English Cottages

Just as the Emmental has its own unique architechture, old Wessex (southern England) also has an easy to identify signature design--the thatched roof. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thatched_roofs

The only modern addition that I can see is laying thin "chicken wire" fencing over the top of the thatch to keep the birds and "weed rats" from burrowing into the roof.

Salisbury Market Day

On Tuesday and Saturday, there is a Market in the Market Square in town. You can buy meat, fruit, vegetables, bread, treats, clothes, shoes etc. I think it is really quite inexpensive if you know how to shop. Everything you see on the kitchen counter is about 12 SFr. At the vegetable stand, you can see all the plastic bowls are 1 GBP (1.60 SFr). The venders yell: "Every Bowl a Pound!"

The CH-47 Chinook is what I am working on here in the UK. It is a 25,000 kg cargo helicopter used all over the world.

Chalke Valley and Dorset

The weather has been fantastic for almost two weeks. Reasonably warm (not Mesa warm, but 15 or so during the day) and the days are getting longer. Saturday was a planned 130km ride--expecting about 5 hours, but turned into a 170km 7 hour ride--perhaps I should consider a GPS? The pace of the rides is slow, and looking at the small country lanes you can see why. I tend to average between 24 and 26 kph here. The roads, the hills, the wind all conspire to keep the pace down.