Thursday 20 August 2015

More Tewkesbury Tales

I said yesterday that I would be back with more photos so here I am, as promised (or threatened!)

As I briefly mentioned, Tewkesbury is prone to flooding usually at very short notice so everyone is on high alert if it rains.  This is also true of Upton Upon Severn which is just 8 miles from Tewkesbury.  They have experienced devastating floods in the past so a lot of money has now been spent on permanent flood defences on the most vulnerable stretch around the river.  After our huge breakfast on Tuesday morning we spent a few hours in Upton and stopped to look at the river...


It's quite difficult to imagine the sheer quantity of water during a flood but earlier this year I believe it came part way up the glass on these defence panels.....  


Today it looks calm and tranquil....


Whilst walking along the river path we saw this lovely bench.  Upton holds a quite famous Blues Festival but I had no idea how it all started.....


This plaque explains. Just click on it to expand and read the wording....Well done Richard Tippin!



After we had explored to our satisfaction we headed back to Tewkesbury to seek out the quaint Medieval side streets full of antique shops.  I was in heaven!  We found an absolutely gorgeous shop the  'Antiques Market' which was an Aladdin's cave of antiques, vintage, collectables and crafts.  I succumbed to a couple of pieces of pottery (which I will show you in another post) plus a pretty floral fat quarter of fabric which I simply couldn't resist.  I would LOVE to have a stand in a market like that.  More about that later too.

Before we left for home today we paid another visit to Tewkesbury Abbey.  I love the look of the warm honey coloured stone which looks great both in sunshine and early evening light.....


A church has stood on the site there for around 1200 years.  Inside there are so many beautiful stained glass windows that it's hard to know which to look at first...


The ceiling is amazing too...

 
 As is the Altar....




One thing that I was a bit uncomfortable with are the notices urging for donations to the Abbey for the privilege of looking around it. Fine, I always donate but they ask 'for at least £5 per person' and the donation box is glass so there is no chance of sneaking in any less.  Not everyone can afford £5.  They say that it costs £5 per minute for the upkeep of the Abbey but they do raise money from sales in their little shop, donated books on shelves outside the shop, collections during services, weddings, funerals, organ recitals and the coffee shop.  They even have a donation box in the loo! Surely, a house of God should be open to anyone whether you can pay or not. What do you think about it?

Anyway, I won't bore you with any more today :)

Thanks everso for popping in x

 

8 comments:

  1. I so agree with you - we shouldn't be expected to have to pay to pray and for as much as I used to love to sit in York Minister, I refuse to pay the charge to go in there now. Why the church can't just ask for donations and leave it to the individual as to how much they can afford to donate, I just don't know - but it does seem wrong that the church (York Minster) excludes people who can't afford to pay what they expect......sorry for the long comment - your pictures are brilliant xxx

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    1. Thank you, Trudie, your comment is much appreciated. The church seems so mercenary to specify an 'entry fee' in my view. It gives out the wrong message entirely x

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  2. I agree totally. I love cathedrals and always make a donation.....based on what I have in my purse at the time and how much the 'suggested donation' annoys me! A donation should be just that....an amount of your choice. Not what amounts to a greedy rude demand designed to make you feel guilty if you give less. It annoys the hell out of me.

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  3. Beautiful pictures and glad you had a lovely time. I agree that churches should be free. I walked out of St Paul's Cathedral in London where they actually sell tickets to go in! X

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    1. What??? Tickets??? I would have walked out too, Fran x

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  4. I always love to visit Church's & Abbey's, we have always put a small donation in, but £5.00 is too much for me.

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    1. It's too much for many people, Marlene. We should be able to donate what we can.

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  Angie 💓 xx