Still in Newhold On Avon
We woke up this morning to heavy winds and
rain. Not a good combination for
boating. David suggested we stay another day and take an uber ride to the
nearby town of Rugby. What a great idea!
Our
Uber driver was quite pleasant and told us he wished to go to the U.S. because
he said, “You can get rich there if you work hard. In the U.K., you work hard
but you can’t make much money." We did
not crush his dreams.
We were dropped off at the Art
Gallery/Museum and our timing was perfect. A gentleman was just about to begin
a free walking tour of the town, so we tagged along. There was only a total of
6 people in our group including our guide, so quite manageable. During the
hour-plus tour, we had sunshine, sprinkles, rain, and wind. Hoods went up and
hoods went down constantly as we strolled.
We found out that the game of rugby actually began in the town of Rugby at the all-boys residential school in the early
1800’s. One student instead of kicking
the ball as the game rules insisted, decided to run with the ball for a goal,
hence a new game was born. The school still exists but now is co-ed and is
quite prestigious. We found it
interesting that the girls’ uniform includes an ankle length black skirt. The tour “trainee” in our group said, “I am
told the girls wear their pajama bottoms underneath.” Gotta stay warm.
Understandably, the game of rugby is an
immense sense of pride for the town where it was created. The school just put
in a new rugby field that looks as smooth as a billiard table. Much like the
Hollywood walk of fame, there are brass plaques along the sidewalks with the
names of star rugby players from all over the world. There’s a statue of William Webb Willis, the
young lad who on that fateful day inspired a new game which bears the town’s
name.
School's new pristine rugby field
The first floor of buildings in the business district have been modernized. You need to stretch your gaze upward to see the original architecture. Our guide pointed out the fire brigade emblem on one of the buildings. Owners paid for them as insurance. If you didn’t have one of those “plaques”, you were out of luck. Your building would be left to go up in smoke.
Oldest building in Rugby 1500's
We ate lunch at a LOUNGE café/restaurant which we found out was a chain. The meal was quite good and the menu extensive. We try to stay away from chains when traveling, but this was a foreign chain, so it didn’t count, right?
Found a bookstore with used books and
restocked our library and a grocery store for more supplies. David noticed
twice now that product placement in these larger stores was kind of strange. He
would find the same item in three different locations throughout the store and
not by mistake. We are not finding
prices unreasonable which is a pleasant surprise.
We
finally found a bank so we could get some cash. The first ATM did not work on
any of our cards, and we started to grow concerned. A very kind and helpful
bank clerk gave us directions to a Lloyd’s Bank and all work out fine. Phew!
I have found the perfect shoes for this
muddy lifestyle. They are warm and have waffle soles which give me more of a
grip when stepping off the boat and walking on wet slippery leaves. They are
pretty darn clunky, though. I walk like a lumberjack.
We found out how much data we are using so
now we have to greatly conserve. We are only 2 days into the new cycle, and we
have already used 1.5 gb of our 5 gb allowance. I had one morning of Youtube
surfing. That will be my last. We have enjoyed listening to music off Dave’s
computer and now we must give that up. Not sure if we will be able to watch a
movie on Netflix off my iPad. Oh, the
hardships we must endure!
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