River & Rowing Museum (RIP)

My wife and I learned some very sad news recently: the River & Rowing Museum in Henley is closing down. We used to go there occasionally, before and after we became parents. The last time was in... January 2020. I had bought a yearly pass, having calculated that with only three visits, not only I would make up my investment, but save money on top of that. And as we don't live very far, it would be an excuse to visit the lovely town of Henley more often. Obviously, it was a gross miscalculation. The sad thing is, we never went back to the museum, even after the pandemic, even though we visited Henley a few times. And now, well, it is too late, or almost. The las day to visit it is the 21st of September, but visiting it might feel a tad too depressing.I guess I didn't like the place enough to go there again, but it is always heartbreaking when a museum closes down.

Irish Red Ale

 Well, not all Irish beers have to be Guinness or stout. So today, we went to out Henley-on-Thames and we sort of celebrated Saint Patrick's Day at the The Catherine Wheel, a Wetherspoon pub. I say sort of, because I was the only one truly celebrating. There was actually a beer festival, ending today, and as I have plenty of Guinness at home, I went for Lough Gill Brewery's Irish Red Ale. Which is Irish enough, surely. More suitable, in any case, than the green coloured lagers too many people drink on Saint Paddy's nowadays. Anyway, enjoy the rest of the day everyone.

Henley Literary Festival

The things you sometimes stubmle upon. We were at my in-laws' house today and I saw this among a neatly organised pile of leaflets and magazine. (my wife's mother is very organised). I knew there was a Henley Literary Festival, but I had forgotten about it and did not know it was held round this time of year. Now we don't live in Henley, however it is not too far from where we are so we might be able to go there in a week time. I think it would be a nice activity. In any case, I love literary festivals and I am so happy to see there is one nearby.

The Green Man of Henley

My wife and Wolfie recently went to Wallingford to meet her parents and she sent me this picture from their time there. And now I love Wallingford a bit more and I really envy them for being able to go there. You can all recognize I hope the Green Man, the legendary creature associated with vegetations and fertility and so on. Just above a public bench somewhere. Now I want to see him myself and I want to see if there are other ones of his kind in Wallingford or nearby.

Erratum: I made a mistake, the Green Man was not in Wallingford but in Henley-on-Thames. Boy that is embarrassing. But hey, Henley is an okay place too.

The Catherine Wheel

You may remember that last year, I blogged about the The Catherine Wheel, a Wetherspoon pub in Henley. Or, more specifically, the sign of The Catherine Wheel in Henley. The reason was simple: it was Saint Catherine's Day and this was an excuse to learn about the saint and why she is associated to this breaking wheel, which is of course an instrument of torture. The name of the pub and the image always intrigued me. Well, today is also Saint Catherine's Day and I am sharing another photo of the ensign of the Catherine Wheel in Henley. I took it back in January this year, during a visit in the town and I have literally been waiting all year to share it with you today (very sad, I know). So here it is. A gloomy image inviting you to go in, eat, drink and be merry. Gory, but cool.

The Bell Bookshop

Okay, so I might be blogging a lot about bookshops a lot these days, but sometimes I guess I have specific topics on my mind. Anyway, I recently discovered something I did not notice about Henley-on-Thames: it has its own independent bookshop. It is called The Bell Bookshop and it has been opened since 1966. We don't go very often to Henley, but we do go there from time to time as it is not that far. It is a lovely town, just big enough to have a good deal of things to enjoy there. I think I had seen its bookshop before, but I doubt I even went there. I have no idea when we will go to Henley, but I want to visit The Bell and get a book or two when I stop there. You know, to encourage local businesses.

Une grue empaillée

Photo prise à Henley, au River & Rowing Museum. C'est un tout petit musée, mais notre visite qui date de janvier fut très agréable et on espère y retourner un jour. En fait, j'espérais y retourner déjà, mais avec la pandémie ça n'a pas adonné. Il faudra sans doute attendre à l'automne, au rythme où vont les choses. Mais enfin bref, ils présentaient un bon nombre d'animaux empaillés que l'on retrouve sur les rives ou dans la Tamise, dont cette grue. J'ai toujours eu une certaine fascination pour les animaux empaillés, même les plus communs. J'ai donc pris cette photo afin de la partager sur le blogue un jour, je me suis dit qu'aujourd'hui ferait parfaitement l'affaire.

