Back To Work, 15 - 21 March 2016

We were back to work at the temple from being off for two weeks.  We were on the late schedule this week.  Sometimes the evenings go slow.  Rex and Nora Jensen were here for the week and we enjoyed going out for breakfast with them to Toby Carvery.  On Saturday they then brought dinner to our flat.  The rooms in accommodation are rather small for four people.  We also went on a session together on Thursday.  We tried to get in a fair amount of time with them as we will be gone when they come again.  We will miss seeing them.

Nora & Rex Jensen.  Bob & Barbara.  Trying our hand at taking selfies.

The rest of the week was busy with the usual errands.  We did call Henry for his birthday.  He was happy and glad he had a birthday, as we are!  We helped the Crowthers move from the Manor House to the Lodge.  It will be nice to have them closer.  A new missionary couple, David & Terrie Fitch arrived on Saturday and they are on our shift.  They joined us for Sunday dinner and it was nice to get to know them a little more.  This is their fourth mission.  They will be a great asset to our shift.  We lost seven missionaries from our shift at shut down and the Fitch's will have to replace all of them!

On Monday, we went to Bob's last appointment with Mr. Swinn concerning the kidney stones.  He gave us a report on the lab work, a copy of the report of the surgery,  and instructions for future attacks and sent us on our way.    We were happy to have that issue completed.

The weather was windy, overcast, and rainy here and there and in spite of it, we headed out for a sight seeing adventure following the appointment.  Our first stop was the little village of Lacock.

We parked in the car park and walked the foot path to Lacock Abbey.

The abbey was founded as a medieval nunnery in 1232.

Barbara getting ready to enter.

 Various families lived in the abbey as a home throughout the centuries.  175 years ago William Henry Fox Talbor announced his invention, the photographic negative. He lived here at the abbey at the time of his invention which was a tiny image of a window at the abbey.

  The clock tower is in the courtyard.

The cloister ceiling.

 Inner Courtyard

 A couple of rooms off the cloister.

 One of the Harry Potter movies has scenes filmed in the abbey.

 Kitchen.  Note the ice box on the left of the table and stove.  A dumb waiter is to the left of the ice box.

 The Treasure Room.

 Barbara providing a classical rendition with Bob adding his ability with the harp.

 Now this is a room.  It was wonderful to stand in it and feel the fun one could have.  They told us this was where the children played.

I wonder who lives in this little cottage?

From the abbey we walked on into the village.

Lacock Bakery.

 King John's Hunting Lodge, the oldest building in Lacock, dating back to the 13th century.

Church of St. Cyriac.

One of the narrow streets.  A good reason to walk.

 This is where the market scene was filmed, minus the cars, in one of the episodes of Downton Abbey, 2016.

The sun had come out and we were feeling good so off to Castle Combe we headed, another little village on the edge of the Cotswolds.    It is known as "The Prettiest Little Village in England."  On the way we drove through this little village.  The sign says it all.

 The Bybrook River meanders through the town providing lovely scenes.  Check out the steps down to the water.

 Architecture

The house above the road.

 Bob and our car are in front of The White Hart.  The pub has sold ale on these premises continuously for the past five centuries.

The one-sided bridge, also known as the 'Roman Bridge.'  Look closely and you will see the side in front does not have a wall on it.

The Market Square.  Citizens would come here to sell their wares on market day. 

St Andrew's Church is on the market square.  Construction on the tower began in 1435, funded by the wealthy businesses in the village at that time.

This is the clock that rang the bell.  It struck 3 while we were in the church.  It reminded Bob of the workings in his grandfather clock he has given to his son Bob 

 This was traditionally the home of the village doctor.  It was also Dr. Dolittle's house in the film shot in the village in 1966.

 Another bridge over the river.

 The table on the left has baked goods for sale with prices and a box to put the money in.  Notice the pillar (mail) box on the right.

Second Week of Break, 8 - 14 March 2016

We were back and forth to hospital to get dressing changes and stent out.  In between, we took a few sight seeing trips and kept up with the normal stuff in the flat.

Wednesday found us at Spire Gatwick hospital for the stent removal.  Bob had passed five stones before surgery and Mr Swinn was successful in getting the rest of the kidney stones out and removing the stent.  He gave Bob a clean bill of health and let him go home that evening instead of staying overnight.

