Colchester and Harwich

Colchester is a town that dates back to pre-Roman times. The Romans conquered it in about 54 BC, and it lasted as a Roman town until around 500 AD and the collapse of the Roman empire. It was rebuilt as a Normal castle around 1000 using the foundations of the Roman town--it is the largest Normal castle in England. It flourished as a castle until the advent of gunpowder.

Harwich is a port city on the south-eastern tip of England. We picked up my Auntie Violet and just hung around for a while.

The original Roman wall of the city, dating back to 54 BC, can be seen along the edge of the parking lot.	Colchester Caste.		Me standing in front of the castle.
Incredible mosaics dating back to Roman times.			Diane standing in front of one of the mosaics.
	Diane and I wondered what these vertical channels with two openings at the top were. We later learned on the tour that our guess was correct...they were fireplaces and chimneys.
Me wearing a Roman 'slave' collar. I don't think I'll say anything more at this point.	Early editions of Alice in Wonderland and Swiss Family Robinson.	An exhibit on Technology had an Apple ][ in it. By modern standards, they are now practically back in Roman times.	A ship's compass. If you look very closely around the hub, you'll see it was made in Colchester.
Stocks for the unwary. Misbehaving tourists get put in these.	We explored the Roman foundations. They had originally been filled with sand, but an idiot in the 1800s took the sand out and sold it. It does make it easier to walk around in, however.	Graffiti from a thousand years ago, scratched into the rock, show a knight on a horse.	The reconstructed Chapel on the top floor of the castle.
Dianne standing beneath the modern stained glass in the Chapel. It was about 100° up there under all that glass.	Looking across the town of Colchester.	A very private study on one corner.	Looking across the lawns from the roof.
The narrow winding stone staircases were easy to defend.	More stocks for misbehaving tourists.	One of two jail cells. Not a great place to be imprisoned.	Entrance to the cell block.
Outside view. The round roof exists solely to keep rain out of the staircase.	Along the walls.	The back wall.	A little Folly on the grounds.
Some of the beautiful gardens.	Dianne showing off the garden. She planted it all herself!	Me by the gardens.	A thatched cottage that we passed while driving around. They still have and use thatched roofs.
An American would have to be insane to drive here. In addition to driving on the "wrong" wide of the road, they are incredibly narrow, and everyone drives like a bat out of hell.	A village High Street we passed through.	What I like best about England...just driving around, you'll come across a beautiful church out in the middle of nowhere.
		I love how one memorial refers to "The Great War" i.e. World War I, and a second refers to the "World War" i.e. World War II.
A stone cross in a village.	My Auntie Violet's house, "Kingswood."		The garden.
Violet and Dianne at Harwich.	Look across the harbor towards the channel.	The Electric Palace. An old movie theatre revived as an Art House theater.	A little museum.
The harbor at Harwich.	There is a fort called a "Redoubt" at Harwich. It was closed, so we just peeked around it.
	I keep forgetting that England is so tidal. When the tide is out, boats on the river sit on the mud. It looks very surreal.		Dianne's house.
The mini village green space in front of Diane's house.	Diane lives in a small village called "Wrabness." My best friend Bryan couldn't believe the name, and thought it sounded like something from Monty Python. Here's proof of the name.	Village pub, a couple towns over.	Iron dog in Auntie Violet's garden, that Uncle Dick had made many years ago.
Uncle Dick made these cannons too.	All the "Esso" stations in the U.S. became "Exxon" stations, but in Britain they still have "Esso."