Walking on Gozo

 I have been away for a week's walking with a couple of friends to the island of Gozo. Gozo is a small island off the coast of Malta in the Mediterranean. Usually at about this time of year I am away with 5 friends on a long distance walk but due to illness that trip was postponed until maybe next year. So a quite different sort of walking holiday for me this year. It was self guided, setting out each day from the hotel to our chosen destination.

Because we are staying on an island, it took quite a few hours to get there. After a delayed flight we then had to go from one side of Malta to the other to the ferry port and once on Gozo another 40 min taxi drive to the hotel. By the time we arrived we had missed the evening meal but the hotel delivered a huge selection of cold buffet items to the rooms so I wasn't complaining. Before breakfast the next morning I took the opportunity to have a look in daylight at the hotel. I was delighted with my surroundings.  The hotel was fabulous. There were three pools. One adult only, one for children and the third was a heated one in the spa.

The pool in the spa went from inside the spa to the outside.

The rooms were all at ground level with your own outdoor area.

We always ate our meals outside in the shade in the beautiful restaurant.

More about the walking in my next post.

Kew Archives MI5

Last week, I visited the National Archives at Kew.

The archives hold all kinds of documents dating back to Medieval times. The archives are open to the public and often hold exhibitions hence the reason for going as I wanted to see an exhibition about the MI 5.

Now beyond the age they have to be kept secret, the exhibition had some very interesting documents for you to read. I was interested in the Cambridge 5 spying ring A group of students who met whilst at Cambridge University and believed in the ideals of communism.

Harold (Kim) Philby, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, Anthony Blunt and John Cairncross were all recruited by Soviet intelligence in the 1930s. They formed the most infamous spy ring of the 20th century. Incredibly, none of them was ever prosecuted for spying.

 

Philby's code name was 'Peach'. 

Anthony Blunt was recruited by MI5 in 1940. He became a senior operative and served as the chief assistant to the head of MI5's counter espionage, a role that gave him access to sensitive intelligence. Blunt passed on vast amounts of secret intelligence to his KGB handlers, including information about Allied security operations. After the war, Blunt resumed his career as an art historian and held the position of Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures and Director of the Courtauld Institute. He was allowed to keep his position and knighthood in exchange for his confession and cooperation in the 1960s.

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There was also information about more recent terrorist attacks.

The exhibition was a fascinating insight to one of our most secret organisations.

Ely

 

A few weeks ago I visited the beautiful city of Ely in Cambridgeshire which is just over an hour by train from London. The ancient city of Ely is sited on the largest island in the Cambridgeshire Fens. Until the 17th century it was only accessible by boat but then the waterlogged fens were drained. It was the surrounding water that gave the city its original name ' Isle of Eels'. Although no longer an island, it still has the Great River Ouse running through this historic city.

 

Ely is most famous for its beautiful Cathedral.

The medieval city was founded in 673 when Princess Etheldreda, daughter of the Anglo Saxon King Anna adopted Christianity and formed a convent nearby.  In 970 a Benedictine monastery was founded but it is the construction of a Norman building in 1081 (completed in1189) which forms the oldest part of the Cathedral in the Transepts. 

 

The Nave was built by the Normans noted for the round arches.

The ceiling was painted in Victorian times and is the work of two artists. Henry le Strange painted the The scenes take you from Adam to the Crucifixion first six panels and Thomas Gambier Parry who painted the last six.

 

Most of the stained glass windows are also Victorian depicting scenes from the bible.

 

Above the end of the nave is the Octagon. This marvel of medieval engineering took 18 years to build. It is 43m high and weighs a total of 400 tons.

Built in the 14th century, the structure of timber, glass and lead stands on eight massive stone pillars. At the heart of the structure is a painted carving of the 'Risen Christ'. Try as I might I couldn't get a decent photo of the carving.

The Tower replaces the original Norman tower built in 1083 that collapsed in 1322.

 

 

The choir was built in the 14th century with much of the wooden carvings in the stalls constructed in the 19th century.

I really enjoyed my day out visiting this beautiful city.