Down to earth

Reading: The Lighthouse by Alison Moore (Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2012)
Listening to: "The Funeral" by Band of Horses
Outside: Frosty

Behold!

York!

At its wintry finest!

Downtown in Y-town



And so it dawned Black Friday 2012, one week late, because 2012 is a wacky year when it comes to number of extra days. Take February 29th, for instance! What is up with that? So a leap year catches me by surprise, and this year there were five Thursdays (and therefore the corresponding five Fridays) in November which threw me all out of sync - what the heck Thanksgiving and Black Friday fell on! It didn't help being in a country that doesn't celebrate either.

And I am one week behind, and fortunately I was, because the flooding that took over a lot of Yorkshire and the South of England finally receeded enough for me and my better half to wander all around the beautiful city of York. The town itself is resilient, especially when it comes to flooding. The River Ouse floods regularly each year, and really only the tourists like me actually notice. Well, maybe that and a few of the riverside pubs and hotels.

Happily, though, most establishments were open.

We always find something new to do in our special Black Friday tradition of visiting the city that inspired New York. This year we visited the Museum (not far from where I took this delightful picture) and learned about the events from 1212 that made York what it is today.

Also, we briefly visited the Punch Bowl pub, which has been around for more than 400 years. And being a proof-reader, I couldn't help but rejoice in my heart when I saw this:

The correct use of the apostrophe! It's a sight to behold.

 

 

Only someone like me would appreciate something like this.

 

Proof-reading perusal aside, this and many other plaques around the city reminded me of the colourful history of York. Certainly it has seen the scars of battle, the atrocities of wars, famine, plague, and countless floodings. It's a place like this that reminds you that you are also the beating heart of history, however brief - it brings you back down to earth. You experience it in your own way, and you make it yours.

 

Also St. Nicholas Christmas Market was hopping. I purchased some gloves and some Christmas goodies. Nothing says Christmas like a steaming styrofoam cup of hot brandy cider held between two mittened hands in the early darkness, as you marvel at the spinning lights of the Victorian merry-go-round: this is my York.

 

The timeless trading capital of the world? I think yes.

 



Happy Sunday, everyone!