Merry Olde England
J$ and I are on the hunt for the elusive roots of the Jolli, Jolly, Joyliff, Jolliffe, or Jolliff family roots, no matter how its spelled.
Today we drove from the midlands to the Welsh border to visit Hay-On-Wye, a border town fought over by the Welsh and English for centuries until an enterprising resident turned it into the used book capital of the world--over 30 book shoppes along with antique and craft shoppes. Then a four-hour drive back across the midlands, highlighted by a wrong turn that took us up over the highest mountain in sight where we saw a working rock quarry and a highland commons where sheep had free-range of the road.
Tonight we are in Leek, the hotbed of Jolliff history. Tomorrow the vicar is letting us into the tower of St. Edward Anglican church to track down a plaque from the 1600s.
As for the driving, Densmark leads J$ in curbs struck by the front left tire and the number of times the wipers were engaged rather than the turn signals (they're reversed for right-hand drive). But we've both managed to stay on the left. We've even decided to vote Labor in '08.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
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2 comments:
How cruel--a whole town full of used books and a 50 lb weight limit on your suitcases!!!
And maybe all turn signals should be combined with windshield wipers. You'd be less likely to leave them on ;)
Left? Right? Backroads Britannia means driving straight down the middle where's roomy to fit a car! Midlands Megapolis is a Merry-Go-Round - even Pike would be up a crick there.
How did you manage?
Inland Wales, if you've ever a chance, is a canoe trip in a car. The sunken roads sit below their heaped banks.
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