Sheffield - graveyards and football

While I had to work during Whitney's first week here (people at home wondered whether I was imaginary), I had Good Friday off from work and we headed to Sheffield. Although this wasn't particularly planned, I guess it's kind of funny that we went to a graveyard on Good Friday, and the only experience that might be more religious for some people; a football game!

We started with an English breakfast at a super cute cafe in an industrial area called The Daily Grind. While Justin and Whitney both had the full English breakfast (eggs, toast, sausages, back bacon, tomatoes, portobello mushroom) and a couple of lattes, I had a modified eggs benedict. This had smoked haddock covered in rarebit (a melted cheese, and not rabbit, as I have learned on this trip) on top of english muffins, topped with perfectly-done eggs and 'some purple stuff' as my sister Shannon commented when I sent her a picture. It was so delicious that we got some extra food for takeaway and ate it for lunch!

The daffodils are starting to die back, but since they started blooming in January we can't really be mad!

Between lunch and the football match, Justin had read about one of the most haunted graveyards in England, so we headed over to see what it was about. I don't really believe in ghosts, but I do believe this was one of the most eerie and beautiful places we've visited so far!

The cemetery was consecrated in 1859, and most of the gravestones we saw were from the 1890s through the 1930s. It was closed in 1968, partly because there is a train track running through it (!) and the vibrations from the trains were collapsing the graves and headstones. There was also a scandal in 1862 where the citizens of the town accused the vicar of selling their loved ones' bodies to medical schools for dissection - however the 'only' thing he was found guilty of was reusing graves to save money (and possibly effort). Amazingly, he remained the vicar of the church there afterwards.

The graveyard is completely overgrown with ivy and trees, but there is a local group who volunteers their time to try and keep the headstones clear.

Headstone poems are a weird concept to me. Is there a book that you read through, to find one that closely matches the passing of your loved one? Is it up to the person who makes the headstone? Does the family compose it?

I can't imagine how creepy this place would be at night - however we also wouldn't have been able to really see what was happening or read the headstones

This tree grew up completely around this headstone  (on all sides) since the cemetery fell into disrepair

There are two portions to the cemetery - the wooded area that these pictures were from had the majority of the graves. Once you cross the train tracks and head up the hill there are fewer graves, and almost no trees.

I think this was the saddest grave for me. We were so caught up in the atmosphere and otherworldly beauty of the wooded area that it was easy to forget that these were people who had families that loved them - and in some cases still have to come to this graveyard if they wish to mourn them. This grace had what looked to me like a winter wreath placed on it, meaning someone had been here in the last 6 months. What does it feel like to see your family member's resting place in such a state?

 

As we walked up the hill there were signs of a recent grass fire, and then we came around the corner and saw this site. Lightning or intentionally set fire? It was amazing and strange to see the blackened gravestones, although there seemed to be little in the way of actual damage.

  

Here are two gravestones that we spent a lot of time on:

I get that Manwaring was married to Ann Smith, and Joseph Gilbert was married to Sarah Ann Cowley. Can anyone figure out their link or why they are buried together?

On that happy note, time to go to a football match?

The Sheffield United Blades are a team in League One, the third-highest tier in the UK's many football leagues. They were founded in 1889, and play at Bramall Lane, which was built in 1855 as a cricket ground. The turnstiles to get in are tiny (I wish we'd gotten a picture but were trying not to hold up the bag check line and be late) - I guess there are no overweight British football fans?

You're not supposed to take photos or video inside the stadium (although I think it's more about not using them for commercial use - regardless we didn't want to get kicked out!) so we just took a few quick shots between play.

Pre-game selfie

View from our seats. Most of the seats are for Home supporters, and the stand to our left (out of the picture) is the only place Away supporters are allowed to sit - I guess to prevent riots?

There's a bit of a view of the Away stands. If there isn't enough demand, then don't open the lower tier, supposedly to keep them from messing with the players. The opposing tier, on the other hand, is the most popular one and was standing-room only even though there were plenty of seats elsewhere. They are known for being the noisiest fans and keep the 'Bramall Roar' going throughout the game. No vuvuzelas though, thank god!

 Concessions are very different at these games. We assumed you purchased drinks and took them down into the stands. So when we arrived, 10 or 15 minutes before the match started, we each bought a pint (cider for me! Thank god cider is a big thing in the UK) then found out we couldn't get to our seats with them. This picture captures the followup well:

However, if you want to buy a pot pie at concession and take it to your seat? Knock yourself out!

