More England

The visit to the William Morris house was really fun; we had tea in the scullery and wandered about the grounds after the guided tour, which was by a volunteer Morris enthusiast who was like a slightly nervous otter in a v-neck sweater and tie. It's a bit sad--the house was Morris' grand experiment in creating a commune-type artist colony which imploded under the weight of the personality problems and interpersonal relationship issues which so many creative people carry with them. They just bought it last year and are in the process of restoring it, trying to decipher what is under the paint. I have a few pictures taken in the garden and of the doorway (lit by a red lantern!) which I will post once I download them from my computer. I now have a tea-towel (that most Britishly useful of souvenirs) featuring the frontispiece of the Kelmscott Press' "News from Nowhere."

Tomorrow is the Tower of London in the morning; the next day we (Esgalaith and I) go to Bath! Yippee!

Saturday--New Years'--and Sunday the family had over their very own adopted Britgoth (hello, Kass!) and everyone had a lovely time going to the family service at church dressed up in their most fancy black goth-like attire and then progressing onto a quite nice pub where we scandalized the country-club set eating brunch.
Pictures of this misadventure to follow.

Jadescarlet--Wales is slightly closer to our location than Scotland, so I think we've decided to take our four-day trip there in the middle of next week, but if we can get in touch I'd still like to have you over for tea or something.

Speaking of Wales, I keep seeing things marked "Pembroke" and "Brecon," et al, everywhere; it's quite fun.

( Today was the British Museum... )