The week started in Bath, continued in London and ended in Alicante. I am having a bit of a whirlwind tour of the English-speaking countries these past couple of weeks. In fact, I am posting this from a hotel room in Alexandria, VA, where I am spending a few days on business.
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Sunday morning in Bath did not look too promising:
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But things cleared up, and my son and I spent a wonderful day driving around Cornwall, a place neither of us had visited before. This is the road between Newquay and Padstow:
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We got back to Bath in the evening and stopped for a pint at one of the best bars in town, the Hobgoblin. There was a pub quiz going on. Here is one of the teams in deliberations:
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At another table, a complex engineering feat was in progress:
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We finished the day with dinner at this Nepalese restaurant:
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Bath is quite cosmopolitan despite being rather small. This is a stand at the Christmas market:
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Veggies:
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Remembrance outside Bath Abbey:
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Poppies:
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Queen Square in the centre of Bath is occupied by the “99% protesters”. Here is one of them on the way in:
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Queen Square is actually not city property, it is owned by the owners of the houses that surround it. It is basically a small and pleasant park with an obelisk in the centre:
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The encampment is very tidy, one could almost call it posh:
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When I arrived, these two friendly police officers were talking to one of the protesters (there was no other police presence). Because the square is not city property, the police cannot evict the protesters unless the property owners complain. And according to this man, with whom I spoke after the cops had left, the locals provide the protesters with food, drink and free legal advice, so an eviction does not seem imminent. Exactly what the occupation is meant to achieve (in terms of specific demands) was very unclear, however:
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Passing the Pulteney Bridge, I noticed the NO DIVING sign. No kidding!:
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River Avon:
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Important delivery:
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Around the corner from my hotel in Bath there was a wonderful neighbourhood bookshop, where I bought too many books, as usual:
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Monday we went for lunch at the Raven, an excellent pub with great food:
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The beer selection:
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Pie and pint:
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I wonder what Jane Austen would think of this use of her name:
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Monday evening I said goodbye to my son and walked back to the hotel, with the weather matching my mood:
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The next morning I caught a very early train to London, where I was going to spend a couple of days on business:
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Wednesday morning I was greeted by beautiful sunshine on Southampton Row:
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I walked to my meeting, looking at the heavy London traffic. There was a massive public sector strike that day, but London was busy as usual:
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I sometimes wonder why phone booths still exist in this day and age, when everyone has a cellphone. In London, at least, they provide an advertising outlet for purveyors of certain services:
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Back home in Alicante later in the week, I took this picture of the sunrise while walking my dog:
More images from Cornwall are here.