After the game (the Sheffield Blades won although they really didn't deserve to - they had a lousy second half) we took some quick pictures of the empty stadium

Go Blades!

After the game, on the way to dinner we found this nice church and the Wonder Twins decided to do some bouldering:

The walkway to the church was entirely gravestones. Does this make anyone else feel uncomfortable, or is it just me? "Oops, sorry for stepping on your grave, John Smith."

All in all it was a great day, and Whitney continues to be our good-luck charm for decidedly un-British beautiful weather!

A Fortnight with Whit - Stratford-Upon-Avon

Day 4 was a quiet day for us, we hopped on the train and headed back up to Loughborough.
We used the quite day to catch up on blogs, do some laundry and Justin showed me around Loughborough.

I know from reading the blog you wouldn't actually think that Justin is here for school but he took me to his soon-to-be Alma Mater, Loughborough University.

JP and I at the university square

WEDC (Justin's program) has a pump garden out back so, we pumped it

Day 5, we rented a car and headed up to Stratford-Upon-Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare. This was another must-see spot on my list - the bucket list of an English major.

We started with a tour of Old Stratford (for any of you who know, this is the inspiration for Stratford, Ontario which is complete with it's own Avon river and Globe theatre).

The tudor style houses were definitely Justin's favourite. He couldn't get over how the buildings have heaved and buckled over the last 400 years but are still standing.  The wood-beams were useful in the day but definitely didn't keep everything square.

Bendy Tudor houses

Our tour ended at Holy Trinity Church which was the final resting place of *most* of William Shakespeare.

Where the bard was laid to rest 

I say most because there was a recent scan done of Shakespeare's grave by academics doing a BBC documentary to commemorate the 400th year of Shakespeare's death, who have found out that his skull is actually missing from the rest of the skeleton.  The church has claimed for many years to have the undisturbed bones of Shakespeare, even though there was a rumour that has been around since the early 1800s that some grave robbers broke in a took Shakespeare's skull as a trophy.  While this has been widely dismissed by academics until the results of this BBC documentary came out, it seems to have had some truth to it. One the cool things about the whole story is that, on Shakespeare's grave, there is a curse, that reads:

Good friend for jesus' sake forebore

to dig the dust enclosed here

blessed be the man that spares these stones

and cursed be he that moves my bones

I'm not sure where his skull ended up but the English major in me hopes that at some point, there has or will be an actor who stands on a stage and recites Hamlet's soliloquy whilst holding the skull of Shakespeare. The ultimate of poetic treatment.

After the tour, we were soggy enough to need some warm food and a pint to keep us going. While there, I used the opportunity to ask Justin to be my best/only man for the wedding - he agreed, complete with a contract binding him to servitude for the next year and a half.

Signing his life away to be the Only Man, at my wedding

We visited Shakespeare's birthplace after that, seeing the spots that his parents lived and he grew up. Stratford-Upon-Avon is a quaint place that while it only has about 24, 000 people, entertains about 4 million tourists a year.

Shakespeare's birthplace 

We took a stroll around the river, saw a beautiful old carriageway bridge and posed with the bronze of young Will for posterity.

Compatriots, we be, young master Will

JP tried to fight him, poncho and all

It was a proper English day, so by the end of it both JP and I were tired, wet and cold. I definitely appreciated the sun we had days earlier after trekking around in the rain all day.

A Fortnight with Whit - London, Day 2

Day 2 will definitely be a hard day to top on this trip, it blew my mind on so many different occasions.

We walked along the Thames to get the proper view of Tower Bridge, you have to see it emerge from the river to really understand how impressive it is. The bridge was so busy in the late 1800s that they decided to construct the new bridge, just do deal with traffic, both on land and up the Thames. The building started in 1886 and took eight years to complete.

Tower Bridge

The view from the glass floor on Tower Bridge *note the soul-less selfie stick go-pro-ing*

During WWII, the German fighter planes used Tower Bridge as a landmark and intentionally didn't try to blow it up in the many blitz' that London endured.

A prominent landmark

Justin nerded out a little bit in the Tower Bridge engine room, learning about how the engineers built an engine that runs a coal-to-steam-to-hydrualic-to-mechanical lifting mechanism for the arms of the bridge.  In it's first month of operation alone in 1894, the bridge was lifted more than 650 times.

