Hello from ENGLAND part 2

[Lydia Leftcoast]

Well, I spent Sunday in church. Just about all of it.

The morning began with a typically ample English breakfast buffet, and then we went to Hereford Cathedral for the regular morning service, complete with Eucharist and excellent preaching by the dean of the cathedral.

But that's not all! There was an afternoon service to mark the official beginning of the festival, which featured the choirs of the three cathedrals, as well as an adult choir recruited locally.

Since the medieval cathedral was not built with modern festivals in mind, most of the seating is not within sight of either the altar or the performance stage, so there are flat panel TV screens set up all over the place. There was another excellent

But that's not all! We went back to the cathedral in the evening for a concert of Edward Elgar's The Kingdom, superbly done, with an adult choir that was superbly together and an absolutely fabulous baritone.

Today we did a group excursion to Worcester, another of the nearby cathedral cities. This cathedral is even more ornate than the one at Hereford, and it boasts such historical features as a crypt built in 1084 and the tomb of King John of Magna Carta fame. Right nearby is the factory for Royal Worcester Porcelain. The timing of the factory tour didn't work for us, but we had fun browsing in the outlet shops. Unfortunately, everything was either too expensive or too large. The countryside between Hereford and Worcester was gorgeous, very hilly and full of little villages with names like Half Key and Suckley. Fortunately, we aren't getting herded around on this tour. Our jolly, helpful bus driver simply parked the bus in a central location, and our tour leader turned us loose with a list of the major sights of Worcester.

Tomorrow I'm bowing out of the group excursion to Hay-on-Wye, the used book capital of the world (I have too many books already), and concentrating on doing laundry, taking a walking tour of Hereford, and taking part in a participatory workshop on English country music.

[wildhorses]

1. I am SOOOOOOO jealous

but, really...sounds like you are having FUN:hi:

[T_i_B]

2. I'd love to visit Hay-on-Wye sometime

as I'm something of a big fan of second hand bookshops myself.

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. I'd love to visit Hay-on-Wye sometime as well....

though having recently donated hundreds of books, I should probably control myself for a while. Better stay safely on this side of the pond.

[nosillies]

3. I'd love to hear all about Hay.

I am desperate to get over there in May/June next year for the festival.

Life in English villages does often revolve around the cathedral! In my husband's village, we all cram in for Christmas Eve service, and that church is also NOT built for modern conveniences. NO HEATING! The place fills up with everybody's smoke breaths when we're singing.

You are really getting to see some neat things!

[myrna minx]

5. Oh Lydia, it sounds like you are having the best time.

Take care! :hi: