The rain stopped and we ventured out. First for supplies, we got meat at the butchers, bread and a baked sandwich at the bakery and tonic at the co-op. The gal at the bakery told us that we could probably print at the library. We also stopped into the pharmacy to schedule a flu shot. We topped off our shopping excursion by getting double bone chicken at the Otis and Bell bakery for lunch. We added peas and noodles left over from last nights dinner and it was a fantastic lunch. We did a bit more travel planning, booking excursions in the Philippines, car transfers to and from London and rented a car in New Caledonia. We saw some blue sky and we headed back out again. While walking past the Stay Cotswold storefront, we decided to pop in and say hi. They were very nice folks. So we took our thumb drive over to the library and printed out our ballots for the 2024 election. It should be early enough that we can mail them in. They should arrive in less than a month's time. We visited the church and made it halfway down fleece ally before it started raining again. We needed to preserve the ballots do we headed back. Dinner was all the goodies we had bought earlier.
The pound. It is either the money or the measure of weight, not sure which
The bakers was in a mini-courtyard between two streets
The back of the buildings are now the storefronts
Not just a bakery
Look no umbrellas!
Tis a tidy town
This old door is for the Porch House
A pub and an inn
In fact the oldest Inn in England a mere 1077 years in existance
Another funky back ally business area
The library was in a very fancy building
It is called St Edwards Hall
Sturdy doors
Built in 1877 and it houses the library, visitors center and a small museum
Welcome to St Edwards
A very handsome church
The church grounds
It's tower is square, more like a fortification
Old headstones
Big trees
Sweet Peas
Very fine stained glass windows
A very sweet inscription for Elizabeth Cornbill who passed in 1834. "After a life spent in the exemplary practice of every virtue that can adorn a female character, or exalt the christian, she cheerfully resigned her soul into the hands of God."
Hand knitted prayer pads
Large memorials on the floor of the church. This one is from 1792.
This one has a portrait
Behind the pulpit
The big trees outside
A timbered roof
A side set of windows
An odd color of lavendar
This version of the church was built in the 13th century
There has been a church here for over 1000 years. The earlies mention of it is from 986 CE
Moss is taking over
It is growing everywhere you look
The yellow of the stone goes well with the green of the moss
A little entryway
These yew trees have been growing here for quite some time
JRR Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings, once visited here and supposedly he was inspired by these trees. He based the "Doors of Durin" that guarded the gate to the elven land of Moria.
Yew trees traditionally were believed to ward off evil spirits
Happy to be out and about
We are almost all the way around the church
Old headstones are stacked against the wall
Ivy starting to reclaim them
This one from 1625
Love the blue sky
In the ally on our way out
The stone walls are very nice
4:07 in Stow on the Wold
A bee knocker
Art Supply house
Not quite up to Irish standards, but still a nice door
We brave Fleece Alley
But not for long before the rain chases us back
