These past two weeks have been really busy. I feel like I’m finally digging into my project and some parts of it are actually coming together. I had to sit with a little confusion for a bit but my advisors have been really supportive in helping me to clarify what areas I want to pursue. Of course, I have a million ideas and have to do a little Keep It or Junk It.
Traveling these past two weeks have been local but there is so much to see in York. I’m beginning to feel like, after a month, I really do live here. I walk everywhere like everyone else, but one thing I have noticed is that Yorkians walk with a very definite purpose – they have somewhere to be and they need to be there NOW. As I walk along the streets, with my camera around my neck, I’m strolling along, taking in the sights and people look at me like I don’t know where I am going. It is true, I often don’t know where I am going, but I’m taking in all the sights while I figure out how to get there. I am also amazed at how many Yorkians wear shorts and t-shirts in this 20-degree weather. There hasn’t been a day yet where I have not put on my heavy-duty winter coat.
This week I went to a few lectures on campus. One was a talk on book printing in the late 17th century and that was very interesting. Most of the books printed had to do with religious ideas and sermons that had been recently given in church, but there were also a few printers who printed pamphlets on social reform. The talk two weeks ago was about crime journalism. The newspapers here are like nothing we have at home. Local crime is all over the front page and the press really lights up when there is celebrity crime. After hearing this talk about crime reporting in the 18th century, I can see where today’s tabloids have their roots. The other talk I went was about worker’s rights and companies doing business in the UK. Should have been good, but it was a little dreary.
The offices of the local newspaper.
I am always experimenting with new ways to walk to the City Centre. I recently discovered that Walmgate, which is the gate down the street from where I live, leads directly to Fossgate, which crosses the Foss River, and leads directly to City Centre. Walking this way, I can really see the damage that the December floods caused in York. There are many stores closed down and while some have relocated or are slowly re-opening, I think the losses were so great for some of the shopkeepers that they may never re-open.
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I also made it the major river in York, the River Ouse. I stop almost every day at the bridge and just take in the sights of this beautiful river.
The River Ouse: York’s largest river.
Cholera burial grounds which honors those who lost their lives in the cholera epidemic.
The Railway Museum is just through this arch.
I take Friday afternoons off and walk through the city. On one Friday, I walked over to the Railway Museum. It is a great place to grab a cup of tea and read a book. Plus, they have the best scones that I have found so far. The photos you see are of the railway cars that were refurbished for Queen Elizabeth. She was the first monarch to have electricity in her rail car.
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This past weekend was Residents’ Festival and everything in York was free. It was a lot of fun and a great way to see York. There were a lot of cheesy historical re-enactments but there were some interesting sights, too. The Clifford Tower, which was originally the lookout spot and first line of defense for the city of York, had a beautiful view of the city from the top of the tower. The stairs were steep, tiny and narrow but the view was well worth the climb.
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Fairfax House was also another highlight. Evidently, the Fairfax family member who owned this house wasn’t too much more than a country gentleman. He built this house so that he could live in the city for the duration of the social season. In the off-season, he lived on a Yorkshire farm where others did the farming for him. He was related to the Fairfaxes who farmed tobacco in Maryland and Virginia, although I am sure others did the farming for the American Fairfax family, too.
The entrance to the Fairfax House. No photos were allowed inside.
I also went to the Minster, the city’s biggest church. It was quite beautiful but what I thought was really interesting where the tombs of people who were buried in the church. There were some that had stone carvings on the tombs and others had these wood-carved figures on the tombs. The two you see here were husband and wife but I am not sure if they were buried together.
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The Syrian refugees have been a topic of discussion throughout the UK.
Barley Hall was interesting because there was a lot of information about Henry VIII. Evidently, Henry visited Barley Hall regularly. More research to come later on this.
The cheesiest part of the York “history” was the visit to the Roman baths. I think this sign says it all. I’m sure half of what the guide told us wasn’t even true. I cut out of the tour early.
The gift shop at the Roman Bath Museum.
Primary source or secondary source?
This past weekend I went to the York Art Gallery and had lunch at the Antique Center tea room. The York Gallery is where the ceramic center is housed and the second floor has some beautiful pieces. The photos that you see here are from the private collection of Martin Anthony. The exhibit is designed to look like his house because he wanted people to be able to get close (“but do not touch!”) to the artwork. The shelves below, and there are many more shelves than just what’s in this photo are full of his book collection. The books are organized by publisher. I’m not sure how I felt about his exhibit. There were some beautiful pieces like the photo of the cat who has the dog and cat sitting on her lap, but I also found myself wondering why isn’t all art for the public and why does he organize his books by publisher?
One exhibit that was very cool was Manifest: 10,000 hours by Clare Twomey. It is said, by the exhibit curator that it takes 10,000 hours to master something. Ten thousand people from York made these bowls to represent each hour it takes to master something new. To me, it was just a really imposing exhibit that drew me right into the ceramic gallery. The dresses that you see were designed by students in the Fashion Institute in response to the exhibit. They all have something ceramic incorporated into the design.
The last room we went into at the gallery was the Lumber Room. This is just an eclectic collection of all the things that interested the curator. There is no order to this room, but it’s a lot of fun to look at.
We stopped for lunch at the Antique Center Tea Room.
After the gallery and lunch it was time to head back to study. But, not before I stopped at Hebden Tea Co. Earlier in the week, I stopped to study at Bicis y mas, a bike and vegetarian café. The tea was delicious and I was told that the tea came from Hebden Tea Co. at the foot of the Shambles. I passed it on my way home and tasted tea at the open window tea bar and then went inside to buy some. I could become a tea drinker after drinking this tea.