Bunyan in Bedford

Henry II granted Bedford its Charter in 1166 making it the 2nd oldest Charter in England.

For me, Bedford's greatness rests not so much on its political importance as on it being the birthplace of John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim's Progress, reportedly the most translated book ever except for Holy Scriptures. The town offers an exceptional museum presenting the life and times of Bunyan, a replica of the prison cell in which he was unrelentingly incarcerated for his faith and a book shop that carries most of Bunyan's writings. Adjacent to the museum is the Free Church from which pulpit Bunyan delivered his weekly diatribes against state-led religion. The Free Church has a series of stunning stained glass windows depicting scenes from The Pilgrim's Progress. You musn't forget to ask the docent to relate the amazing story of the Church's main door. A short walk from these Bunyan buildings is the Ouse River, a lovely place at which to picnic and reflect on what makes one so anchored in faith as to cheerfully endure hardships and repeated imprisonments.

A second favourite stop of mine in Bedford is the Museum of Military Intelligence. This museum displays fascinating exhibits that chart the development of British military intelligence including how this army post played a part in breaking the Enigma Code during WWII. For reasons of security and its continuance as a working site, access to this museum is by appointment only but well worth the effort.

Two very contrasting (heavenly and earthly) yet similarly significantly (against an enemy invasion) historical acts - all within one community.

Nice Cuppa Tea

Trees exchanging coverings of effervescent greens for shades of flaming tones of red and gold, chilled bodies warming beside pub hearths, the start of school and the end of the cricket season, - all signal the arrival of fall in England. And, for many, the arrival of cooler weather begs more leisurely time to be spent over 'a nice cuppa tea.'

Tea is often thought of as being quintessentially British but it was the marriage of Charles II to Catherine of Braganza that established tea as the national drink of England. She was a Portuguese princess and a tea addict and it was her love of the drink that made tea a fashionable beverage first at court and then among the wealthy classes as a whole. Capitalising on this, the East India Company began importing tea to Britain, its first order being place in 1664 for 100 lbs of China tea.

By the 18th century many Britons wanted to drink tea but could not afford the high prices and their enthusiasm for the drink was matched by the enthusiasm of an organised crime network to smuggle it in. Worse for tea drinkers was that taxation (as much as 25p per pound) also encouraged the adulteration of tea, particularly of smuggled teas which was not quality controlled through customs and excise. Leaves from other plants or leaves which had already been brewed and then dried, were added to tea leaves. Sometimes the resulting colour was not convincing enough, so anything from sheep's dung to poisonous copper carbonate was added to make it look more like tea.

By 1784, the government realised that heavy taxation was creating more problems than it was worth. The new Prime Minister, William Pitt, slashed the tax from 119% to 12.5%. Suddenly legal tea was affordable and smuggling stopped virtually overnight.

In 1851, when most all tea in Britain came from China, annual consumption per head was less than 2 pounds. By 1901, fueled by cheaper import of tea leaves from India and Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), consumption rocketed to over 6 pounds per head. Tea-drinking as an established part of British life was officially recognised during the 1st World War, when the government took over the importation of tea 'to ensure that this essential morale-boosting beverage continued to be available at affordable prices.' The government took control again during WW2 and rationed tea from 1940 until 1952.

Nowadays it would be hard to imagine British life without tea. In fact, so important is this relationship with tea that masterclasses are offered in the fine art of tea making and tea tasting for the modest sum of £175 for the day, by Jane Pettigrew at the upscale Chesterfield Hotel, London. (One fact you might be taught is that the tea bag was invented by an American in the early 20th century.)

Although possessing little knowledge or expertise in the matter, I thoroughly enjoy preparing and sharing a nice cuppa tea with a friend. Do you take yours white (with milk)?

Hadrian's Wall

A miniature version of China's Great Wall is Hadrian's Wall located in northern England. Constructed in 122AD by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, this Wall was intended to defend Rome, then occupiers of Britannia, from invading barbarians.

Masterful in design, awe-inspiring in its scale, this World Heritage Site spans 73 miles, from Wallsend on the River Tyne to Bowness-on-Solway. The Wall runs through remote countryside, over moors, salt flats and sand dunes, and traverses present-day urban cities of Newcastle and Carlisle. It took three legion of soldiers some six years to construct. Along the way, one finds the remains of 17 Roman forts from which the soldiers worked to construct the Wall, then guarded the frontier.

This summer, I hiked Hadrian's Wall and viewed the Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders film, How to Train Your Dragon. These two seemingly disassociated events merged together for me in a wonderfully moving way. While the Wall was constructed in an effort to keep out those unlike us, the film portrayed a hapless young Viking who aspired to hunt and slay dragons as his ancestors before him. But then an encounter with a young dragon convinces the Viking-boy that there is more to the 'enemy' than he had assumed and had been told.

