Category England
The Liminal Space of Premier Inn
For a couple of decades HOB and I slept in budget hotels and guest houses. In some countries (memorably Albania) the cheap rooms were clean and sometimes even lovely. In other countries (looking at you, France) there seemed to be a national effort to make these rooms poorly heated with sketchy beds reeking of body […]
Wells Cathedral: in case of emergency, apply scissors
The view of the English countryside during my 90 minute bus ride from Bath to Wells—with frost outlining the shingles on stone cottages and sheep finding patches of the rising sun to stand in—distracted me from an increasingly desperate need to pee. Fortunately, Wells Cathedral (and its restroom) was close to the bus stop. Like […]
Presidential Administration A-la-Mode
If I’m being honest, I never tried too hard to understand how government works in England. I like to think there are politicians wearing tweed suits sitting in wood, high-galleried rooms saying “My right honorable friend” and maybe the king shows up now and then. I have a just a vague idea of The House […]
The Self-Referential Panto in Bath
It’s the holiday season, when English families long for a wholesome evening of fart jokes, fake smoke, sexual innuendo and drag. I’m in Bath, and last night I watched the Panto at Theatre Royal. Panto (or Pantomimes) run during the month around Christmas, but they aren’t holiday-themed shows. It seems like they are mostly loose […]
Picnic at the Cathedral 