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 Dwight
Peck's personal Web site
Late
summer 2003 -- A few weeks in Devon and Cornwall
We've
had lots of fun near Oxford and now we're on our way to Devon (on the wrong side
of the road).
But
wait, let's stop off at Wells.
You
may not find this tangibly rewarding unless you're included here, so this is a
good time for casual and random browsers to turn back before they get too caught
up in the sweep and majesty of the proceedings and can't let go. 
Wells
Cathedral, not shabby, looms everywhere. 
Oh
Christ it's time for lunch. We dash into the The Crown at Wells for soup etc.,
and then proceed.
The
Bishop's Palace at Wells.
I
had a place like this once, in Oklahoma, but the upkeep was murder -- just tidying
up on the weekends made it hard to get out with the boys to the races by mid-afternoon
-- so I let it go and got a little efficiency apartment out near the highway.
Not nearly so elegant, but a lot more free time for the things that make life
worth living, like rabbit hunting.
Still,
for sentimental reasons, I did look in at the Bishop of Wells' office to see whether
this great stone pile might be going up on the market anytime soon, but alas,
it was not to be.
Intimations of Mortality
It is not now as it hath been of yore;
Turn wheresoe’er I may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.
Just giant tombstones all over the lawn.
OOooff,
VERY large church. There has been talk of converting some of the interior into
handball courts, as a budgetary gesture, but most of the area around the altar
would be isolated from the sporting shouts of triumph and despair so that the
religious folks if any can continue to pray in peace.
More
cathedral, round the back. An entrepreneurial eye can see commercial opportunities all over this charming old-world scene, from impressive
interactive advertisements on the walls to Tasty Tofu stands between the pillars.
So far the authorities are holding out against the tide of commercial history
but in time this will all be ours.
Traveling
companion Kristin dashing about the cathedral close looking for Barrister Jeremy,
but with no luck.
The
cathedral close (left) -- it's been said with good authority that Barrister Jeremy
lives here, or at least hides out here from time to time, but there's no sign
of him this time, out mowing the lawn or stoking up the barbecue. We'll come back
when we have more time and pound on all the doors till we find him. 
Wells
Cathedral with automobiles. 
We've
just been four days near Oxford and had a nice walk round Wells, to view the cathedral
and seek out Barrister Jeremy unsuccessfully, but now it's time to dash on to
the north coast of Devon to visit the Tims.
Feedback and suggestions are welcome if positive, resented if negative, Dwight
Peck at  .
All rights reserved, all wrongs avenged. Posted 22 November 2003, revised 21 September 2008.
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