Blandifers, Misericords, Santas, & Terrines

So, my infamous parents, Greer & Phil, came to visit a few weeks ago and treated me and B to a sumptuous and utterly delightful weekend away in the English countryside. As befits a sophisticated lady such as myself, we stayed in a mini-Downton-esque manor house located outside of Bath.


We arrived in Somerset on Friday evening and, after some hugs and tears, hit up a local country pub of my choosing. I’d managed to steer Mom and Dad away from their dubious looking first choice–Ring O’ Bells–so the pressure was on for my selection to be acceptable. Already 1 (or 2) G&Ts into the game, Mom was ready to work her ‘party personality’ and mingle with some locals. Sure enough, less than 5 seconds through the door she was rubbing elbows with some truly authentic toothless Dickensian characters perched at the bar.

‘Come on, Mom, our table is ready!!!!!!’
In no time, we were eating a lovely dinner… and my mom and I were making best friends with Innkeeper Dan and his drunken uncle.
‘This is what you have to look forward to,’ my dad said to B.
B laughed nervously.
‘Whatever… we are FUN!!!!!!!’ I interjected, having had enough wine to unleash my inner socially competent self and my southern accent.

Needless to say, the Redan Inn was a roaring success.
The next day, we took Sinéad on a little walk around the grounds before setting off for Wells.

Being England, the day was… damp, and I cringed at the maintenance of Sinéad’s woolly exterior as she scampered from one moss-strangled rock to the next.
‘Her CATS hoodie is beginning to look like yours,’ B remarked, as something disgusting from this arrowslit rubbed off on her ear.

But Sinéad didn’t seem to mind.
‘Look at meeeeeee! I’m freeeeeeee! I’m the king of the world!!!!!!’ she cried.
Maybe I shouldn’t have left her in that suitcase for so long. I hope no one calls the RSPCA, I thought.
After searching way too long for an elusive cat my mom claimed lived in the garden (Sinéad’s enthusiastically shrill cries of ‘HERE KITTY KITTY KITTY!’ probably weren’t helping matters), we abandoned the (possibly) living for the dead and made a visit to the pet cemetery.
Sinéad insisted I take her picture in front of this gravestone.

After our graveside photo shoot (that garnered a few bewildered glances from passersby) we were all off to well, well, Wells!
So Wells is this little town in Somerset that has a HUGE cathedral making it not a town at all, in fact, but a city. Diocesan cathedrals granting towns ‘city’ status in England and Wales is a tradition that dates back the 1540s during the reign of Henry VIII. And even way before Henry VIII’s time, sleepy little Wells was a big deal!
Jocelin of Wells (Bishop extraordinaire and adviser to both King John and King Henry III) ordered the construction of the cathedral in the 13th century. It is stunning.


After gawking at the beautifully painted ceilings (kinda like Morris on a way larger scale!) and impressive scissor arches, we had to check out the astronomical clock originally dating back to the 14th century. The clock represents a pre-Copernican geocentric view of the universe, but tells regular ol’ time as well.

Perhaps the most peculiar feature of this clock is the presence of a bloke named Jack Blandifers who hits one bell with a hammer and another with his heels every quarter of an hour. I don’t know why or where that name came from??????

After admiring Jack Blandifers ring in the quarter of the hour in his inimitable fashion, we decided to tag along with a tour guide (who was about 150 years old) for a little ways. We picked up some assorted facts and were introduced to a particularly interesting cathedral-y fixture of which I knew not before: the misericord!

Misericords–also known as ‘mercy seats’–are little wooden shelves carved into the back of folding seats in the choir stalls/seats around the altar. These little medieval shelves–these ‘acts of mercy’–meant that folks could secretly lean rather than stand during long bouts of prayer. Most misericords are intricately carved with little scenes–some of which are rather subversive and saucy, apparently.

But our tour guide was super proud to inform us that the misericords in Wells Cathedral are all tasteful and Godly.
Naturally, Sinéad was eager to perch atop a (tasteful) misericord for a photo op. But just as she was preparing to spring forth and pose, she received a withering glare from the tour guide and cowered back into my bag.

As we exited the cathedral and skirted the impressive Bishop’s Palace, I began to fantasise about my future life in Wells. B and I would get a little house in town where B could write his novel, and I could work in the music school (pictured below–I mean, how cool is that?!) or as an old lady tour guide or a full-time blogger about the Prince of Aldovia. We’d make some cool artsy friends we could meet in the adorable pubs where the pints are probably a third the price of the pints in London. Everything would be marvelous!

