Yesterday afternoon Wells confirmed its reputation as a parochial country town ("city") by hosting a feeble 'event' on the Cathedral Green - we visited at lunchtime for the 'hog roast'. After queuing for 10 minutes we were rewarded with lukewarm chunks of meat smothered in apple sauce (from a large plastic bottle) with smeary stuffing, wrapped in a soggy bun.
The meat came with added edgings of fat which were inedible. After surgery and a local bin visit, I ate the rest and we retired to The Crown to wash everything off. At time of writing I am still alive. How colourful are these local traditions!
Then to visit the 13 'Hidden Gardens' on display for one afternoon. Small but perfectly formed they were: here's The Rib garden which abuts the Cathedral.
Clare pats dog in The Rib garden
Wells Cathedral through the flowers
In the evening we drove up to Deer Leap, about a mile south of Priddy and high on the Mendips, to see the Jubilee Beacon being lit. Sadly the stimulus for ignition was set by the clock (10.01 pm), not the sight of beacons burning earlier in the chain. From the vantage point you get a clear view as far as the sea at Burnham and the lights of South Wales. Miles away on the Somerset levels we could see distant fireworks. As the Beacon was lit, our own fireworks were launched: pix below.
Beacon lit, fireworks launched
10 minutes after ignition
Clare on the top
Crowds there were and lucky were we to escape early and drive down the very narrow road to Wookey Hole unscathed. At home we nestled down and watched The Terminator being crushed to a pulp by a determined Sarah Connor.
