I began to wish I had dressed
more appropriately as we approached the county
of Somerset, South,West
England in the slushing of rain. I was expecting it to be a
miserable August afternoon spent cowering for shelter inside a museum, merely
glimpsing exterior architecture whilst wading between various venues of
interest. I had to remind myself that this was just a characteristic of our
wonderful country and that I should accept it and enjoy it in all its glory. In
doing so I think I stopped the rain. As
we arrived in Bath
it became pleasantly sunny. The streets were lined with exquisite Georgian townhouses,
the back drop of many a period drama. I was awestruck by its classical beauty,
humbled by its charm and immersed in its history.
We were famished after our two and a half hour
drive and so before our tour we embarked on finding somewhere for a quick bite
to eat. Typical 21st Century chains would be obscenely unfitting in
the surroundings yet we did manage to find a Subway near a Tesco and I even saw
a McDonalds poster. These things were
obviously placed in a rather modern area. Everywhere else was unspoilt.
Chain stores and shops were uniformly subtle in there appearance.
Our first stop was the Historical
Roman Baths. I could literally spend hours absorbing the ancient structures and
imagining myself standing there 2000 years ago trying to build up a picture of
what life would have been like. The video and audio presentations really helped
to conjure that up for me as it took us on the journey not only of the Roman
times but also the discovery to the reconstruction of the baths. There were the
statues of many famous Romans such as Emperors Julius Caesar , Hadrian and
Claudius. Images of Gods. I felt that
the baths took us on a journey through time of the ordinary people. For
example, the people traditionally had curses engraved onto fine lead to throw
to the gods for consideration and when these were discovered and translated
they were found to be quite petty and mundane. They would wish ill health on
someone who nicked there clothes or the equivalent of a couple of quid. Cultural traditions and different faiths were
practiced in the Roman baths. Religion played very big part in those times. It
all felt very familiar to me, the whole human civilization. I wondered if some
day in thousands of years time, they might dig up Brent Cross Shopping Centre
in the North of London, the first of many indoor shopping malls built in 1976.
They might reconstruct the fountain and the rusty old escalators and talk about
people through the ages from the 20th century.
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| The green water. |
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| The loud steaming water of a Roman drain. |
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| The Golden Head of Sulis Minerva |
The Roman Baths is an absolute
must for anyone visiting the city no matter how enthralled or not you are by
history. The ancient artifacts, the modern visual re-enactments displayed on
video screens make for a great experience.
The hot mineral water bursting from the ground eventually tamed by the
Romans had always been considered to be a gift from the gods. Now it is lime
green with Algae. We were not supposed to touch it because it was untreated but
curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to be sure it was hot, I wasn’t taking
anyone’s word for it and I could wash my hands after.
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| Over priced Rugby shirts |
After walking around the
delightful City, it was time to go to the Jane Austen Centre. It wasn’t a huge
building with a lot to see but an absolutely marvellous experience for a literature
buff. Her life and the history of her
family was passionately presented by a
Jane Austen adoring fan dressed up as Kitty Bennet from the famous novel Pride
and Prejudice. Then we toured the building 40 Gay street which is similar to No
25 Gay street where Jane Austen lived for a short time.
During my visit to Bath I tried to imagine
what it might have been like with out the intrusive sound and presence of
traffic. I was able to see it so clearly in a visual presentation of Jane
Austen’s life in Bath
set to an enchanting clarinet concerto by Mozart.
As you can see, we were able to
dress in costume.
When I held the quill I
encountered romantic notions of living in Bath
and becoming an author.
The Royal Crescent
Designed by the architect John Wood the Younger and built between 1767
and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture to be found in the United
Kingdom and is a Grade I listed
building.[ It has been used as a
film location for many things but the most memorable one for me was The musical
Oliver made in 1968 based on Charles Dicken’s Novel Oliver Twist. The scene was for the song “Who will
buy” It was a beautifully choreographed,
colourful scene. I grew up being a huge fan of that musical as I would play
back the sound track on vinyl over and over. I adored Mark Lester who played
Oliver, was fascinated with Ron Moody’s portrayal of Fagan and petrified of
Oliver Reed’s Bill Sykes.
I fell in love with Bath. It’s a truly inspiring
place which I will return to again and again. I am intrigued to learn more
about the Roman Empire from where I left off
at school and now keen to follow up other old haunts of Jane Austen. Next stop
Chawton and Winchester.
