Freedom

Well Ginnie finally left me. I guess it was just a matter of time. I saw her off on the train this morning. Actually, she was off to spend a wild week down in Devon with her friend Jane. They both had their 60th this year so I guess it’s allowed. They are Residential School survivors and have a lot to share. No money in this one it was in England. Parents actually sent their children to Residential School here. Where did we in Canada go wrong? You had to be wealthy to do that. They made a pact to do this again when they got together on their 40th . Both were single then and no change in sight. Ginnie didn’t think she could go through this married stuff again. Neither did I!!! Who was it that said “Free at last thank God I‘m free at last”? I guess it was Martin before Memphis and me after my first. Really I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Back to my wild adventures. I wanted to see Rosslyn Chapel because of Dan Brown and other things. A 3 pound (that’s money here) pass gets you anywhere you want to go for the day. Roslin is at one end of the # 15 buss route. Yes Ginnie (my spelling coach) the town is spelled one way and the chapel the other. The trip was super, there was a fantastic tour guide! Where do they get all of these great, knowledgeable and entertaining volunteers? The Chapel was amazing. I have seen a great many old churches but this one is definitely very different and highly ornate with very interesting history. I was disappointed by two aspects however. The church is undergoing some very extensive restoration so you couldn‘t see everything. It was constructed with sandstone which was weathering quite a bit, they tried to protect it by coating it. This captured the moisture and made matters very much worse by retaining the moisture and destroying the sandstone. Now they are trying to dry the whole church out so it’s totally covered with a separate roof and scaffolding. They are also removing the “protective“ coating. On the whole it’s a very expensive proposition. Disappointment number two. You cannot take pictures inside. Why you might ask? Could it be because of copyright, or flash being harmful, or we want to sell our books? No it is because of an American tourist who was taking pictures of the ceiling and tripped on the uneven floor and as the Americans typically will do at even slightest opportunity regardless what it might cause, sued. So now nobody takes pictures. What Hollywood and the Yanks don’t buy, destroy or shoot up, they will destroy with the legal system. Speaking of Hollywood and I was, it also left it’s mark on the chapel. Things the movie crews left behind, and quite a few, make that lots of add on’s or more commonly BS about things related to the Chapel, and history.
Thanks to Dan Brown the tourist rate climbed from 10,000 per year to 100,000 so they are having to change a lot of things to cope. One was a coffee shop which held 5 people. Hopefully it may help them cover some of the restoration costs. It’s really worth the trip though!
A chance meeting in a pub last night had me standing next to a fellow from Czechoslovakia who is a Blacksmith. He is working at the P. Johnson & Company an Artist Blacksmith company in Ratho. Ratho is a small town at the end of the #48 bus route. This it happens to be is where a friend of mine, Craig Campbell came to study Blacksmithing in August of this year. I thought Craig said this so he wouldn’t have to work on “CanIron VII” , a Blacksmith convention which we put on in August. I guess he actually was here. Small world. Sorry Craig, how could I doubt you.
The P. Johnson & Company really have a fantastic site. It’s out in the country and the work they do is very impressive. They treated me royally. By the way Ginnie it means more people who might arrive at our doorstep. On second thought she may want to make that journey to Jane a permanent trip.