Oh, Yes, We Want More England...

Heh.
This is one of the streets of Arundel village in the shadow of the walls of Arundel Castle. 

Christopher declares that I am the only American he knows that is not fascinated with manor houses, posh sculpted gardens, and castles.  Eh.  Heresy, I know, but I could give a rat's ass about manor houses. Some castles, however are worth making an exception for. I didn't tour this one, but my-o-my, I surely will next time. Firstly, it is massive with a gigantic keep. Don't you love that word deployed that way?  A castle keep. Today in the 21st century.  And that's the former European history major (for about three weeks until the first boring paper was due) talking, not the American. ahem.

Do you get the claustrophobic feel of a fairly small village pressing itself as close as possible to the skirts of its castle?

And here is the teeny tiny Arundel village square all illuminated by the sun that refused to come out while I was snapping up Arundel Castle.

The monument is to the dead of at least two wars, so far as I could discern. At Pallant on the far side of the square from me, I purchased some lovely cheeses, Brebis des Pyrenees, a Comte Extra, and some lovely Irish cheddar. The cheddar never made it off the plane. We devoured it with our pint of gin surreptitiously poured into tomato juice and also into and surprisingly good with the pomegranate juice I took aboard.  The other two unpasteurized and therefore illegal cheeses...well, we shall just let that be our little secret, eh?
Pallant had an amazing cheese array. And I bought some lovely and decorative marmalades and blood orange slices in white wine to carry back as gifties.  One I've tried and the sugar would peel the enamel off your teeth, woof. I briefly forgot that there is a reason for the cliche of bad teeth on the English, heh. Generally not true, btw.

And can't you just love it?  A Miss Pittock's Items Bought and Sold... a second hand shop.  Check out the mad hatter's head teapot to the far right. And the lovely snarling leopards. love it.

And here  is one of the big three (heather, broom, and gorse) that I have so long read of in various classic English novels where our hero or heroine are striding over moor or cliffwalk, etc.  This is broom in bloom by the side of a traditional thatch roof on a seaside house in Angmering-on-the-Sea. 

The metal mesh is to keep the birds out of the thatch. 

Here are two craggy coasts both looking out over the English channel...

a better view of the sea and sky on a cold April's day. This is West Sussex's version of the Jersey Shore...

one more with sky slightly up the coast from here, in Pagham, for all my big sky grrls: Margene, Neena, Laurie & Heather...

This used to be the full sea with fishing boats and lobstermen.  Did I mention that it's gray and muddy to watch possibilities crumble? yes, I believe I did. and we ain't talking lobsterpots here, eh. 

Say good night, Gracie...

Comments

[margene]

Dear world traveler!
Wow...it looks beautiful and so quaint. That shop looks like a load of fun to look through. Now, what's next?

[Birdsong]

I am a bit envious of everything but the weather, having put up with way too much grey and rain this year. I am with you on preferring villages to manor houses, though, and poking around to see how people really live, based on their discards at second-hand shops. Carry on, grrl.

[Joanne]

Hi, Liz's (of pocket farm) friend here.
Love the England pictures! We visited some of the same places a couple of years ago - before we had kids. Just beautiful! Now I really can't wait to travel again.

[Kathleen]

Makes me miss England!!