Balancing the Arts with Technology

Wednesday 4 April 2007
:: Bolton Abbey, England - Yorkshire::
Chapter 6: Part 2

The foot-sore adventurers piled into the coach, adjusted to the driving on the left hand side of the road, Sir Thomas Leaf constantly with reflexes of grabbing a steering wheel that doesn't exist while sitting in the passenger seat on the left - and the Queen charioted them along the Yorkshire countryside. Passed through some very historic towns and villages, including the hideaway town of Linton. Then the final adventure of the day - The Ruins of the Bolton Abbey. Another hike, down to the Ruins, along the river, to another money tree. A treat from Queen Susan and Sir Robin the Fool for a Dairy 99 with a chocolate chip - mmmm. A humorous audience watching people cross the stepping stones across the river - missing a crossing stone, so everyone splashing into the water to get across even though signs warned them the stone was missing. It was in the ruins of the abbey, that a piece of cord was found inbetween a flagstone. It was this cord that was necessary to present to the mighty ones at Avebury for breaking the enchantment on Lady Vanessa's ring. All the pieces are in place, the elements gathered, tomorrow Sir Thomas Leaf will venture with Lady Marion of Salisbury to Avebury and Stonehenge to complete the circle of this adventure. Evening, the adventurers went into the shady area of Bradford in search for Curry. They stopped at at the shining gates of world reknown Mumtaz - and ended the evening with some delicious Indian fare. A good sleep was in order - as tomorrow morning, Sir Thomas Leaf was to be carriaged to the train station - either boarding a train for London or be abducted by Lady Marion of Salisbury for the breaking of the enchantment. Will she arrive to meet the knight? Sir Thomas Leaf and the Ruins of Bolton Abbey

Celtic Cross ... The guardian gargoyles

Another Money Tree a.k.a. Wishing Tree

The Royal Family: Queen Susan of Bradford, Sir Robin the Fool of Bradford Lady Vanessa of the Rhine

Passing through Linton ...

Linton, England
A small village and civil parish immediately south of Grassington and 8 miles north of Skipton in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England.

Bolton Priory ...

Bolton Abbey

Bolton Abbey
:: Yorkshire Dales, England ::
Tel: +44 (0) 1756 718009 | Fax: +44 (0) 1756 710535
http://www.boltonabbey.com/

A beautiful lush green estate encompassing 30,000 acres in the Yorkshire Dales on the banks of the River Wharfe this historical site offers tourists, patrons, parishoners, and visitors over 80 miles of footpaths and open space. The ruins of the Priory are legendary with much history and lore embedded in the grounds. Cafe's, shops, tea rooms, gifts, and dairy ice cream are a smorgasboard of what you'll find.

Above the River Wharfe lies the ruins of the 12th century Priory and parish church bringing fame to this place. The Priory was founded in 1120. Originally the land was granted to the Augustinian Canons in 1154 by the Lady Alice de Rumilly, the owner of nearby Skipton Castle. The nave of the Priory came back to life after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 when Henry VIII set out to destroy and remove Catholicism from the land, where it continues as a parish church even today. The Abbey still belongs to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. The Church is dedicated to St. Mary and St. Cuthbert.

The Bolton Abbey

the flagstones containing the magic cord for the quest ....

Bolton Priory before the Dissolution click for better view

The doors to the new Priory

Sir Robin the Fool taking pictures of us ...

Queen Susan and Lady Vanessa

Sir Ingo the Great at the Abbey

Royal treat: Dairy 99!!!

A Dairy 99

Dairy 99 :: Bolton Abbey, (Yorkshire Dales) - England :: Dairy 99 is a special British treat - it is soft ice cream cone with a flake (of chocolate). No one really knows the root of the use of the number "99" beyond its origins earlier than the 1930's according to BBC tv. By the OED dictionary "ninety-nine" is an ice cream with a stick of flaky chocolate inserted into it (as 99 a proprietary name in the United Kingdom) (formerly) an ice cream wafer sandwich containing a similar stick of chocolate - a wafer cone or chocolate stick for an ice cream. The Original ice cream contained Cadbury's 99 flake (produced by Cadbury specifically for the ice cream trade). There is a suggestion that the 99 is in allusion to an elite guard of ninety-nine solders in the service of the King of Italy. Our serving of a Dairy 99 as shown in the picture, was blessed with a nice piece of the Cadbury exquisite 99 flake. Soooo good. Rating: 5 out of 5. More information about Dairy 99 here.

Kids trying to catch fairies ....

The Stepping Stones of Bolton Abbey

57 stepping stones crossing the River Wharfe is always a challenging game for residents and tourists alike. A popular crossing place dating back to the Priory's history it was the only way to cross the river until the bridge was built in more recent times. Of course during our visit, one of the crossing stones was missing ... and therefore ... even those who thought they had beat the challenge, always got wet.

everyone gets wet with the missing crossing stone

A good end to a good pair of boots R.I.P. March 5, 2005- April 4, 2007 logged approximately 1,350 miles

Bradford, West Yorkshire, England population: 293,717

Long considered to be the curry capital of Britain, Bradford is also well known as an industrial city known for its textiles and especially it's wool trade. Now surpassed by the curry market, just about every street around the city center has at least one curry house. In Britain, the use of "curry" is a common term for most Asian foods that contain "curry" but is often just used for reference to "Indian food" whilst in other parts of the world, a curry is a dish that contains curry and could refer to specific dishes that are part of Indian food, Thai food, etc. Bradford is estimated to have about 200+ Asian restaurants with more per head of population than anywhere else in Britain. The first curry house appeared in Bradford in the 1950's when the city saw an influx of Asian workers for the textile mills. More information about Bradford Curry. Bradford is 9 miles west of Leeds but with suburbs so close the two cities actually merge into one another - and industrial Bradford is Leed's closest neighbour and distinctly it's poorer cousin as they will tell you in Leeds. According to JB Priestley (1894-1984) Bradford has a 'kind of ugliness that could not only be tolerated but often enjoyed'. Bradford is most well known in the tourist circles for its annual Bradford festival that is held at the end of June which is a colorful celebration of Asian music and dance called Mela.

Mumtaz :: Great Horton Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England BD7 3HS * T:01274 5721861 http://www.mumtaz.co.uk ::
The home of traditional Kashmiri cooking ... the world famous restaurant resides in Bradford, England offering its patrons a wide selection of Curry and Indian dish specialties ... addressed in high-class dining steeped in the unique art of Kashmiri cooking that gives such popularity to the word "Mumtaz". Mumtaz began here in Bradord blossoming into a world experience. They even have their own Indian baby food line. My visit on the 4th of April 2007 pleased me with a delicious dinner of Palak Paneer and Garlic Naam. Delicious. Rating 5 stars out of 5.

Mumtaz