Bath, Epworth, Kilburn (NW of York) June 11-13

Bath, Epworth, Kilburn (York) June 11-13
We travelled on the Northern railway for four hours. The cars are clean and comfortable but we discovered that purchasing tickets gurantees travel, but does not guarantee a seat. So we stood up a portion of the trip

We transferred to a smaller train for the trip to Epworth. On the way I struck up a conversation with a blind man who told me that Epworth was a very small town with only a few stores and no social life. So we were surprised to find that Epworth was a market town of 6,000, many businesses and a roaring social life.

We did find St Andrew's Church where Samuel Wesley was buried. And that is
where John Wesley preached on his.father's tomb. We were not able to go into the church because we were late getting there.

We stayed at the Red Lions Inn--a place where John Wesjey stayed sometimes. And a party took place close by which was rather lively until around midnight.

The next morning Judee decided to have a "full English breakfast": eggs ,bacon, sausage, mushrooms, beans, tomatoes, toast, jam and coffee.

On to the old rectory where more surprises lay in store. The place was a magnificent building with 12 rooms, perhaps, and some magnificent furniture

(some, not much). The rectory was owned by the Church of England, but one must remember that Susanah often noted that the family lived on the edge of poverty. The house is a treasure of personal possessions and memorabilia of John Wesley. We had a fine guide but I disagreed with her on several issues.

This picture shows a wax representation of John Wesley done by Madam Tussaud's wax museum and donated to the parsonage.  My wife is five feet tall, so you can see the Father John was a rather small man.

Charles chose to sabotage a romance between John and Grace Murray because  (1)-she was a domestic servant (beneath John's status). (2)-John received a stipend as an Oxford Don so long as he did not marry. He chose to give this stipend to Charles' wife.  It follows that  stipend would stop if John married. (3)  Charles feared John's dedication to his ministry would diminish if he were to marry//fat chance)

I am very glad we visited Epworth.,

A bus back to Doncaster, and a train ride to YorK where we were met by Cathy and Nick. Cathy is cousin of Judee--the two had never met. We went to their home @ Kilburn (nw of York), had a super supper of lasagna and a good night's sleep. there is something special about family no matter how distant the connection.

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A side note re automobiles: I have noticed the following types of cars in England
Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Ford, Citroen, ILT, Honda, Volvo and surely there are more.
If General Motors is selling cars here I do not recognize them

And we noticed a "box store" with the name "ASDA" and in small letters "A
part of the Wal Mart Family",

Another interesting note: a service station was selling gasoline for £1.13 a liter. That would be around $1.78 a liter. I don't remember how many liters are in a gallon but guess c. 4 If so that means gasoline is selling for nearly $7.00 ? Do the Brits pray more taxes. Why don't we , in light of our deficit?

Cheerio, Wheaties and Grape Nut Flakes