Watermill (and how it works)

Today, we went to Henley and spent a bit of time at the River & Rowing Museum. Small museum, but it has some very interesting sections and it's a great place to keep a child entertained. It is also a nice place for an adult who never really completely grew up, like me. I saw many very fascinating things there, among them this watermill model. I am not very technical, but thought it was really well done, explaining in layman's terms how thw watermill works. I also loved the attention to details: there is a cat and a mouse on this display, as there would be in a real watermill (the mouse eating the grain, the cat hunting the mice). Can you find them?

Martin-pêcheur

Petite escapade en famille aujourd'hui: nous avons passé l'après-midi à Henley, dont une partie au River & Rowing Museum. Petit musée, mais on y retrouve quelques exhibitons assez intéressantes. Il y avait, comme à bien des musées dans ce pays, une section avec des animaux empaillés. Je ne sais pas pourquoi, mais les animaux empaillés me fascinent toujours un peu. J'y ai donc pris la photo d'un Martin-pêcheur. Un oiseau qui est assez commun ici, si je ne me trompe pas, mais que je n'ai jamais remarqué dans la nature. Je le trouve un peu exotique. Son nom en anglais, kingfisher (roi pêcheur) a plus d'allure, lui donne un fond d'ancienne aristocratie.

The Catherine Wheel

I did not take this picture myself: it is one I found online. This is the ensign of The Catherine Wheel, a Wetherspoon pub in Henley. It's only a Wetherspoon pub, nothing special, but we went there a few times and quite enjoyed it. I always wondered what its name meant. Well, today I discovered it, pretty much at random. You see, today is Saint Catherine's Day, which we used to celebrate when I was a good but ignorant Catholic boy. Out of curiosity, I read about it. The Saint in question is Catherine of Alexandria, who according to legends, had to endure ridiculously gory tortures as a martyr. Among them, she was placed on a breaking wheel, which shattered at her touch. She is often depicted on a wheel and this is why there is this cool ensign at the entrance of the pub. Neat. I wish I had been told this story when I was a young and ignorant Catholic boy.

Deer in the woods

I took this picture in Derbyshire, but I am blogging about an anecdote that happened recently on our way to Henley. When I say anecdote, it is almost nothing: we were on our way there, in a road boarded by hilly woodlands, the kind that makes you feel like you are in the Shire, when I saw two deer walking by, on the top of a slope, in the woods. They were not very big and had no antlers, from what I understand it might have been a doe and her fawn, but of course I might be wrong. It was only for a few seconds, unfortunately Wolfie could not see them, but it made my day.

Easter at the door

It is Maundy Thursday today. So Easter is at the door. Lent is nearly over. Often I barely feel the time leading to Easter. Easter just happens. On the way there, the many Easter decorations on display in the shops. (By the way, the picture on this post was taken in a shop in Henley, which I think has a fitting name for a post on Easter.) Sometimes it happens too fast, especially when Easter is in March. This year, since it comes in early April, I find it coming at an adequate time. Anyway, Maundy Thursday evening is the beginning of the Easter holiday, the moment when you can really start looking forward to Easter. The whole forty something days before, it is a long, long wait.

Longing for a fireplace

Today is cold and wet. Yesterday was cold and wet. Wet like an English day, cold like May should never be. I already blogged about the weather this evening. I blogged about it yesterday. I promise tomorrow, I will find another topic. But it does not feel or look like May, anyway. I should be in short sleeves, I wear long sleeves and I miss sorely my old green jumper. And more than my green jumper, I miss a fireplace, any fireplace. We have two in parents' home, I wish I could be there right now, lit a fire and warm my bones by the fire. I took this picture in The Three Tuns in Henley, I thought it was worth the fanciest ornaments one could ever have. A bunch of logs, simply. I love the pub for many reasons, this is one of them. My dad had a whole bunch of  logs like these ones, enough to warm up en enlighten many cold nights. Or days. I love the warmth, but also the colours of the fire and the smell of smoke. I find fireplaces soothing and comforting.

The fish at The Three Tuns in Henley

I am again, as it is Saturday and the weekend, carrying on the tradition of plugging a meal from a particular pub or restaurant. Today, I give something for the fish eaters among you, if they ever visit the beautiful town of Henley-on-Thames. What you can see underneath the carrots is marlin, the catch of the day on offer in The Three Tuns. In pubs, I often order the catch of the day and so far this is what I ordered at every visit at The Three Tuns. I was never disappointed. The pub itself is pretty unassuming, a small place easy to miss in the center of the town. But the food is great and the service impeccable, efficient and friendly. So far I did not try more than the soup and the fish on the menu, but I am confident about the rest too. In any case, you can't go wrong with their fish.