We drove 15 miles to Hereford this afternoon in order to get our first Starbucks fix in 14 days. It was FANTASTIC! Its kind of a long way to go for a coffee though...
Enjoying his Americano fix
Whilst we were in Hereford we did a little trawl round the shops. This was the first time I've hit the High Street since my return to the UK and I was a little shocked at the number of shops that had closed down. The recession is obviously biting hard. I did a little recessionista shopping in TK Maxx, but didn't see anything stunning for my wardrobe...I did get a Buddha sculpture for the back garden though.
It would seem that the UK is trying to save the planet one carrier bag at a time. In an effort to reduce the number of plastic bags going to landfill shops are now charging 1p for "bags for life" which you are supposed to take with you when you shop and re-use until they fall apart (at which point the shop will replace them). Of course, I have not yet remembered to take them when I've gone to do any kind of shopping! It's a habit I have yet to form. Its bad enough remembering that you have to pack your own groceries here without having to remember the bags too! Annoyingly, having bought one in TK Maxx I had to buy another in WH Smiths as the Buddha head took up all the space and I couldn't squeeze the books in. D'oh!
We also rectified the cultural oversight of the past 15 years and went to Hereford Cathedral to see the Mappa Mundi. It is a Medieval map showing how 13th century scholars interpreted the world in spiritual and geographical terms. Jerusalem is at the centre of the map and the Garden of Eden is at the top. The Cathedral is pretty impressive and dates back to Norman times. It was begun in 1079, when work began to replace the cathedral that had previously stood there for around 200 years but had been razed by the Welsh in the 1050's. Okay, that's the history lesson over! It's enough to say that it was exceedingly impressive and very old...
The black and white house in the middle of the high street which dates back to 1620.
The front of Hereford Cathedral
The back bit of the Cathedral
The rear of the Cathedral and the Cloisters
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