Ilmington and Coventry

There were a couple small internet glitches yesterday, so I post today. We arrived well in London and got our car, which seems to be just fine. We got ourselves to Ilmington without too many snags, and have a wonderful room at The Howard Arms. We've had good dinners both nights, and as I write we are finishing a bottle of wine in front of the fire!

Today we visited Coventry Cathedral, among other things. It was an amazing site to see. It was bombed in 1940, and they decided to leave the bombed-out shell and make it a sign of forgiveness and reconciliation. It is very powerful, especially paired with the new cathedral attached to it. There is truly beautiful and powerful art there, from the stained glass windows to the side pieces and gorgeous tapestry as a reredos curtain. Here are a couple pictures - the first is the bombed out old cathedral, the second is the high altar with the reredos tapestry and the nail cross made in silver. The nail cross was first done of burned timbers after the bombing by a cathedral worker, and it has become the symbol of the cathedral.
After Canterbury, we headed for Coleshill (pronounced Colezull) east of Birmingham. One set of Larry's ancestors came from there. We were very successful in our searches, especially with the help of the local librarians. Let's hear it for libraries! Woo-hoo!

On our way back to Ilmington, we tried again (one try in the morning) to find the little village of Winderton! We had seen it on the map, and found one road sign. But the village itself eluded us, although we think we drove through it once - three houses! But the name was good, and we did take a picture of the road sign!

Tomorrow we head for Gloucester on more Larry ancestor pursuits, and then to Portsmouth for two nights. It is lovely here in England. The climate is much like Seattle, but being farther north the days are longer. And their daffodils are already blooming!

Here's a picture of the Howard Arms: