Abbey two

I followed up the visit to the Abbey noticed at reference 1 with a second visit last week, in the rain. Enough rain to use the folding umbrella that I took along with me.

First point of interest was the large fig tree across the tracks from platform 4 at Epsom Station, on which I was not even sure that I could make out any green fruit. While our next door neighbour gave us half a dozen ripe figs from their much smaller tree only last week. What was the difference? The one at Epsom Station probably got a lot more sun than the one we had fruit from.

Then I had a pleasant mum on the train taking her young son to the Science Museum. We were able to agree that there were plenty of cake shops in the vicinity of the Museum with which to console the adults.

Pulled Bullingdon from Concert Hall Approach 1, South Bank to make Storey's Gate, Westminster in 7 minutes and 13 seconds. Still drizzling, but I had a raincoat and the journey was not long enough for the rain to be a pain.

Queues at the Abbey a lot longer than last time, despite the rain, so a wait of  maybe 10 to 15 minutes to get to the security check, after which I was fast tracked with my ticket from the Internet. Entertained while I was waiting by a family over from Connecticut for a week, with three not so young children, who had put in a lot of premier division sights in the course of their week here, often more than one a day and including the film studio at reference 3 at which the Potter films were made. Will we ever make it there? We have been in an audience for the making of a TV comedy, and we do get to see the odd bit of outdoor filming, but we have never been in a full-on film studio. Perhaps we ought to get ourselves to the film before seeing the set of the film. The family were due to fly back Saturday, back to work Monday. With work for one of them being starting college at somewhere involving Jesuits. Probably the place at reference 2. Only in the US of A - although with our flourishing faith schools who knows? Thank you, Mr. Blair. Also by a rather cross Japanese lady who was remonstrating with one of the trusties about how she had already been waiting an hour in the rain. The trusties seemed to have a certain amount of discretion in these matters, with the result she was led off somewhere or other, perhaps to some other queue.

Took some notice of the two fancy screens: one between the nave and the choir and one at the back of the High Altar, the one behind the ancient pavement. No idea how old they were.

Fair number of iron bars tying things together in the ambulatory round the Shrine - reminding me of the iron gothic of Victorian railway stations. Rather detracting from the intended effects, from the vistas of stone.

The tombs seemed terribly jumbled up, with it being very much a matter of pot-luck what spot you got. And you certainly could not rely on your spot remaining your spot, with all kinds of smaller memorials being pushed into the margins of larger memorials. With some memorials being cut about to make way for something or other.

Starting to get the hang of the crowds, which behaved rather like a river, with lots of odd places out of the current where one could sit back and take things in properly.

Puzzled by some of the memorials having what appeared to be headings in Hebrew. Was this a passing fashion at some point in the history of the place? There are certainly fads and fashions in other aspects of the memorial business, sometimes very visible in churchyards out in the country, where a particular wheeze by a particular mason is popular for a few decades, then replaced by a successor. Sic transit gloria mundi in every way.

Puzzled also by a lot of the Jacobean memorials, from which I found it hard to extract the name of the chief occupant, seemingly lost in a maze of Latin explaining all the titles, partners, children and other virtues of whoever it was.

The communion service was, on this occasion, led by a lady.

I found the Abbey servants corner in the floor of one of the arms of the cloisters, but no Micklethwaite, the one of reference 4. All kinds of other people, lay and ecclesiastical, but not him. The nearest I got was the abbey plumber, illustrated. We thought that maybe he was more to do with the lead on the roof upstairs, the waterworks lead downstairs not being strongly developed at that time.

Back to Central Hall for a spot of vegetable soup, to notice that they had not changed the rather flashy display of pink and red flowers on the stairs down to the café - which were then poked and found to be plastic. But a convenient spot for a spot of canteen lunch, neither empty nor crowded, and it did not really matter that I did not much care for the soup or that the bread rolls were a bit fresh out of the freezer.

Out to be entertained by an interesting silver and glass coach, a sort of pastiche of a royal coach, drawn by a couple of grays down Storey's Gate. Plus a couple of coachmen on the box. Seemingly, a Japanese couple on some sort of wedding bash, complete with morning suit, white wedding dress, the works.

Second Bullindon took me from Storey's Gate to the pole position at Waterloo Station 3 in 9 minutes 35 seconds. One day I may get around to checking all these times. Do I make a habit of taking longer on the way back?

Struggled with the self-service machine in Smiths, while he machine at the entrance to the platforms struggled with my ticket - as it had done on exit a few hours previously and it did no better when I arrived at Epsom. Southern Trains tickets again. While Southwestern Trains trains had still not recovered from the failure of their train at Epsom at the end of the morning rush hour.

Reference 1: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2018/08/abbey.html.

Reference 2: https://www.holycross.edu/.

Reference 3: https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/.

Reference 4: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2018/08/better-late-than-never.html.