While we were off swanning around Europe and while the UK was rebounding from the riots, Mark's Aunty Mary broke her arm. While she narrowly avoided damaging a lorry with her head, she successfully smashed up her right arm pretty badly. We only found out after getting home and just before Mark & the kids raced off to Dorset and the Weymouth carnival. Mary is fiercely independent and would not countenance any sort of assistance despite having had surgery to insert a plate into her arm and recovering for a week in hospital. The plaster came off the week after Mark's mum left, but the plate is still in.
Mark's mum Elizabeth spent four weeks with us recently. She caught up with her sisters Mary and Jean. While we didn't do the extensive travelling with Elizabeth we had with Sally's mum Margaret, she did spend almost a week up in Scotland with two of her friends from Sydney. They were combining a conference with a trip to Iona in the Scottish New Hebrides and wanted Elizabeth to join them. She had a great time but unfortunately their trip was cut short by a couple of days when Hurricane Katia headed towards the West coast of the UK. They were advised by locals to try to leave as such severe weather could see them stranded in Iona if the ferries were unable to run. The three of them got out alright before Iona was indeed cut off from the mainland for almost a week.
Elizabeth's Essex-based sister, Jean, came down to stay from Colchetser with her daughter Sarah, her husband Billy and their daughter Libby. After dinner we had what has become the traditional Strutt/Eldridge family pavlova. As a result, being suitably fortified with enormous amounts of sugar, Aisha & William decided it would be a good idea to sleep outside in the garden. Libby was less certain but, despite the threat of rain, marauding vampire foxes and countless other dangers, she joined them and ......they all survived.
We took Mary & Elizabeth up to their birthplace in Coleshill just south of Birmingham. All but one of the seven Brogan children were born at home and five of them at Coleshill. Although we tried hard, we couldn't pinpoint for certain either of the two houses that Elizabeth and Mary's family stayed lived in. By good fortune though we were able to view the 1928 marriage register for James Brogan and Elizabeth Sheridan. It was interesting to see the entries in the register were latinised. We also re-visited some of the areas the then five kids in the Brogan family played at.
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| Down by the river again. |
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| At the bottom of the field they all used to shortcut through to get home. |
We all stayed in a small B&B just a few doors away from Father Hudson's Homes, originally a home for boys. Elizabeth and Mary's father, James Brogan, was a carpenter by trade and worked there as a general fix-it/handyman from 1927-1937. So well thought of was he that when James & Elizabeth married in 1928, the boys from the homes formed a guard of honour as the couple walked up the path to the main entrance of the Father Hudson's from the church across the road. For most of his life Mark had heard stories about Grandad and his work at the homes. While the homes are now closed and boarded up it was still a very evocative and poignant visit.
During our wanderings through the town we spotted the 'Coleshill Pillory' and wondered just how two storey double stocks would work. The plaque sates it was apparently last used in 1863.
Weeks earlier William had been signed up for a scout 'survival' camp which ended up being on the only weekend we could visit Coleshill. William therefore missed out on the trip but looked forward, as he always does, to the camp. The scouts were told they would have to sleep on the ground under a shelter they would build and would have to catch, kill, skin and cook a rabbit for their dinner. William was a little concerned about the catching and killing bits. We assured him this just wouldn't happen because the Brits love animals far too much to allow kids to kill cute little bunny rabbits. In Australia the story might have been different as there rabbits are considered vermin and vastly outnumber people. In the UK for example, the approach to stray cats is to catch, neuter and then release them. We guess the local bird-life gets to fend for themselves! Sally upset the local animal welfare based charity shop not long after we moved into East Finchley by suggesting the cats be put down as they generally are in Australia....
Well, we were wrong. While the scouts did not have to catch and kill the rabbits, which were shot on site the day before, they did have to do the rest. Although he didn't particularly like the skinning and gutting part, William did say the stew the rabbits ended up in was fairly nice. Mark now has another dish to add to his repertoire !!!
Getting William to camp, us up to Coleshill, collecting William and getting everyone else back to London was a bit of a logistical nightmare! We sorted out a lift up to the camp for William, but needed to collect him at noon the next day. In the end we decided to send Sally back to collect W and some other scouts while Mark, Aisha, Mary and Elizabeth caught the train back. Instead of heading straight back on the Sunday we got Sally to drop us at Coventry Cathedral and catch a train from there. It was a good decision for all but Sally who got stuck on the motorway! Neither Mary nor Elizabeth had been to Coventry before and, although Coventry gets barely a page in our Lonely Planet guide book, it was very much worth a visit.
