John Elkington

Having found Glastonbury suffocatingly alternative, what a relief to find Burrow Mump such a delight. The sky was displaying its blue wizardry, with brilliantly complicated cloudscapes. Met a nice man at the top with a smiling lurcher and passed a very fat woman peeing in the car park on the way up, like a beluga, inadequately shielded by tattooed husband holding a small floor mat. But am sure conditions would have been worse in King Alfred’s day.

Indeed, having just finished Yasunari’s Kawabata’s extraordinary Snow Country, I am now diving into Justin Pollard’s wonderfully insightful Alfred the Great: The Man who Made England. Highly recommended.

Then on the RSPB’s Greylake Reserve. Fascinating to feel molehill dirt that is freshly excavated (soft and damp) and older (more like clinker, if you remember that). Various warblers and dragonflies, but a highlight was meeting an emissary of the local Kermit Society

Next, back to the King Alfred monument in Athelney, where the same moody sky framed the scene – reminding me of our visit many moons ago to the Little Bighorn Battlefield. Happily, after many struggles along the way, the Alfred story turned out better for him than the Little Bighorn did for the headstrong George Armstrong Custer.

Having gone to prep school at Glencot, near Wookey Hole, I have long been in love with Wells Cathedral – particularly the stairway up to the Chapter House. Wonderful winged sculptures in the Bishop’s Palace Gardens. But sadly a bit too early for the ripe mulberries I remember from a very long time ago.

A series of fascinating visits in the area, including Muchelney Abbey in wonderfully atmospheric rain and, the next day, the Willow & Wetlands Centre, with a cradle-to-grave approach covering everything from, literally, cradles to coffins. A nice walk through the woods down to the banks of the River Tone, with buzzards spiralling above the woods nearby.

Also visited the Perry’s Cider Works, though the signage getting there was appalling and, at least to my taste, the ciders were less appealing than the Henney’s cider we get from Waitrose. But diversity, they say, is the key to life.

 

 

Very much liked the Kitchen at the Wharf, Bow Street, in Langport, near North Curry where we stayed three nights. Bought a couple of things at Shakespeare Glass & Arts. Wonderful to see glass being spun and worked.

The first morning at the old farmhouse where we were staying we woke up to find no fewer than three ambulances in the drive outside. A gas man had arrived early to recharge the gas tanks, but – when lifting the manhole cover – had disturbed a nest of wasps. Later in the day, a white van arrived to tackle the problem – and found a total of four nests.

We drove across to Radstock yesterday to stay with a cousin, Simon Mills, and his family. Haven’t seen him since he moved into a rather substantial new home that was at the end of his older garden. Great fun, though animated disagreements over Brexit.

Wonderful opportunity to catch up – including seeing a photo of the old British aircraft carrier, HMS Eagle, which I was taken aboard in Cyprus in the late 1950s. Courtesy, I think, of Admiral John Frewen.

Still remember the extraordinary cobalt blue colour of the Mediterranean looking down from the vessel’s deck. Interesting angle of view, given the current fuss about Britain’s seemingly toothless new carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Simon has developed an extensive optician’s business in the region, but is also – among other things – a beekeeper. He showed us some of his 20-plus hives, and we would come away from our second stay, on our way home, with jars of clear and set honey. Plus eggs from his chickens and ducks.