Am on a train now from Plymouth to Salisbury, via Exeter St David. Just left the coastal region. The stone here is brick-red cliffs, so buildings have changed to reds from the Cornwall granite gray and Bath's sandstone cream.I'm working my way to the Isle of Wight and right now am feeling prickly and grumpy, thinking that I've wasted my two days in Devon. My original intent had been to get into to the heart of Dartmoor National Park, to walk among standing stones and take a trail or two over the moors. Landing in Lydford was the easiest path for rail and bus and put me at the northwest edge of the Dartmoor region. I don't want to rent a car on this trip, and found that getting to the interior without one is time-consuming--it takes buses, walking, excessive scheduling, etc.
I feel disappointed that I didn't get there as planned, yet I enjoyed the journeys I did take in Devon. I was in the right place at the right time, even though I'm not sure why. I suppose it's enough that I met lovely people on my walks--the Lydford neighborlady painting her window sashes, Janet and Trisha inviting me in for tea, and Elenor and Alex from Scotland. Plus I got a big dose of clarity on what's right for me to do next--set aside six months to finish Sigil and be done with it.
So here I am, I'm heading to Salisbury for two nights before the Wight tree climbing. My gray mood tells me I'm only going there to kill time before my prebooked Wight stay. My bones tell me it's the place I'm supposed to go next.
I could have chosen a different path toward Wight, but Salisbury crossed my radar from a BBC show about Britain's building history. Salisbury has the UK's tallest church tower, an add-on that weighs so much that it's buckling parts of the rest of the cathedral.I'm to do some Internet there. And something else I don't know about yet. Some appointment or two I need to keep.
"Take the weather with you" sang a rock band over the radio while I was in Cornwall. I have indeed been doing that, with lovely sunshine following me since I left Bath. I've got a right decent farmer's tan now.
The Salisbury YHA is a 20-minute walk from the train station, and almost across the street from the B&B where I stay tomorrow night.
I like Salisbury as a walking town. It's energetic, with plenty of new to go along with the old. It reminds me of Bath, only a little more open-plan. The buildings don't feel as tall or the roads as winding or closed in.It's definitely better than Okehamption. What was with Okehampton? Aside from the footballers, it was a ho-hum place.
Found the one Internet café in town and spent two and a half hours this evening getting half of my Bath blogs up and checking e-mail.
I'm enjoying this kind of writing--the intent to share myself and my experiences with my friends--and am trying out a new way of working with it...jotting throughout the day, and giving myself time in the morning or evening to process it all.I've enjoyed not having to write for the past month, now that I'm without clients for a while...I've only done it when I felt like it, really. Now I'm doing it because I want to, instead of because I'm supposed to. I like that.
Went to a play this evening--a Salisbury College production called "Playhouse Creatures." Very finely done with a cast of five. It's about women being in the theatre in the days just after Shakespeare--the trials and tribulations of being female and in that environment, with its realities of prostitution and starving artists, and is loosely centered around a true story of Nell Gwynne, a young actress who became the king's mistress while the leading lady aged out of her job.
Not sure what I'll do tomorrow--I want to stay out of the touristy things, but the heart of the city is easy to cover in a day by foot, and I'm feeling the need to keep myself occupied and "out there" rather than holed up in the hostel or a coffee shop all day.Once thing's sure--I won't be singing for my supper, since busking--public performance for money--is frowned on here.
