“So about midday Saturday, we left London – and although I’d been thrilled with all I’d seen in London, I was really glad to be out of the noise, dirt, traffic and crowds of cockneys.
We drove to Windsor that afternoon, had lunch at a real English country restaurant in Windsor, then wandered over the castle, and went for a boat trip down the river a bit, drove out to Ascot race course, saw the first Church mentioned in the Doomsday Book (St Andrews, Anglo Catholic) beautifully simple Norman building, then to our hotel – a typical English pub where all the locals come in for their yarns, darts and sing songs and we joined in the lot. After ham and eggs we went out for a walk, and the river was a beautiful sight with its rows of fairy lights strung along the banks for a mile or more.
Sunday morning there was an old crooks race through the town – all the old cars for miles around must have been in it. We drove out to the park, where they’d finished and had a look at them, the most ancient models I’d ever seen, and can’t imagine how they’ve been kept in running order.
then on to Oxford, through Henly on Thames where we side-tracked up the river a bit. Lunch at Oxford, then a wander through the Colleges – Christ Church, Mary Magdalene, etc. All too quickly we had to leave , and on to Stratford Upon Avon.”
Jean’s letter to her sister Mary, 19th June
