Now that the Wife is actually pointing people to this blog to read about the pilgrimage to England, I should probably start writing more. Hello, new people, and welcome to the blog.
Before our week in Norwich, we sang two services at Coventry Cathedral. Whereas Norwich is a very medieval city, Coventry is industrial, the home of the British auto industry for many moons. Our hotel there looked, from the outside, like your typical 70s corporate headquarters visible in any episode of Monty Python. Inside, however, was panelled wood, and looked almost 19th century, like you would have your hearty English tea, and then hop the sleeper for parts unknown.
Now, my standards for hotel comfort are pretty low, and so when we entered our room, it seemed a bit stuffy due to the fact that the windows didn’t completely open. But I put that down to the same reason that the British prefer room temperature (not warm!) beer. And, anyway, we had arrived at a destination, so I was ready to plop down. Went to the bathroom, flushed the toilet, and suddenly, it was Krakatoa, East of Java time. The water didn’t spit straight up, but burbled until it was just over the rim. So, the bathroom didn’t flood, but it was as though someone had just gotten out of the shower.
I wanted to see if I could replicate the experience, and so it happened again. It was like the world’s worst-designed bidet. Not having to worry about the water bill, I invited the family in to see the show. Well, this time nothing happened, à la Michigan J. Frog. The toilet went uurp, and didn’t flush at all. I put this all down to the age of the place, and really, it wasn’t hurting anybody, or making its way through the ceiling of the floor below us.
Turns out that we had the hundredth of Jay-Z’s problems. Other rooms had no ventilation and collapsing furniture. I was happy that the TV worked, and that there was a Sainsbury’s in walking distance. The rest of the room was fine. It was actually a little suite, the girls getting their own beds in a separate, doored-off space.
[I tried for three days to finish this off, and failed, so up it goes]
