love the riverside scene - it looks so tranquil.

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    1. Will there be separate dormitories for the cavemen and the cavewomen? Will other primates get into heaven? Chimps? Gorillas?

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  8. If you get a chance, visit Stamford on the A1. Well worth a visit.

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    1. Been there - got the T-shirt as they say ADDY. It is indeed a lovely little town.

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  9. You forgot to tell us about your donkey ride. I bet you enjoyed it: smiling from ear to ear.

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    1. I was riding on a donkey called Tasker. He was very stubborn.

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    1. God has granted us good weather... so far!

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  11. Cute donkeys! Did you ride one? Or at least give them a carrot for their photo?

    That looks like a charming little village on the waterway. I miss pub meals. I bet I haven't been in a pub since January!

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    1. Generally speaking, donkey rides are only for children Steve. Wainfleet All Saints is indeed a charming place. That scene was spotted on the edge of the village.

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  12. Enjoy. Leeks in cheese sauce. I've just added them (leeks not cheeses) to my list of things to grow next year.

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    1. We have seen fields of leeks today with Eastern European farm labourers picking them in gangs. I assume that they are paid for their hard labour.

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