Visiting Thomas Hardy's St. Juliot Church

In extremely windy conditions, I got to see St. Juliot church, near Boscastle in north Cornwall, after a scenic bus ride from Bude where I'd stayed the previous night.

The picture above shows St. Juliot church tower becoming visible after I'd walked 1-2 miles down a country lane from the main road where the bus driver had dropped me off.

In 'Discovering Hardy's Wessex' (1978/1982: 49), Anne-Marie Edwards explains:

          "The little church stands today on its hilltop in as wild and remote a setting as" Hardy 
          "pictured it".

Moreover, on the same page, she reveals that:

          "Hardy spent many hours in the church drawing plans for the restoration of the tower and the
           renewal of rotting woodwork".

The church was beautiful from an age gone by:

Inside the church, I only took the one shot below (should've taken many more photos):

And signed the visitors book briefly explaining my interest in Thomas Hardy.

Of course, I couldn't keep my eyes off the tower:

Anne-Marie Edwards (1978/1982: 49) explains about Hardy's future wife, Emma Lavinia Gifford, who he met at St. Juliot rectory:

          "As the rector's sister-in-law she had much to do with the restoration work, apart from her
           interest in the architect! It was Emma who laid the first stone of Hardy's new tower".

Canterbury: Seeing Old Friends

Was great to see my old friends KT and Ron at Westgate Wetherspoons in Canterbury:

Hadn't seen them since 2008.

Arriving in Canterbury, Kent

This was my first visit to Canterbury since 2008. After flying from Shannon to Stansted, and getting various trains down, we finally arrived in Canterbury.

The first thing we really saw was the old Norman church (above) near the Dane John Gardens.

As we made our way towards the High Street, we passed the red-bricked almshouses below:

Had almost forgotten about those.

The building below was some kind of Real Ale bar now, it'd been something else before (I lived in Canterbury 1999-2003 and worked the summers there 2004-2008 too), but I cannot remember what:

We passed St. Peter's church, set just off the High Street:

And on the High Street, we saw the old pilgrims' hotel:

I went inside this building many years ago, it contains a very old fresco.

Thunderstick: A New Day Festival 2nd August 2019

Continuing with the theme of merriment, full credit to Thunderstick for the great music and atmosphere:

Could hear Raven's incredibly powerful vocals up near the loos, near the festival entrance, when the band came on with the old Samson classic 'Riding with the Angels'.

Then, when I got down near the stage, the crowd were treated to other Samson classics ('Vice Versa' and 'Earth Mother') and Thunderstick material which was every bit as good as the Samson stuff (saw Samson many moons ago opening for Blackfoot at Manchester Apollo).

And of course, to end a fantastic set, there was a rousing version of the Rocky Horror Show classic, 'Time Warp'. All in all, I enjoyed every minute of the Thunderstick set, definitely one of the highlights of the festival.

Merriment at the New Day Festival

In the shot above, you can just about make out both stages at this year's A New Day Festival at Mount Ephraim Gardens near Faversham and Canterbury in Kent.

In the late 1990s/early 2000s, I attended a few of the Canterbury Fayre Festivals at Mount Ephraim Gardens, so I knew the beautiful setting well.

Below, my old friend Phil (right) is enjoying a drink with a lad from Birmingham or Wolverhampton who was down for the first day to see the Martin Barre Band:

They'd just enjoyed listening to humorous, expletive-filled anecdotes during the Jackie Lynton set:

Below, Phil (right again) is with another good old mate, Dave:

Many moons ago, we had an interesting garage band, we sounded something like a cross between The Fall and Hawkwind.

This was the first time Phil and Dave had seen each other in 30 years, and each day, they enjoyed having a few beers in a pub not far from the Festival gate before going inside the Festival itself:

Think that the two shots below of Phil and his friend Linda capture the great spirit at this year's New Day Festival:

Duff McKagan/Shooter Jennings at Warsaw Stodoła 22nd August 2019

My highlight from last week, seeing Duff McKagan and Shooter Jennings at Warsaw Stodoła.

Really like the McKagan/Jennings material, especially 'Feel' and 'Tenderness' which were brilliant live.

Glad I caught the Shooter Jennings opening set, as I enjoyed this just as much, especially 'Leave Those Memories Alone'.

How would I describe the music I saw this evening? Probably as a mix of Country, Bluegrass, Alternative, and light Southern Rock, with a hint of Gospel on top (a wonderful genre mix).

Can still remember seeing Duff McKagan in Guns N Roses at Donington in the late 1980s.

Dunlewey/Dún Lúiche: Sacred Heart Church

Had to have a look at the Sacred Heart Catholic church, as I passed into the Gaeltacht village of Dún Lúiche (Dunlewey):

Found the church incredibly picturesque as it faced Mount Eriggal:

And not being a post-Christian, I found some deeper meaning there: