An apple a day...

Last weekend we made an impromptu trip to Southwell* a very pretty and somewhat affluent town in Nottinghamshire in the hopes of getting some pictures of the minster. What we had forgotten was that it was Sunday and church services were going on so we opted for a little drive/stroll around instead.  It was at that point I remembered Southwell was the location of one of the 50 Great British Trees, the Original Bramley Apple Tree.  For those outside of the UK the Bramley Apple is a much revered cooking apple and my partner gets positively rapturous when talking about Bramley Apple pies--it's never just an apple pie, it's a BRAMLEY APPLE pie!  It ranks right up there with Battenberg Cake in his opinion.

Plaque outside the cottage, 75 Church Street

I don't want to rehash the entire history of the original Bramley apple tree (you can read about it here)  but what I found interesting other than it is over 200 years old and still bearing fruit is the lady who was the caretaker of it for the last few decades, Miss Nancy Harrison. It would more than likely not still be alive if not for her ministrations.  Sadly she passed away last November but from all accounts she was quite a lovely lady who was always more than happy to show visitors the tree and even send them away with an apple plucked from it.

The original Bramley Apple Tree

On our stroll around to the cottages we were lucky enough to meet a nephew of Miss Harrison's that allowed us into the back garden so we could take photos of her beloved tree and gave us a bit of the family history.  He was quite gracious and very patient with our questions--although he might have just been glad to have an excuse to take a break from his work! He did seem quite bemused by the fact we were there to visit the tree because it was one of the 50 though.

The plaque commemorating the tree for the Queen's Golden Jubilee

I'm very much looking forward to a return visit to Southwell, hopefully on a day with sunny skies so we can try and get some decent pics of the Minster and have a potter about the inside of it.

*There is some argument about the pronunciation of Southwell as to whether it is "South-Well" or "Suthell" and even the residents of the town seem to be divided on it.  Rest assured though, as an expat or tourist you are not going to get laughed at for either unlike Leicester (Lestah) or Belvoir (Beaver)! 

Catching up

The blog has been silent for the latter half of January other than yesterday's attempt at putting up an earworm video (for some reason youtube and blogger are still not playing nice with the embed codes).  It's not that I've not had things to say but I've been so busy having to stare at the computer screen for other purposes that updating here fell by the wayside.  So what has been happening in my world?

We had a trip down to London--not for pleasure though, it was for a project that my partner is working on. I did finally get to walk across the Tower Bridge once we finished up with what we could do work-wise, can't believe all the times I have been there and not done that until now! It's finally sinking in that I live here and so was feeling much less like a tourist--having my very own oyster card contributed to that in a somewhat weird way.  We did get the opportunity to help a lady out with pictures on the bridge after her phone's battery died--I know I would have been devastated if I was visiting a place and wasn't able to get a picture of it for posterity.

Training is going well, my 3rd 20 miler for the Belvoir Challenge was last Sunday and thanks to trying to keep up with a speedy running club mate I ended up doing it 6 minutes faster than my previous two! Yes, I know, much too quick for a long slow run but I'm a believer in running by feel (within reason) because you never know how you will fare on the next one. This weekend I will do a shorter distance of 10-13 miles then do another 20 miler the week after before beginning the taper process.  

The training has been slightly unconventional in that I'm doing so many 20 mile runs but it seems to be working.  Other than a pesky ingrown toenail and the big toe that randomly decides it's going to start hurting if I run on flat sections for too long I'm relatively niggle free (knock on wood). We're just not going to discuss the emergency stop I had to make at the local sports centre on Sunday! 

Visiting Verity

Verity

Ever since I first heard about Verity I have wanted to visit her...for some reason this statue struck a chord in my heart and I am so not an art person.  Loaned to the town of Ilfracombe for 20 years (from October 2012) she inspires either adoration or disgust, there doesn't seem to be any in between--I am obviously in the former camp.

We finally visited Verity in mid-October when my partner had arranged a meeting with a mate down in Devon and he included a detour to Ilfracombe--I think this was his way of keeping me from getting too impatient and irritable during the long car ride! She (in my very humble opinion) is well worth the visit, even seeing her from the road on the hill above the harbour she was awe-inspiring. Up close, the attention to detail was amazing, even now I don't have the words as to how much it affected me.

The above photo is why I think so many had/have a problem with Verity but I think she's beautiful. I think the majority of people would have been all right with the nudity and pregnancy but the "stripped" down profile proves to be too graphic for many.  Yes, it's disturbing but incredibly fascinating as well.  

The obligatory tourist pic

My favourite shot of the day