Most people have heard of Coventry and the bombing that took place during WWII. St Michael's church, as it was originally, was built between 14th & 15th centuries and was one of the largest parish churches in England. It was elevated to the status of cathedral in 1918. By the time of WWII, Coventry was heavily involved in manufacturing war material, making it a prime target for the Luftwaffe. On the night of 14th November 1940, 515 German bombers attacked with a combination of two kinds of incendiary bombs (magnesium and petrol) and high explosive bombs, including 'air mines'. These mines exploded as soon as they contacted the ground rather than burying down as conventional bombs do. Because of this, air mines deliver more of their blast laterally and therefore cause more damage. In that one night 600 people died and 1,000 were injured. More than 4,000 homes were destroyed along with three quarters of the cities factories. In the city centre almost no building was left untouched.
Remarkably, and very controversially at the time, the day after the attack the Provost of the Cathedral announced his forgiveness of the Germans. This has set the tone for how Coventry Cathedral now presents to the world and it is actively involved in reconciliation across the globe. In recognition of the suffering of the population of Stalingrad and in support of the Red Army, Coventry was twinned with Stalingrad during the war. This was the first ' twinning' of cities. Not surprisingly Coventry was also later twinned with Dresden, the German city almost totally obliterated between 13th & 15th February 1945 and claiming up to 25,000 dead.
The day after the Coventry bombing two charred timbers were wired together to form a cross which was mounted on what was the altar. The original is now in the new cathedral while a replica is outside in the old cathedral. Cleaning up the ruins also revealed medieval iron nails from the trusses of the destroyed roof. These nails were collected and turned into small crosses and after the war were sent initially to the devastated German cities of Kiel, Dresden and Berlin.
Click here for more information on the nails.
Click here for information on the work of the Community of the Cross of Nails.
Click here for more information on the nails.
Click here for information on the work of the Community of the Cross of Nails.
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The modern cathedral is next to and physically attached to the ruins. It is an amazing structure, quite unlike any other we have seen and has a beautiful kaleidoscope stained glass wall. As part of its work on reconciliation there are numerous exhibits including one for the British war dead from Afghanistan. The simple yet moving exhibit of miniature 6 x 6 x 8 cm empty wooden chairs by Warwickshire artist Mike Yorke, held 360 chairs - each one for a British soldier killed. The exhibits adds a chair each time a soldier is killed.
More information about the exhibit.
Amazingly, the 650 year old guild hall, which is literally within throwing distance of the old cathedral, did survive the bombings almost unscathed. It is tucked away up a small lane and we found it quite by chance. We were able to see a wonderful collection of armour, paintings, furniture and tapestries dating back 500yrs. The hall served as the centre of King Henry VI' s court during the War of the Roses. Mary Queen of Scotts was held here by her cousin Elizabeth 1st and there are suggestions that Shakespeare held plays here. We all had a turn at sitting in a chair used by King James II and Elizabeth 1st.
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| The Guild Hall really is this close to the Cathedral. |
Coventry is also the home of Lady Godiva (1040 - 1070), famed for her naked ride through the town to persuade her husband, Leofric the Earl of Mercia, to repeal his heavy taxes. Whether the story is true or not there have been Lady Godiva festivals held in Coventry, complete with riders in varying degrees of nakedness, for decades. There are also several exhibits in the Coventry museum dedicated to the Lady.
Back in London Sally and Aisha took Elizabeth and her sister Jean to a performance of 'The Railway Children' - a girls' night out! Performed on both sides of a disused platform at Waterloo station, it features a 100 year old steam train that chugs through the 'stage' several times - all were brought to tears by this charming story and declared it a brilliant performance. Jean & Elizabeth also went on a tour of Buckingham Palace seeing various state rooms, the royal coaches, including the Australian State coach, a gift from 'us' to Her for the 1988 Australian bicentenary. Apparently it is favoured amongst all the coaches as it has electric windows, heating (!) and hydraulic suspension. They also saw Kate Middleton's wedding dress.
Just as Elizabeth was leaving late on Friday night we welcomed our friend from Damascus days, Rachel, now from Belgium and here for work. She stayed just one night before returning to her family and making way for Joh, a friend of William's, who came for a sleepover.
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| Pavlova again ! |
Several blog posts ago we referred to Aisha's desire to have a phone and our ( Mark's mostly) reluctance to get one. He lost.
We also referred, perhaps somewhat smugly, to the success we've had brainwashing our kids not to care about brands.
See Aisha's instructions to us regarding her phone.
Sigh.
Last weekend we were in Oxford after several weekends at home. The weather was fantastic but looks now to be rapidly descending into arctic blasts. We are heading off this weekend for the half term break ( AGAIN !) this time five days in Suffolk. Another update will be put up in a week or two after we have returned.
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