Too often we build personal walls that keep others out - by our criticism, by prejudging their hearts and motives, or simply by being too preoccupied with our own lives to give others entre. Oh, may it be that history will recall us as having been, not constructors of walls but rather, like the young Viking lad, bridge-builders.

Ancient Ways Are Not Passe

There are more thatched roofs in the UK and Ireland than in any other European country but Winkle Street, in the quaint Village of Calbourne, on the Isle of Wight, England is one of the most charming displays of this ancient roofing technique. There, most all the dwellings employ this three century year-old, quintessential English way to provide covering for one's home ensuring warmth in winter and cool in summer. Once employed only by the poor, it now has become the choice of affluent people, a sign of wealth rather than poverty.

Thatched roofs can be made from straw, sedge, rushes and heather, but most preferably water reed. The availability of good quality thatching straw declined in England after the introduction of the combine harvester in the late 1930s-40s and the release of short-stemmed wheat varieties. The increasing use of nitrogen fertiliser in the 1960s-70s also weakened straw. However, since the 1980s, specialist farmers have returned to growing heritage varieties of wheat in organic conditions.

Interestingly, 80% of the water reed used in the UK is now imported from Turkey, Eastern Europe and China. It requires 4-5 acres of reed to thatch an average house. Depending on the type and quality of materials used, a new thatch lasts between 15-35years. Thatch is quite adept at shedding water, it is a renewable resource and a way to properly preserve historic buildings.

Nesting birds can end up making a hole in the pocket of the thatch. Squirrels are particularly fond of hiding their nuts in thatch in the autumn. But the worst damage is caused by rats, which gain access to the roof space and then burrow their way through the thatch. So vigilance and the right precautionary measures are essential.

Perhaps the prophet Jeremiah sat under a thatched roof as he wrote, 'stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls' (Jeremiah 6:16). According to Jeremiah, it seems that ancient ways are not all passe. Just like thatched roofs, returning to certain former ways has merit.

If you'd care to see a demonstration depicting the complexity involved in thatching a roof, check out the following YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrmhXww92Lk&feature=related

Sculling the Thames

Each summer, the Maidenhead Rowing Club offers courses in Learning 2 Row. Each Monday and Wednesday for four weeks throughout the summer, small groups are groomed in the art of sculling. Where better to learn this sport, I thought, as Britain is among the world's leading rowing nations as evidenced by the many Olympian medals and annual regattas.

Acquiring this skill has fulfilled a personal lifetime dream. I remember as a youth, being impressed watching an American television report portrait of an eighty-seven year old British grand dame rowing in the early morning mist near Harvard University. She made the exercise look deceptively effortless.

Somehow I thought that rowing was about strength and endurance. While those are necessary requisites, the key quality required is balance. Seating oneself on a scull is comparable to straddling a toothpick in the midst of the Thames River while hoping to remain dry.

As I find myself once again in the viewing stand for the women's (17-19 June 2010) and men's (4th July weekend) regattas at Henley-on-the-Thames, I'll be focused on the gingerly balance and synchronized efforts of these pros - two essentials that constitute life. God grant us both these qualities in liberal measure as we seek to serve Him, others and self.

Newbold Students Talk with Google

Today marked an important 'first' in history, when Newbold College students Jose Escobar, business major and NSA President, and Fanni Tuske, English literature major joined the Principal for a presentation organised by the Bracknell Forest Chamber of Commerce (purportedly the largest Chamber in the UK) at Ascot Racecourse.

The presenter was Richard Robinson, Head of Google's Business Markets. Robinson focused on how businesses can maximize their impact in today's market via the internet, he shared some of the strategies behind Google's success and he predicted that cloud computing and use of mobile devices (smart phones) to access information to be the current sweeping trend. Laptops are fast fading - handheld devices are 'in'. Anyone with a web presence in today's market would have deemed this presentation to be cutting edge!

The Principal, newly elected member of the Chamber of Commerce Council, has been asked to head an initiative intended to engage the educational and business sectors in more meaningful ways. Today was the maiden voyage of such an endeavour.

British Bobbies

Where does the term 'bobby' originate?

Sir Robert Peel is acknowledged by many as one of Britain's greatest statesmen of the 19th century. He served as a member of parliament, home secretary and twice prime minister. He has been seen as both the founder and betrayer of the Conservative Party and also the real founder of the Liberal Party. However, his greatest achievement was creating the modern British police force, affectionately referred to as 'bobbies', derived from Sir Robert Peel's nickname, 'Bobby'.