The skin graft has taken perfectly as Professor Powell said, and we are so excited, or I should say Bob is!  He can now shower, get it wet, and be normal, other than having a weird looking scar on his face.  Prof says it will take 3 - 4 months to fill in.  By end of week we were feeling pretty good about health issues.

Sister George joined us in a trip to Guildford where we went to Watts Cemetery Chapel and Guildford Cathedral.  We had lunch at Subway, which was a first for her.  She enjoyed the experience of finding some place new to eat.  She also went with us to two doctor appointments and then we did grocery shopping.

Local resident, Mary Watts donated the land for the cemetery and the funds to build the chapel in 1896.  Virtually every resident in the village helped construct and design the chapel.

The ceiling of the chapel and the seraphs.

The altar.

There are angels around, one facing forward and then one facing backward.  Every detail seems to be very intricate.  There was a legend in the chapel explaining all we saw.  It was amazing to see all the artwork that many people came together in doing, thus a mixture of themes.  

The cloister, inside and outside.  Everything has a tint of green from the moss growing all around.

Guildford Cathedral was built between 1936 and 1961.  It would be modern by English standards.  The sat nav took us to the side where we walked up this massive set of stairs.  When we got to the top we had a view over the town and the area.  It sits atop Stag Hill so named because there is where kings hunted.  We walked round to the front door and entered.

It almost appears Angel Moroni is atop the cathedral!  Upon closer examination we saw that it is a weather vane.

There are 1400 chairs adorning this nave.  Each chair has a kneeling cushion.  We were informed that each cushion is hand made by members of the congregation.  The light colored stone made for a friendly open feeling inside.

On Friday we went to dinner with Brian and Natalie.  We had a wonderful time visiting and catching up on all they have done.  Their wedding date is approaching and they are busy with the details of that adventure.  Ben, from laundry, and Dave, custodian, from the temple were at the table next and we enjoyed conversation with them as well.  This is the last weekend before we are all back to work and we shared what we had been doing.

Friday evening the Jensen's called and we put together a trip to London on Saturday.  It was Doug's birthday and a day of celebration.  We took the train to Victoria Station and then used the subway.  My ticket would not scan so I always had to go to the gate agent for him to let me pass.  It was a bit of a hassle but it beat not getting through the gate.

The Science Museum had an exhibition about Churchill's Scientists.  During World War II he employed scientists to help get an edge on warfare and be better equipped to fight the enemy.  It was a fascinating exhibition which included the atomic bomb, the discovery of penicillin, and the use of radar in the air.

We then went to Tower Hill and walked across Tower Bridge to the HMS Belfast.  The tour was interesting to see how the crew lived for months on end.  The Belfast was used throughout World War II and saw many battles.  She sits in the Thames just down from Tower Bridge.

Even though there was an early morning mist and the haze continued throughout the day, we were happy to have sunshine and no wind.  It wasn't too bad being outside.

We ended the day with a concert at St Martin-in-the-fields.  It was fantastic and we were so happy we attended.  The church has amazing acoustics and the performance was by candlelight.  A new experience for us.

The voices of the choir and soloists were pure even tones that touched our hearts in remembrance of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  What joy it is to know He lived and died for us.  Through Him our sorrows can be eased and our joys enlightened.  He provides the way for our return to His presence through the atonement.  The trumpet was clear and bright.  We hardly knew he had come in, it was like we realized, “oh that is the trumpet.”  It was indeed a joyful experience.

The setting before the concert began.  The oval in the window is permanent and we were told it is left to interpretation.

The organ pipes are located at the back of the chapel.  The ceiling is intricate in detail.

On Monday, we were busy with laundry, cleaning the flat, and mailing letters.  We took the Jensen's to Crawley to the phone store to get their phones changed to their own account on account we are leaving.  It turned into quite the day with not being able to make the change in the store.  We had to call a number, be on hold for long periods of time, and then having back and forth conversations making sure correct information was given and received.  Needless to say, both men were frazzled by the end of the conversation.

In the mean time, I made potato salad and they and Sister George came for hotdogs.  It was a good meal and we all enjoyed conversation and the warm sunshine coming in the window!