‘Stonehenge and Salisbury’ – a step back in time

Last Thursday it was snowing, yet I promised Jacqueline that we would have dry weather with sunshine for the Saturday trip. There were two coaches waiting for us, and we came aboard at 08.30 just as the Sun began to peek through the greyness, and we were off. We drove through some spectacular English countryside on the southern edge of Bath. Shortly afterwards we could see the ridge of Salisbury Plain in the distance. Perhaps most of you missed it but there was a fleeting glimpse of the Westbury white horse calved into the hill. If you missed it don’t worry, Dr Chill has photographs of the seven white horses located in Wiltshire.

However I digress. We drove along the Nadder valley, the River Nadder being an example of a chalk river in southern England. The waters are clear and the River is popular with fly fishermen. The road lays between the ridge of Salisbury Plain and the River Nadder. We turned on to the road that proceeded upwards to Salisbury Plain. You may have noticed that there was a whitish tinge to the soil on the farmland; this is chalk. Also you may have noticed round bumps (small hills) scattered in the fields. These are burial mounds called round barrows and were placed there in the Bronze Age and were contemporary with the later stages of Stonehenge. I only saw one long barrow. This is also a burial mound, but relates to the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age contemporary to the early stages of Stonehenge. Most long barrows are situated on the northern part of Salisbury Plain, a part of the Plain that was not included on the trip.

I won’t say too much about Stonehenge as you had previously received an email attachment giving an outline of the continuing archaeological exploration around Stonehenge called the Riverside Project.

After Stonehenge we moved southwards to Salisbury, a small city in Wiltshire. The Cathedral is spectacular and no doubt you had the guided tour. I was interested in the origins of the name cathedral meaning the bishop’s seat, and his subordinate, the Dean who is in charge of the cathedrals administration and the building. The chair and position of dean have been inherited by the English university system. For example, a professorial position is called a chair, and the head of a faculty is called a dean! Not surprising really, given that the origins of the English university system began with the church in the medieval period, notably Oxford and Cambridge.

There will be more on Oxford University next month, on 13 March, when we set off on another BISC trip. If you wish to come, please book early, as all places are competitive and places are likely to become very limited. By the way did you visit Salisbury market? I bought some bargains, socks and undies at a knockdown price. Well that’s all for now my lovelies. This is Dr Chill signing off for now as the washing up waits.

‘Pancakes, Pancakes and MORE Pancakes’ – Shrove Tuesday with a difference

How many pancakes did you eat at the BISC Pancake Party on Tuesday 16 February 2010? Wonderful weren’t they. There were all manner of savoury delicacies that went into the first course. It included beef fillings, chicken fillings, a delicious mushroom filling and homemade bake beans with side salads to ‘encourage healthy living’. The sweet fillings for the second course were out of this world and we were encouraged to choose our own combination using apple mouse, chocolate sauce, bananas, caramel sauce and mush mallows. You could even make your own pancake under strict supervision. From my observations it looked like a lot of fun.

The team from Nailsea who provided the food for the evening were really wonderful and professional. If you remember from the talk, Pancake Tuesday is a tradition that goes back to medieval England or even before that. Pancake Day falls on the day before the beginning of what is known as Lent in the church calendar and Lent leads up to Easter.

The time of Lent was a time of simplicity and reflection and most of society during medieval times ate bland basic food. Lent begins on the Wednesday after Pancake Tuesday, called Ash Wednesday. So in order to use up their remaining food stock and not let it go to waste, the medieval Christian society came up with the concept of a Pancake Party.

Well we certainly ate all our pancakes on Tuesday. BISC was a full house and the aroma from the kitchen was mouth watering. I was hoping for a second serving of the first course, unfortunately this did not materialise, so I went for the sweet that was pancake with an apple filling. I did notice that a number of New Year’s resolutions about trying to lose weight were broken on pancake night.

I hope you really enjoyed your Pancake Party particularly if it was your first one.
Keep rocking and rolling folks,this is Dr Chill signing off. I hope to see you at our creams teas and lunches. You will not be disappointed!!

‘Happy Chinese New Year’ – music, food and lots of fun activities

I was at BISC most of the day on Friday 12 February 2010, when our colleagues from the University’s Chinese Chess and Calligraphy Society arrived to prepare for the evening. At about 4 pm a really savoury aroma came from the kitchen with the cooking of spring rolls, and I was invited to try one, yummy yums. I could not wait until the evening proceeding had begun so I could have another one, two or ten!

At 7pm BISC was transformed into a Chinese world of fun, laughter, music, food, Chinese chess, calligraphy and paper cutting. The Chinese chess looked very complicated but I noticed that some erstwhile members of the Christian Society had been practicing in the BISC lounge on Friday afternoon. Their practice paid off and they were well into the game by the early evening.

The Chinese calligraphy too was very skilled and entertaining, and certainly artistic. Dr Chill’s wife was there too learning some of the skills. Actually Mrs Chill is a well-practiced calligrapher and she has displayed her talent in this field at numerous local exhibitions.

I did like the making of Chinese decorations; I think there were fish, lanterns and quite a few other shapes and forms. Mine turned out like bits of red paper hanging from a string. I noticed that Ann’s fish were very well done except for the last one. This looked something like mine!

Then there were the nibbles including those wonderful spring rolls, prawn crackers and other savouries.

All in all everyone had a jolly evening, and may have learnt something from Chinese culture. We must all say a BIG BIG THANK YOU to the Chinese Chess and Calligraphy Society at Bristol University. When the proceedings finished at about 10 pm and the clearing up had been done, Dr and Mrs Chill went for a Chinese takeaway and I had another spring roll!