The coal doors that started the power process for Tower Bridge

Justin hanging out with the turbines that turned the coal-fired steam into hydraulic power

I have a feeling this will make it onto Justin and Kris' wall when they arrive home

My second day in London was even nicer than the first with beaming sunshine and blue skies - absolutely perfect weather for walking around the Tower of London. It seems, I did indeed, bring the sunshine with me.

Beautiful sprawling grounds of the Tower of London

The Tower of London was originally built by William the Conqueror to defend the city from anyone coming up the Thames.  William build the White Tower first and what is now the green lawn you'll see in the pictures was a moat. They subsequently built and inner and outer wall, pushing back the Thames to make more room for the Royal family and their servants, and the army to live within the Tower of London.

We were lucky enough to wander into the Tower of London 10 minutes before a Yeomans tour.  The yeoman are the Queens Guard who live within the gates and protect the tower from intruders. To become a yeoman you must: (1) spend at least 23 years in the British service, (2) get a commendation during your service, and (3) have no record of mis-behaviour in the last 16 years of your service.... and then apply and see if you're selected.  They are a pretty exclusive group because once you become a yeoman, you and your whole family move into the Tower of London  and live there for the duration of your service. 

our yeoman guide

For those of you that like history, the Tower of London and Tower Hill beside, was the site of many of the beheadings of the the day, including some queens who married Henry VIII. Three of his wives  are buried in the chapel onsite, that is still used for Sunday services.

One of the main draws for the Tower of London is the crown jewels.  They have been kept there for hundreds of years and are stored there on display until needed for a royal occasion.  The largest every uncut diamond is located there at a whopping 500+ carats which is nestled in the coronation sceptre. Unfortunately you can't take pictures in there but trust me, that was serious bling.

This was one of the regular guards, not a yeoman, protecting the Crown Jewels

We headed up the White Tower after that which has a showcase of the Line of Kings and a number of military items including swords, cannons, armour - some of it even fit for a boy king.

Mini armour

The White Tower

My favourite part of the White Tower was the stone chapel that was located inside the tower. With three story arch vaulted ceilings and a stone alter, it was breathtaking. I could have spent hours in there - after so much gold and glitz of the crown jewels, the chapel was all the more impressive in simplicity and understated beauty. This was another section where pictures weren't allowed.

Our third stop for the day was at St. Paul's Cathedral - this is the big one where Diana married the Prince of Wales.  It's a gorgeous 365ft domed cathedral that is one of the other most recognizable landmarks in London.

St Paul's Cathedral

The cathedral has a number cool features and lets you walk all the way up three circles to the top, to see one of the nicest views in the city. The first circle is called the Whispering Gallery because the domed shape of it had the unintended effect of allowing you whisper something along the wall on one side of the room and have it be heard by someone with their ear to the wall on the other.  JP and I tried it successfully, it was pretty awesome. Up on the second level, the Stone Gallery where you can look through a glass ceiling to the floor of the cathedral some 250 ft below. After you keep going up another set of narrow and narrower stairs, you finally reach the Golden Gallery after climbing 528 steps. We borrowed Whitney's go-pro camera for these shots and although we hated the selfie stick, some of them turned out really well.

Outside the Whispering Gallery

And then up to the Stone Gallery

A tight squeeze for the last leg of the Cathedral, it's a good thing we aren't claustrophobic

And finally, atop St Pauls, the Golden Gallery

We walked across the Millennium bridge and took advantage of the low tide to find a geocache that is underwater half the time. We had a few good shots on the beach from there too.

Millennium Bridge with St Paul's in the background

Hanging out on the Thames River 'beach' - perfect spot to hide a geocache

 Our last stop for the day, after wharf-side pizza and wine with Robyn and Whit, was to see a performance of A Winter's Tale at the Sam Wannamaker Theatre (the Globe's little brother). I have always loved Shakespeare and this was another must-see for me while we were here.

The Globe! Shakespeare's home theatre

The play was even better than I expected given that the theatre seats about 200 people total and the whole show was done under candlelight.  JP managed to get us seats in the pit that were about 3 feet from the stage, we were so close we got to be part of the play at a few points. 

Sam Wannamaker Theatre

 It was a gorgeous theatre and we had a ton of fun. I'm so glad that we got a chance to see a Shakespeare play, in the spots where he would have been so many hundred years ago. I will admit, I was kind of in nerds paradise. It won't be something I forget for a long time.