Wednesday, August 13, 2008

City Slickers

Do you remember the film City Slickers, which starred Billy Crystal? There is a poignant scene where Billy Crystal, aided by a bit of gruff encouragement provided from the late Jack Palance, delivers a calf whom he promptly names Norman.

Being a bit of a city slicker myself, currently residing within the environs of the Lancashire countryside, I too have recently made the acquaintance of a recently born bovine whom Sarah and I have dubbed Norman. Many a morning, the two of us make the short trek to Norman's small patch of grass to check upon her growth and overall progress. Yes, Norman is a young cow and not a steer, but the name perfectly suits her just the same. Predominantly black in colour, with a few scattered patches of white, accompanied by big expressive eyes and a perpetually glossy nose, she is as Sarah likes to say, "Too much cuteness for just one cow." We are often greeted with a mini "muh" (instead of the more traditional "moo"), when we go around to see her and exchange pleasantries with Farmer Jack.

This morning, Norman seemed especially happy to see me and Sarah. She trotted up to the low stone wall seperating us and went eye-to-eye and nose-to-nose with me. While I do not recall spilling anything upon myself at the breakfast table, Norman gave both sleeves of my windbreaker a thorough, yet gentle tongue-wash; thus ensuring that I would be presentable to the world for the rest of the day. Too much cuteness for just one cow.

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Durham

A total of three days was spent in the city of Durham and its surrounding areas, as we and fourteen other travel writers were conducted through a whistle stop tour by our tourism office hosts. With a very diverse itinerary that included Auckland Castle, the River Wear, visually spectacular Durham Cathedral, the haunted Crook Hall with its beautiful gardens, the vast indoor Durham Marketplace, plus a champaign reception at Newcastle's newest luxury aparthotel (apartment hotel) The Kennsington House, we experienced a bit of the best that Northumbria has to offer to all who visit this northeastern coastal region of England. Anglican bishops from around the world were very much in evidence touring around the cathedral, as they made their own sightseeing visit prior to heading south to London for the Church of England's Lambeth Conference.

While in Durham City, we also had the opporturnity to witness the pomp and glory of the Durham Miner's Gala. This annual parade through the winding streets of the city centre features colourful banners representing the coal miner assosciations of a now bygone era, plus other labour organisations that are still very active. Throw in a lively mix of brass bands and Scottish pipe and drum bands, and a spectacular event of historical proportions was enjoyed by the thousands of people who were on hand. As is always the case, this event and the entire weekend was dutifully documented by your photographer. Plenty of ideas for future travel-related stories were acquired, as well.