Until next time then, this is Dr Chill signing off. Keep rocking and rolling, and don’t forget to hand in your assignments on time.

‘Banksy’ – a criminal or an artist?

On Wednesday 10 February, shortly after a delicious Soup Lunch, we continued with our explorations of what wonders Bristol has to offer for Internationals and Locals alike.

This time, our local guide John Rosewell treated us to his extensive knowledge on Banksy, the British street artist with an international reputation (amongst his client list counts, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) for thought-provoking art.

John discussed Banksy using a remarkable slideshow, showing both the recent Banksy show at the Bristol Museum and his work in and around Bristol and other cities. It was an afternoon of wonder and amazement at the hidden messages in his art and the mystery surrounding the identity of this famous Bristol born artist. If nothing else, at least his birthplace is known to the public.

As at all BISC events the afternoon could not be enjoyed without delicious snacks and drinks being provided. And in between us munching away, John invited us to share our own views and opinions on Banksy. We felt inspired and deeply encouraged to explore the idea of street art as an art form in itself.

Do join BISC for other similar events. Watch and discuss the films ‘Black Gold’ on Wednesday 24 February at 2.45pm and ‘Elizabeth I – the golden age’ on Wednesday 17 March at 2.30pm, at BISC.

‘Ice Skating Evening’ – Skating through the ice on the ice

With the cold weather and snow that we have had, BISC could have had its ice-skating in house on Friday 22 January 2010!

The evening began with a meal at BISC that was excellent. The vegetarian dish (pasta with pesto, mushrooms, peppers and feta) was out of this world and the meet option (beef mince with lots of extra goodies on pasta) was perfect. Afterwards we all trekked down to the Bristol Ice Rink where our varying displays of the art of ice-skating were performed.

I did not notice any broken bones or dislocated joints after the ice-skating event, and I assume that we all had an enjoyable and safe time. Certainly the reports were that all had such a marvellous time, they want to organise another Ice Skating evening as soon as possible. Speak to Jo Bain about this if you are interested. We want to thank the Bristol University CU in particular for being so helpful in teaching all those more uncertain skaters a few tricks of the trade.

The ice rink in Bristol has been there for over forty years. Dr Chill, as a teenager, use to take his girlfriend ice-skating there. Later as a teacher in a Bristol secondary school he took students ice-skating on Thursday afternoons.

Well I trust that you had a jolly evening and unwound after a busy week with your studies. I look forward to seeing you again at BISC for our famous Cream Teas and Lunches or on another BISC trip.

Regards
Dr Chill

‘Stratford-Upon-Avon’ – The world of Shakespeare

Hello there once again you lovely BISC rock and rollers! This Blog is about our trip to Stratford-On-Avon, the actual birthplace of the Bard himself, William Shakespeare.

With Tony as our driver we were well on our way by 8.30am on Saturday 30 January as we travelled through some beautiful countryside. Stratford-Upon-Avon is one of those picturesque English market towns, where the original Tudor buildings still stand. The Avon is the name of the river that flows through the town. And just to confuse you, there are three rivers called Avon in England. Avon derives from the Anglo-Saxon meaning water. The river that flows through Bristol, including the dock and Gorge area is also called the River Avon, and there is a third River Avon near Stonehenge. The Bristol Avon begins in the Cotswolds and flows through the countryside east of Bristol including through another ancient small market town called Bradford-Upon-Avon. Dr Chill lived around here when he was a teenager. It was not uncommon to see international tourists who had ended up in Bradford-Upon-Avon rather than Stratford-Upon-Avon some 100 miles away.

To start with, we visited ‘Shakespeare’s Birthplace’ where we were part of a famous lineage of people who had previously visited the place, notably English writers including Keats, Dickens and Hardy as well as Dr Chill! Nash’s House/Newplace and Hall’s Croft followed thereafter, both with very interesting connections to Shakespeare and amazing gardens to wader in. The guides at all three the venues were very entertaining and knowledgeable, even though they were slightly overwhelmed by the size of our group.

To end off the day we were treated with a Cream Tea out of this world served at both Henley Street Tea Rooms and at Benson’s. The creams teas were the crown of the trap which overall was a phenomenal success and gave us the time to catch up and share our experiences of the day.

Some related points of interest for you to note: On 30 January 1649, King Charles I was executed and England became a republic for 11 years until 1660. The execution of Charles I occurred some 33 years after Shakespeare’s death. Also: some years ago there was some controversy, questioning whether Shakespeare or Francis Bacon wrote his plays? Certainly there was intrigue with a number of Shakespeare’s contemporaries, including the dramatist Christopher Marlowe. Marlowe was murdered in Deptford London, then a naval port. It has subsequently been suggested that Marlowe was a spy and was killed on orders of the King! The opinions that Bacon was the true author of Shakespeare’s plays or that Marlowe was a spy have never been substantiated.

Well that’s enough history for today, and we at BISC hope that you enjoyed the trip. Don’t forget our activities for February, including Chinese Chess and Calligraphy night on Friday 12 February, and a Pancake Party on Tuesday 16 February, followed by a trip to Stonehenge and Salisbury. Please book early for all our events so not to be disappointed. Also don’t forget the our very own Cream Teas on Mondays from 3.30 - 5.00 pm at BISC.

Have a happy week and this is Dr Chill signing off, see you at BISC.