| From: "Kate McMullin" <kate@brong.net> Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 22:58:34 +1100 (EST) |
Up quite early to get on the first bus to Avebury. The bus ride is nearly 2 hours long, and had a change in the middle. I managed to feel quite bus sick on that journey, so I was very pleased to finally get to Avebury, even though it was raining quite hard when we got there. So we sat in a cafe and had a cup of tea (very English!) while we waited for a dry spell. The stones and their preservation at this site are amazing. The town of Avebury was built in the centre of the stone groups, so it's hard to appreciate what it once was. However the stones are standing in farmers' fields, surrounded by very cute black faced sheep, and are very accessible. So we sloshed around in the mud and sheep sh*t and got up close to the stones. You've really got to be there to experience the sense of wonderment at these huge stones - the mystery behind why they're there. We also saw one woman doing interesting looking (witchy/pagan) rituals around the stones - didn't stop too long in case we ruined the magic. We realised as we got off the bus from Salisbury, that Bron had left the Britain book (my birthday present from him) at the hostel. This would number guide book number three that he has managed to lose, for anyone keeping a tally. So, he got on the bus back to Salisbury to collect it, and I got on the bus to Swindon (much closer) to catch the train back in to London. As I described earlier, you change buses midway between Salisbury and Avebury. At this change on the way back, Bron managed to leave the bag containing some food _and the rest of the cutlery_ on the bus. Smart boy. Basically he spent 6hrs on buses this day, collecting the book from Salisbury and then the cutlery from the interchange point. THen his train back to London got delayed. Not a great day for him in all. When I got back to London it had really started raining hard - hail stones really hurt when you're trying to dash through them to get home. We eventually met Andrew, my brother, for dinner, after an hour delay while waiting for Bron. Nice Thai restaurant on Charing Cross Rd. Well, will complete the rest from Melbourne, as our flight is going to leave in half an hour, and we really should go and get on it! See you all soon. |
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