December Part I

    It’s hard to believe its December 25th and I'm sitting in my kitchen, in Maryland, writing this. December seems to have flown by in a flurry of snow, ice, reading, and writing end of term essays! I am going to break this down into manageable sized chapters….

Part 1:

      Early in December, Sofia and I had a lovely weekend in Gargrave, visiting my Uncle Hugh.  We rode the train from York to Gargrave, which takes about two hours. It’s a pretty journey through North Yorkshire, passing by lots of small towns and picturesque fields, lined by stone walls and inhabited by wooly sheep. We passed through Skipton, where my Granny and Granddad Mardall lived, and I spent many summer days.  The Gargrave train station reminds me of the scene from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, when the children first go to live in the country. You step of the train, and away it goes, and then suddenly you are there all alone with just the birds for company, wondering how you are going to get your cases up the huge flight of stairs to the road. Once you reach the road, there's not a sign post or other clue, as to which way you are meant to go to get to Gargrave, which is actually just at the bottom of the hill. I suppose it’s not a place lots of tourists would take the train to. 

     We walked down the lane past the village church, crossed the river and landed at Estate Yard, where Uncle Hugh has his antique shop, workshop, and home.  We wiled away the afternoon drinking tea, catching up with Uncle Hugh, and learning the ins and outs of rugby. In the evening we attended a fundraiser for a group that supports Care-givers in Yorkshire. This was the most unusual fundraiser that I've ever been to. The English, it seems, will do almost anything to raise money for charity, and this evening they were fire-walking! Not what I imagined I'd ever see on the outskirts of Skipton! Since then I've heard of men growing mustaches for charity, getting them cut off again, shaving their heads, and women climbing mountains. My Auntie Pat walked Hadrian’s Wall for charity, and my friend Louise bungee jumped off of a crane over River Thames!  They are a very caring, socially conscious people, and a bit loony to boot!

     The next afternoon, after a brisk walk along the canal and around the village (see photo at bottom of page), Uncle Hugh and his friend Marcia took us to a traditional pub for lunch, which served the likes of roast beef, mallard duck, and bangers and mash. I had a life changing moment at the end of the meal, when we discovered sticky toffee pudding. Well sticky toffee pudding is basically sponge cake soaked on hot caramel toffee served with a side of icecream. I highly recommend you try it. Anyone who knows me well, could tell you that I'd rather eat dessert than dinner, any day. We had sticky toffee pudding for dinner the next 2 days running! It's a good thing I'm walking 3-5 miles a day!
Stay tuned for Part 2...

Scaling York Minster

Scaling York Minster

     Last week was so very exciting for me. I have been visiting York Minster since I was quite young, and have long been fascinated by cathedrals.  The idea that these buildings were made by hand with no modern tools or machinery is amazing. So last week was exciting for me, because I got to go where not many do; up the scaffolding!

     The East façade of York Minster has been under-going renovations for some time now. It began with renovations needed to the masonry, but once the scaffolding was up, it became apparent that the stained glass was in need of some help too, so all of the stained glass has been removed for cleaning and conservation. 

     We began our tour with Nick Teed, who is head conservator at the York Glaziers Trust. He took us around the outside of the building to show us all the variations in historic and modern protective glazing (covers and protects the stained glass on the outside).  After going around the exterior, we went inside for an up-close look at some panels which have been monitored for the last year with 3 different types of protective glazing schemes.  We entered through a door in the corner of the Minster which led to a circular staircase. We went up, round and round on some very steep stone steps, and popped out about 20 feet up onto a narrow ledge. The heating radiators, which are a modern addition, took up half the ledge, so it didn’t leave much space to walk along. It was kind of like being on a high diving board; It looked so much higher once we were up there.  It didn’t help that the stone railing was only about knee high either. After a close examination of these great windows, in situ, we went back down the stone stairs to regroup.

     Our next foray was into the scaffolding on the inside wall of the East facade. We went up with the purpose of inspecting the grooves in the masonry, which would partially hold the stained glass in place. You could see where it had been moved and new grooves were cut into the stone, and also where the iron bars had corroded and been replaced with brass fittings.   About halfway up the wall, we went through a little Alice-in-Wonderland style door. It looked like we had all drank the bigger potion as we bent over and shimmied through. We emerged onto the outer scaffolding with a dizzying and drizzly view across the city. We were quite high up at this point, and I have to admit I was holding on pretty tight, although it was perfectly safe.

     It was really spectacular to see the new work that the masons and stone carvers are doing. I’ve always admired the weathered gargoyles and spouts on old churches and buildings, but the new carvings were just as impressive, and quite bizarre as they are meant to be.  The old stone-work was so weathered it looked like melted wax. It’s impressive what a little water can do over time.

     A bonus of this visit was that another local University, York St. John’s, was having its graduation ceremony in the Minster, while we were there. So as we looked over masonry schematics in the far back corner, the choir was signing, the organ was playing, and we even heard the Archbishop’s welcome to the families!