The following evening, we headed into the middle of nowhere to a village named Mells (not to be confused with Wells) (and close to Frome–pronounced ‘froom’ that B and Innkeeper Dan tried to convince my mother was pronounced ‘fro-may’) to the second pub of my choosing, the Talbot Inn.
My dad drove further and further into the heart of darkness until… we suddenly hit a traffic jam! What in the world?! Why were the cars stopped on this no-doubt-usually-deserted country road??? As we slowly pulled down the road, what to my wondering eyes did appear but sleigh and eight (two) tiny (ENORMOUS) reindeer!

Yes, that’s right, we somehow got stuck behind Santa (mechanically waving at no one) and his damn sleigh moving at a glacial pace down the one-way road. We’d become part of a parade!
Anyway, we finally made it to the Talbot Inn what felt like hours later. And it was perfectly charming! Phewf! B ate a risky looking ‘game terrine’ while everyone else enjoyed their more normal looking meals.
After dinner, a drunk man took our picture with his finger over the lens as we forced his poor dog Molly to pose with us.

Aaaaaand then B was up all night with food poisoning.
I knew the terrine would get bad press. –B. Gaehl
Unlike the raw lamb he consumed last Christmas, the culprit of B’s food poisoning this time was slightly less certain. I guess we’d better take another deciding survey like we did for Florence.
Has anyone else had any Christmassy adventures/trips to the countryside/misericord sightings/bouts of food poisoning lately? Lemme know in the comments!
xWG
It had to be the terrine. Always blame the terrine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, who knows what’s in those things… was probably made up of the good people of Mells!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh those misericords!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful adventure – lovely to see that Sinéad has already begun 2018 with some diplomatic work in the countryside. Splendid pictures of the cathedral in Wells, too. Thank goodness for the mercy-seat. I could not imagine making it through hours-long services on my feet. I suppose the saucy carvings were for added interest and diversion? And, I’m quite sorry to hear about the food poisoning! I hope everyone is now feeling better!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Why thank you, Shirley! Apparently, the misericord carvings became sort of a subversive art form, with carvers using the platform to create whatever they liked without people really noticing! Same goes for the stone carvings at the top of many of the internal pillars of the cathedral that depict personal tales from the stone carvers’ lives/the faces of people they knew etc… would be a very interesting field of study. Well, thank you, but B is pretty old hat with the food poisoning by now… I’m just hoping someday it will fully deter him from eating meat, and he will cross over to the dark (light) side with me and the veggies!!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What is it with weird Santa encounters this holiday season!? Just be glad there wasn’t a mob of those giant (creepy) sleigh-riding jolly (creepy) elves in your path and that Sinead didn’t try to join (or lead) the parade). As for graveside photos with Beasties, they really aren’t good at pulling off the whole gravitas thing, but I imagine the Grim Reaper appreciates seeing a smile on the face of someone viewing his work instead of blubbering over it. Your future ambition to become Weekes of Wells needs to happen…once B develops a stronger stomach, of course.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahahaha I mean, Finn’s Santa encounter surely takes the cake… it’s like the end of a terrifying sci fi film. Well, I’m glad we could at least be of service in lifting the Grim Reaper’s self esteem… and sigggghhhhhh …. Weekes of Wells….. a girl can only dream!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It has a really good ring to it, so it must be destiny, right?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh wow! After this, I also want to drop everything and run off to Wells! I wonder how I could spin this so I can write it off as a totally legitimate business expense? 🤔 This looks like a great trip… I loved the pictures of Wells cathedral, and you all seem to have had a super time (well, apart from the food poisoning… Hopefully B has made a full recovery 😆)! Oh, and don’t worry about popping Sinéad in your suitcase… Beasties are natural stowaways, willing to endure uncomfortable travelling conditions in the hope of ending up somewhere interesting! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you can’t make it to Wells, I definitely recommend at least sending P&P in your stead! And it wouldn’t really be a holiday without some illness, now would it? Phewff that’s good to know about the Beastie stowaway inclination …. the way she goes on and on about ‘breathing the fresh air of freedom’ I worry that I keep her too much cooped up. Wouldn’t want to have another Stockholm syndrome victim on my conscious….
LikeLike
Ha! True. Maybe you should give up making sampling the local cuisine a part of your travels – for B, anyway! Pack a box of cornflakes and some energy bars for him, and you’ll be fine. You have the incredible traveling Sinead to enjoy dining out with now! Even if she does have a teeny bit of Stockholm syndrome, at least she’ll never get food poisoning 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
‘Ummmm… sooooo….. Sinéad and I are going out to dinner…. Honey, why don’t you just stay in the hotel and rest up??’ 😂
LikeLike
Exactly!
Oh, and unplug the phone so he can’t order room service! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
😂😂😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That little sojourn in the country with Grrer & Phil sounded great. Can you email me some particulars…best pubs, places to stay, etc.?
Just be glad I wasn’t there with Hreer!
Thanks,
Jean
LikeLike
Planning on heading your way maybe this year! That should be Greer, not Hreer!
LikeLike