John Edward Cooper’s Notes
Saturday 29 February 2020
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[2020] Trip to Beverley …There was some rain, so Janet and I walked along Robson Road and went to “Pelham Road” bus stop where there’s a one-sided canopy that supposedly passes for a bus shelter. …The first bus along [was] a №9 (boarded, 08:35)… There was an older guy in front of us, who because of visual impairment wanted to know when to get off to visit the environs of Freshney Place. So we told him that that was where we would be getting off, and we guided him when we did get off — just as well we did, because he would have collided with bus shelters and bollards. He wanted to go to the Post Office (which would open in some five minutes’ time, at 9am), so we left him in its doorway, where a woman was also waiting. We visited… Freshney Place, before going for the №250 bus (boarded, 09:11). Janet felt ill en route; she said she found the bus “stuffy”. Unlike last time, visibility was good and the Humber Bridge could be seen in its entirety. At Hull Paragon Interchange none of the electronic displays was working — neither the TV-style monitors listing services, nor the LED displays over the doors to each bay. However, we trawled past individual bays, and came across the next bus to Beverley: the 10:55 №122. Unusually for a stage-service bus, it had seat belts. Given that we’ve had a number of named storms since our last visit — e.g. Ciara, Dennis and Jorge — which have wreaked havoc with major flooding in various parts of the UK, the waterlogging of some of the fields seemed no worse than last time. What’s more, I didn’t notice any flooding in gardens, previously seen. Last time, we got off the bus near the Minster; but this bus took a less direct route around the outskirts of the town, so its nearest approach to the town centre was the bus station. That suited us, anyway, because we wanted to visit the nearby St. Mary’s Church.  Google Maps 3D view showing the bus station, the Dog & Duck, Caffè Nero and St. Mary’s Church First, though, we wanted something to eat and drink. We turned right from the bus station (Sow Hill Road) and left into Ladygate, because that would lead us in the direction of where we ate and drank last time. We’d gone less than 100 yards along Ladygate, though, when we saw the Dog & Duck, and went in there. Janet had a plate-sized Yorkshire pudding stacked with vegetables, sausages and gravy. Her only disappointment was that the Yorkshire pudding wasn’t freshly cooked from batter; bought and heated ones are “just not the same”. I had battered haddock, chips and mushy peas. To drink I had two pints of Black Sheep Best Bitter.  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 12:41:20 The Dog & Duck, 33 Ladygate, Beverley  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 12:42:18 The Dog & Duck, 33 Ladygate, Beverley  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 12:45:40 The Dog & Duck, 33 Ladygate, Beverley Janet wanted a dessert, so we turned left and continued in the direction of the Caffè Nero we’d been to on the previous visit; but we’d only gone a little more than 60 yards when we came across a different Caffè Nero. I had an americano coffee with an extra espresso shot there, and Janet had a hot chocolate drink. She was very disappointed with the slice of Sicilian lemon cheesecake, and if it had not been labelled as such she’d have thought it was just vanilla-flavoured; but she enjoyed the warm oat and raisin cookie. It was seeded, though, which she wasn’t keen on; so I got the seeds.  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:09:36 Caffè Nero, 32–33 Saturday Market, Beverley There’s a block of buildings between Ladygate and Saturday Market, and Saturday Market extends beyond and around its end; so although Caffè Nero appeared to me to be on Ladygate, its postal address, I later found, is 32–33 Saturday Market. Leaving there, we did proceed along Saturday Market, parallel to Ladygate. Appropriately enough, being Saturday, there were market stalls set up, but selling nothing of interest to us. I couldn’t remember whether we headed for St. Mary’s Church along North Bar Within or Ladygate, but Janet tells me it was the latter. We entered by the south porch, and an older gentleman, a volunteer, greeted us in the nave.  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:16:12 St. Mary’s Church: south porch  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:16:32 St. Mary’s Church: tower and buttressed south transept  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:19:10 St. Mary’s Church: nave, looking east  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:19:46 St. Mary’s Church: ceiling of nave, looking east  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:20:52 St. Mary’s Church: Pulpit, chancel screen and lectern  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:21:46 St. Mary’s Church: under the tower, looking south — clerestoried south transept  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:24:58 St. Mary’s Church: under the tower, looking south and up  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:26:12 St. Mary’s Church: under the tower, looking east — chancel screen  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:26:32 St. Mary’s Church: under the tower, looking east — chancel ceiling  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:27:34 St. Mary’s Church: under the tower, looking north — organ loft  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:28:16 St. Mary’s Church: chancel, looking east  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:28:40 St. Mary’s Church: chancel ceiling  St. Mary’s Church: chancel ceiling (Jarrold Publishing, Norwich)  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:29:56 St. Mary’s Church: east window  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:30:36 St. Mary’s Church: altar  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:31:24 St. Mary’s Church: altar items (1)  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:32:58 St. Mary’s Church: altar items (2)  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:33:14 St. Mary’s Church: altar items (3)  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:33:28 St. Mary’s Church: altar items (4)  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:35:00 St. Mary’s Church: south-east corner — St. Katharine’s Chapel  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:36:56 St. Mary’s Church: south-east corner — St. Katharine’s Chapel I’d overheard the older gentleman telling two visitors about the “White Rabbit”, so I had a look at it myself. Did he say that it was the inspiration for the White Rabbit in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? According to the descriptive booklet that I later bought, though, “it is said to be [Sir John] Tenniel’s inspiration for the illustrations in Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’” — not Lewis Carroll’s himself.  