Hello everyone,
It's been a wonderful if soggy couple of days. I now know why many of the people have fair skin; you may get 10 minutes of sunshine per day. No, really I understand it's been particularly wet this I guess summer. Many have said if wimbleton is going on, it must be raining.

The first day we were here we were going to visit Leftwich school but the gps failed us, we were totally flummoxed by the round about S, we didn't know where we were going and being on the incorrect side of the road, we decided to stop while we still had our sanity to stop and regroup. we decided to look for a private driver to take us to Northwich but that was economically un feasible so we decided to take the bus the next day (today). We ended up going to the Chester Cathedral for the afternoon instead. We happened in just when a guided tour was starting. The cathedral was in the location of originally a Saxon church in the 900's, then a Norman style Benedictine monastery and then Henry XIII's new cathedral.It fell into disrepair until Queen Victoria put it back together again. one of the pics below is taken of the cloister courtyard and the colors and massive foliage reminded me of a Tiffany window. I'd appreciate it if someone could identify it for me. I have been struck by the ministry and evangelical message the churches have presented when we've visited; not pushy but quietly making their presence known if you need prayer, talking about the love of Christ and welcoming you to their church. They are quite good at it. I met a gentleman who was involved with Billy Graham ministries and knew all about The Cove, one of Graham's retreat places.  Very small world.

Today, awakening to rain, Cham and I took the bus to Northwich, the closest big town to Leftwich. The bus was an hour late with no explanation so we became friendly with those waiting for the bus. After an hours drive, we set off to find Leftwich, or its remains. You will see several pics of Cham in Leftwich.  Currently there is subsidized housing where Leftwich Hall was located. The American Leftwichs had erected a large granite marker about 10 years ago near a church. We knew the marker had been vandalized and was gone but we couldn't find the church anywhere. We unfortunately realized the concrete slab sitting in the middle of Leftwich Green was all that remained of the torn down  church. ". . . and to dust you shall return." As it had started raining again, we decided to catch an earlier bus back. (Northwich is a town that has seen better days and is hopefully making a resurgence. it was founded in the 1200's by the salt industry but it's still pretty woe begotten.)  When we got to the bus stop, all of our old friends were there, the bus was there,mouth no one was on.  Turns out two drunks had gotten on in Chester when it started to rain, had had a few on the top of the double decker bus and didn't want to leave. They had to call the police to remove them. A discussion then started regarding how the police would have solved the problem years ago Versus today.

We returned to Chester to look for St. Marys church, one of the last places someone buried had the Leftwich coat of arms displayed. Fortunately, the old Norman church wasn't too far from the hotel. when we entered the church, we found a children's group rehearsing for a play.  The church had been deconsecrated several years ago and the city hired a young woman to establish a little theater. Because we were strangers and children were there, I know but it gets so old, she said she'd look for the marker and she found it!  There are some beautiful pics posted of all of that. An interesting side note, he was a Barrister and Cham is as was his cousin, Bill.  Must run in the family.

Finally, we decided to walk the city wall before dinner. The Romans founded Chester and it was probably there biggest, furtherest outposts. It was very interesting to walk through the ruins. Then, when we walked along the wall, we found East Gate where the long ago ancestors  of the "Percy" Christians and the "Vernon" Leftwich Lights found themselves on the wrong side of the war and their heads on display by King Henry. And we have found ourselves friends again after 400'years; hmmmm, makes one think.

The day ended with a fantastic meal at a local Italian restaurant. On to Oxford tomorrow for three days. I highly recommend taking the train to Chester. Fantastic food, terrific shopping and lovely sights. More later!