A little jaunt to Great Malvern

Yesterday was my husband's down day.  He needed to do nothing after a week of going, going, going.   Today was my turn.  I went to bed at a reasonable hour last night and arose at 6:45, but after puttering around on my laptop, I suddenly felt the need to go back to bed.  I tried reading for a bit, but alas, I could not focus.  I was asleep in no time flat.  I'm not sure how long I was out when I heard the doorbell to our flat ring.  I groggily arose and answered the door.  The man at the door (and I'm curious as to how he got in to our building) said something about needing to check our water settings.  I can't be sure because I was barely conscious.  I must have looked a sight wearing my hummingbird t-shirt and leopard pajama bottoms--not to mention my miserable looking hair.  The man suggested he could return at a later point.  I suggested an hour later, but I think he realized that was a losing proposition.  He left it by saying he'd leave a note in my mailbox allowing me to book for a later time.  I really don't have too much of a clue as to what he was on about, but I'll figure it out before too long.  I finally woke up at 12:15.

After I had showered and dressed, we decided to take the train to Great Malvern for a little excursion.

The train station at Great Malvern was the last stop of the train we boarded in Worcester.  It was a lovely station with whimsical iron poles.

Initially, I thought we would climb the Malvern Hills, but once we were there, we decided to explore the village instead.  When we approached the Winter Park, we saw this charming sight.

Couldn't resist taking a snap of the little yellow duckling among all the brown ones.  It reminded me a bit of the "ugly duckling" with the all the other little duckies keeping their distance.

We continued climbing up in to the village.

When we returned to the flat .I went online to read a bit more about the village and learned that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein used to frequent this charming community.

According to the web, "Legend states that, after drinking in a Malvern pub one winter evening, [Lewis and Tolkein] were walking home when it started to snow. They saw a lamp post shining out through the snow and Lewis turned to his friends and said 'that would make a very nice opening line to a book'."

Walking through the town, although only one small part, we could see its charms and appeals.

I learned also that the community was known as a center for "new" theatre, and a spa as well.

The town apparently grew up around the Great Malvern Priory, erected in 1085.

After a nice scone with clotted cream and jam and tea/coffee we then explored the Priory.

You have to admire such an auspicious institution not taking itself too seriously--check out this sign:

I don't know about you, but I love me a "Messy Church".

I noticed many similarities with the Worcester Cathedral and other sites we've visited, such as this World War I memorial.

This is the Great Malvern Priory memorial to the fallen of World War I

.

In addition to the WWI memorial, I also found and admired more memorials to mothers, wives and daughters, including this beauty, another lady sitting up instead of the deathly repose:

The Priory is know for its stained glass dating back to the 15th century.

The fact that the windows are so old means that time has done some damage to some of the windows.

There were also two stained glass windows which had been commissioned to "mark the third Christian millenium".  This one was inspired by Psalm 36.

My husband perceived similarities to Chagall.

One of my favorite features of the Priory was this little framed embroidery.

I loved that the very important Priory included this sweet piece of craft.
I also enjoyed the few highlighted bell exhibits.

This says:  "The basic two actions for aspiring Ringers to learn is the Handstroke and Backstroke.  Handstroke pull on the Sally; Backstroke pull on the Tail.

I can't read the whole thing, but what I can make out is "The Clappers of the old [Bells?] our duty done in belfry high, now voiceless tongues at rest [lie?]."  Preserved by Edward Archer.

There are many more monuments, windows, floors, ceilings

 and altars

 worth exploring at the Priory, but we were ready to go on to other things.

I had to capture this image on our way out of town:

I love the name of this shop--Bubbles and Flames.  I hope the "Stock Clearance" sign does not imply the shop's going out of business.

After a brief train ride back to Worcester

We had a great view of the Hive on our way in to town, but I couldn't get my camera ready in time and captured this quick view as we passed it.

(this time our first and only stop was our destination) we strolled back to the flat and put our feet up for a bit before heading out for another lovely meal.  We stopped at the neighborhood ristorante Italiano, Benedicto's.  Once again, the flavors were lovely--I had Ravioli (I think the ravioli were handmade) Aragosta in a light cream sauce.  My husband had Spaghetti Mediterranea, which included mussels in a tomato sauce.   Both dishes were tasty, and the portion sizes were perfect.

We ended the evening with a nice video chat with our oldest son and good friend Cindy, and later had a Facebook chat with our oldest daughter (we chatted with our youngest daughter earlier in the day).  It was another lovely day.

And now, I find myself up past 1 again--this has got to change.