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:39:08 St. Mary’s Church: north-west corner — St. Michael’s Chapel Note the feature on the sacristy door, just visible to the left.  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:39:54 St. Mary’s Church: sacristy door  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:40:14 St. Mary’s Church: lion on the arched surround of the sacristy door, to the left  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:40:40 St. Mary’s Church: “Pilgrim Hare” on the arched surround of the sacristy door, to the right  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:41:18 St. Mary’s Church: steps down to the door of the crypt  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:42:16 St. Mary’s Church: crypt  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:49:48 St. Mary’s Church: a bit of silliness  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:49:48 (detail) St. Mary’s Church: a bit of silliness  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:51:34 St. Mary’s Church: view west from the chancel  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:54:36 St. Mary’s Church: nave, looking west  St. Mary’s Church: nave, looking west (© Ian Howlett Photography)  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:55:16 St. Mary’s Church: font  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 13:56:26 St. Mary’s Church: font  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 14:01:40 St. Mary’s Church: minstrels on one of the columns in the nave  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 14:09:46 St. Mary’s Church: ceiling bosses in the nave (1)  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 14:11:44 St. Mary’s Church: ceiling bosses in the nave (2) At the back of the church, there were various cards on display. Janet bought two that might provide useful material for copying and painting in her art group. I bought two picture postcards of the interior of the church (shown in their appropriate places above), and a 28-page illustrated booklet with a history and description of the church.   Here are the first two pages, but if you want more information, you’ll have to visit and buy your own — excellent value for £3! As I sat in one of the pews in the nave, the aforementioned older gentleman told me that if I’d have been sitting there in World War II on a certain night, I’d have got a shock — and proceeded to show me the holes made by a bomb fragment through the stained glass window, through the top of one pew, and into the back of the pew behind it.  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 14:19:28 St. Mary’s Church: holes in the stained glass window caused by bomb fragments in World War II  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 14:19:28 St. Mary’s Church: holes in the stained glass window caused by bomb fragments in World War II  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 14:18:26 Hole made by one of the bomb fragments through the back of a pew near the top—  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 14:18:04 —before it was stopped by the back of the pew behind, just above the seat We made our way back to the bus station, turning left from the church into Hengate, then right into New Walkergate.  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 14:24:50 St. Mary’s Church: east end We boarded the 14:45 №246 bus from the bus station to Hull Paragon Interchange, where we got some money from the one that was working of the two ATMs. We needed it for the cash-only Casper’s restaurant when we would get back to Grimsby. Then, as last time, we went to the London Way café, where Janet had a hot chocolate and I an americano coffee with an extra espresso shot. She also bought a great, big Bourbon biscuit (two dark chocolate-flavoured biscuits with a chocolate buttercream filling).  Saturday 29 February 2020 — 15:46:32 London Way café, Hull Paragon railway station Afterwards, we made our way to the bay from which the №250 bus would depart (boarded, 15:54). This arrived in Grimsby at ca.5.30pm. We went first to the convenience store on the corner of Victoria Street and Town Hall Street for a 660ml bottle of San Miguel for me because Casper’s doesn’t have a licence to sell intoxicating drinks, then to Casper’s. Janet ordered chicken, with a tomato sauce substituting the listed creamy one, and I decided to risk the “arrabbiata” again, because I like the salami and pepperoni that it includes — “but go easy on the chillies!” Janet chose fusilli with hers and I fettuccine. While she was in the loo, though, the waitress came by to check what pasta “you” had ordered. I took “you” to be singular, and told her “fettuccine” — but the result was, that both of us got fettuccine. As on the previous occasions the “arrabbiata” was searingly, perspiration-makingly hot, so I shan’t be ordering it again! Janet had her usual strawberry ice and ice-cream dessert in a tall conical glass. Last time we were there, when we left we found that a №10 bus was “Due”; but this evening there wasn’t one expected for some 25 minutes. There was a №3 expected in five minutes or so, though, so we were able to get that (boarded, 18:53).… [2020] |
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