More on Chipping Campden - May 10, 2012

Continuing my walk around town.

Almshouses. Apparently, across the road from them is a cart dip, for washing cart wheels.

Walkway to the church. From the net: Perhaps the best of England's so-called wool churches, St James' was largely built in the 1400s from the wealth of the booming Cotswold wool trade.

Campden House Gateway. This distinctive structure built for Sir Baptist Hicks, a wealthy benefactor who also built the almshouses and market hall, was the gateway to his Jacobean mansion. Old Campden House was built in 1613 and burned down 32 years later during the Civil War.

Drawing of how the estate used to look.

This wouldn't be a bad place to live.

 At the edge of town...

 ...were lots of sheep.

Dogs too apparently.

How strange to see this structure out in a field. It is one of two banqueting halls on the Hick's estate.

As I walked along, I noticed a sheep flailing around. Thought it was having a roll like horses do but soon realized it was stuck on its back. In my papaya orange trenchcoat, I wasn't properly dressed for the occasion; otherwise I might have gone out and flipped it over. Or maybe not - the grass was all wet, the sheep would have been too, and I've never understood sheep anyway. I mentioned it at the info office back in town and passing later I saw a man in the field, so hopefully he helped it out. I think I took a taxi back to the hotel.

Back in my cozy room I ordered in a hamburger and, rare for me, a Coke. I wrote then that I still hadn't seen a fox or a hedgehog. I never did.

The Saanich Fair - September 3, 2011

I always wind up taking a photo of a llama.

This boy is doing something I don't know how to do.

A lone western rider - how times have changed. It was unfortunate that somebody got the bright idea to put gravel down in the riding rings. The dust was horrendous, blowing over the stands and often over that whole end of the fairgrounds. It's not as if they're new at this - this fair has been running for well over 100 years.

Therefore we turned our attention to sheep which were being judged next to the riding rings, but not in line with the dust cloud. As a kid, I had goats but sheep are like a foreign species to me - I've never understood them. It was surprising to see them being led around the ring not with a collar or a halter but just by hand.

They provide a handy surface for laying ribbons.

The sheep do not have a demure little bleat, not these ones anyway. They were very loud. BAAAA, BAA-AAA, BAAAH! It goes on and on. Well, the next time Glenn and I saw our doctor, Glenn was telling him about the sheep and then went into his hilarious imitation of their sound. I was laughing, the doctor was laughing, Glenn was still BAAHing - the staff and other patients must have wondered what was going on.

Regardless of the situation, Glenn found humour. He kept me laughing for 16 years.

I was attracted to green.

Bottom left: A cabbage gone awry? The sign said 'German Filderkraut' - a cabbage grown in Bavaria to make sauerkraut. This one is not fully grown.
Bottom right: The tan coloured fruits are Cape Gooseberries (Physalis peruviana).

This display (above) reminds me of the opening scene of the English TV show Rosemary & Thyme.

Even eggs can win prizes.

I'm not a textile kind of person but paid a little more attention to this area this year.

Some nice needlework.

I do find dyeing interesting though, maybe from reading about Mel's experiences (would put the link here but her blog seems to be undergoing a revamp) with natural dyes. I think these colours are quite pretty. Another display of natural colours were dyed with coffee (med/light brown), Celestial Seasonings Berry Zinger tea (lighter brown), asparagus fronds (soft green), and turmeric (fairly vivid ochre).

The sign for dyeing with onion skins, as seen above, said:
Simmer onion skins for one hour. Remove onion skins and insert wet wool. Wool can be predordanted (whatever that means!) but not necessary. Simmer wool for one hour. Remove wool and rinse.

Even Jell-O can be used for dye.

These bright colours were made with Kool-Aid.

Both Glenn and I were amazed that he was able to make it around the entire fairgrounds. We had a nice time.