It was a much better day today!
Once again, the weather was kind to us as we left our accommodation, Branston Lodge. The proprietors, Sally and Mike, were very welcoming and even changed our room to one downstairs when they saw that I had a sore leg. Mike was always up for a chat! The breakfasts were very tasty too!
The door knocker reminded me of the one on the door of Scrooge's residence in the story A Christmas Carol by Dickens. Fortunately, this one did NOT change into the face of Marley!
The original lock on the door indicated the age of the house.
Blackpool Tower taken from our rooftop carpark.
Blackpool Tower was built in 1894. Although probably not as old as the tower, this lift was clearly quite old. The inside was all lined in brass and the original controls were still there (albeit not operational). I am just old enough to remember lifts at Myer in the city of Melbourne where they had ladies inside the lifts operating them.
The views from the top of the tower are very impressive indeed.
One can even stand on a floor made of glass and peer past one's shoes down to the ground!
A different view looking straight down.
Can you pick out our car on the rooftop carpark?
The camera's zoom function makes it a little easier!
Not quite the London Eye but still pretty good!
Apart from the stray capital letter, the information above was really quite mind-blowing considering the population of Blackpool is 142,000 and the population of Portugal is 10,457,000!
One of the main reasons for my visit to Blackpool was to see the ballroom in the tower and to hear the Wurlitzer pipe organ. Luckily, I didn't miss out on this. The ballroom is probably unique!
The console of the organ rises from below the stage.
We listened to the organ for about half an hour and then enjoyed a cup of tea down on the edge of the dance floor. At the beginning of each piece, the organist announced the dance that would suite it. Satoshi and I were amazed that so many people seemed to know all the required moves of each dance. Also, the organist never used any sheet music.
I was a bit sad to leave Blackpool given that I missed out on the Pleasure Beach but we had to move on. On the way to York, we diverted a little in order to visit Wakefield Cathedral. Most of the current cathedral is the result of Victorian restoration by (can you guess?) Sir George Gilbert Scott.
The Nave, note the labyrinth set into the floor.
The Quire
A carving in the Quire
and another carving
The Sanctuary
The Altar
Detail of the Altar
Stone vaulting - amazing to think of all that heavy stone up there above our heads!
Satoshi decided to become a Bishop.
The Rood Screen with the Nave Altar in the foreground
On the right hand pillar of the entrance through the screen is a carving of a hare.
This window depicts King David and some choristers.
The choristers are singing words from the Psalms (at least some of which were written by David)
Israel (previously known as Jacob), blessing his son Joseph's children, Ephraim and Manasseh
Jamo and Vikki Smith (from Chatham) were the first the error in this window... Manesseh has two right feet!
We decided to stay at Wakefield for Evensong. This was sung by the girls of the Choir. The music included the responses by Bielby, the canticles were Robinson in C, and the anthem was The Lord is My Shepherd by Howard Goodall (possibly known to many of you as the theme to the TV series The Vicar of Dibley). Both Satoshi and I felt that the choir was not as polished as some we have heard but it was still very enjoyable. It is a great privilege to be able to end the day in the quiet beauty of a cathedral Evensong.
The last part of the day was the drive to York which was achieved without incident.