England Revisited

If you refer to Random Fact #4 in my previous London post, I mentioned that streets in (the City of) London were once named after the primary business lining the street. I highly doubt streets in Luton were named this way, but a meander through town did bring up a few how-do- you-pronounce-these: street names such as Thrales (Thra-less? Th-rails?) Close, Havelock (Have-lock? Ha-ve-lock?) Road. Ah! My brain hurts!

No one summed up better than Bill Bryson in Notes from a Small Island*:

“

There are a few streets that sound like medical complaints (Glycena Ave, Shingles Lane, Burnfoot Avenue), a few that sound like names on an anatomical chart (Thyrapia and Pendula Roads), a few that sound vaguely unsavoury (Cold Blow Lane, Droop Street, Gutter Lane, Dicey Avenue), and a few that are pleasingly ridiculous (Coldbath Square, Glimpsing Green, Hamshades Close, Cactus Walk, Nutter Lane, The Butts)...

”

So here I am, back in England, my eight months abroad slowly coming to an end. While I still have a week or so before my long, dreaded flight back to Victoria - and can thus, hop on a bus and visit places like Stonehenge - I am at a point where I am ready to settle down for a little while and get away from this nomadic life.

Anyway, Stonehenge is a little ways away, and if I'm being absolutely cynical, it's only a pile of rocks. OK, maybe not only a pile of rocks. It really was a rather incredible accomplishment. And I quote, once again, from Mr. Bryson's brilliant book:

“

It took 500 men just to pull each sarsen, plus 100 more to dash around positioning the rollers. Just think about it for a minute. Can you imagine trying to talk 600 people into helping you drag a 50 ton stone 18 miles across the countryside, muscle it into an upright position and then saying, 'Right lads! Another twenty like that, plus some lintels & maybe a couple dozen of nice bluestones from Wales and we can party!' Whoever was the person behind Stonehenge was one dickens of a motivator, I'll tell you that.

”

A quick search through on the www, and I almost changed my mind. It does look mighty impressive......until I found out that there's a perimeter rope around the area and access into the stone circle is a whopping £12.00. Plus a return bus ticket of £26.00. Nah uh. World Heritage or not, I cannot justify paying that much. I'll just chill in good ol' Luton, where my aunt has made it her mission to stuff me with lots of home-cooked food before I leave. Yum.

* For those who haven't had the pleasure of reading this book, please do - especially if you've been to England. A word of advice: read it in the privacy of your own home. I've emitted one un-ladylike snort too many while reading it on the bus en route to Cambridge.