August 7
Margaret fixed breakfast, then we took a lovely walk together around Chipping Campden, Margaret and Nick narrating the sights and history of this quaint, utterly charming place, and introducing us to neighbors we passed. Wandering around a place aimlessly is my favorite thing to do on pretty-much any trip, giving you time to soak in the environment and culture. When you can do that with local friends, it’s tough to beat. Sure to be one of the highlights of the trip.
Below are a few sights, the local postman, evidence of an old school etched in stone, street signs, a silversmith’s shop, the tomb of Baptist Hicks, Zoe and Phoebe in St. James’ Church and in front of the Wilson’s house, called Stamford House.
We bade goodbye to the Wilsons and drove back to London, uneventfully, to return the car. Picked up some sandwiches which we ate at the flat and then, after a short rest, took off by tube to meet our friends, Joe and Cathy Feldman from Chicago, who are spending a year living in London. We ate at a good, but quite noisy, pizza restaurant so our opportunity to converse was restricted, but it was good to see the Feldmans.
After dinner, we walked to see The Mousetrap, the Agatha Christie play that has been running continuously for 67 years in London and which Carol and I had seen in 1967. The girls enjoyed the play quite a bit, but I had trouble hearing and understanding the words. Still, it was a successful evening.
We returned to the flat and retired.
Ah London and the countryside.
You are making me want to go!
Arnie, you’re outdoing yourself with the photography that’s spectacular.