First I took a walk to get the lay of the land, which is flat by the river, but up huge hills everywhere else. There were ducks:
as there are likely to be where there is a river. This one is the Severn.
Then I thought if I want bread, I had better hot foot it over to the Co Op, the only grocery store (and not a very good one) within walking distance, and a good thing, too, because by 9:30, they were almost out. By the time this chore was completed, it was about 10:00 and I headed off to the Bliss Hill Victorian Town, about an hour's walk, some of it on those damn roads without shoulders. The experience was underwhleming, maybe because no one was at many of the stations, like, for example, this bike shop:
So, yeah, you get to see bikes but don't learn anything about how commonly they were used, by whom mostly, for what purpose (business or pleasure, e.g.). You know, the Victorian context.
I did learn a few things, though, so it was not for naught.
This carbolic soap, developed by Lister:
smells pretty good. President Garfield's doctors, among many others, didn't pay heed to this whole antisepsis thing!
I also learned how to cure baldness with a potion that is reminiscent of Talmudic medicine:
although way way back in the day, electrification would not have been an option.
I also learned that being dressed was not alight matter:
The best stop was at the print shoppee. What a job to set type! I was surprised by the large number of fonts, the different kinds of presses, and in case you were wondering, the ink was made of linseed oil and dyes of different colours.
I did get a kick out of this listing of the kings and Queens of England
On the way back, I passed this bridge, which is not the Ironbridge bridge, but striking nonetheless:
And, as a last stop, popped into the Museum of the Gorge, which would have been more interesting if I had an interest in the topic, but I don't. What was totally weird, though, is that along with the coke (as in coal not diet), and the shipping and the ore and pig iron and the trains and the canals and what not, there was an exhibit of teddy bears!
Merrythoughts are a BIG DEAL in England, apparently:
And are NOT to be confused with AmericanTeddy bears.
I believe that Winnie the Pooh was a Merrythought.
Exactly how Paddington got involved I am not sure because the sign was too high up on the wall for me to read:
But here he is, all dressed up with places to go.
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