Goin' Mobile-A Dance Gypsy's tour of the country

    Woke up to a torrential rainstorm this morning. Rain was lashing the top and sides of the trailer and in the distance thunder and lightning was going off at a steady rate. In the past it would of been cause for concern and a lack of comfort as my old trailer had a steady leak somewhere in the roof that had a way of coming in right around the skylight over the middle of the bed. There were many a night and morning when I would hang an upside down umbrella from the handle of the skylight just to catch the water before it poured onto the bed and got me and everything else wet.
   So it was a pleasant surprise to note that there was no leak over the bed in this trailer. That being said, I did find a small wet patch, a few drops, right under the skylight in the kitchen. I was up looking at the roof the other day when I was working on the outside lights and was happy to see that the vast majority of it is all one big pristine expanse of untouched roofing material. So any leaking has to be coming right around the skylight openings themselves. So sometime in the next few days or so I'll have to see about getting some roof sealant and getting up there and sealing all of them again. that should pretty much take care of them I think.
    Otherwise it was a pretty slow day as the rain kept me inside for most of the morning and early afternoon. I cleaned a little bit more and put more stuff away, but really spent most of my time reading a book on the Kindle.
    I'm on my way to the first night of a weekend contra dance over in Daytona Beach right now, having stopped only for a bite to eat and a chance to post this. Not sure who the band and callers are yet.... sorta forgot all that stuff once I was signed up. It should be a lot of fun however with lots of people I already know showing up to dance too. Will post more about it tomorrow, but for right now I am really looking forward to some good, hard dancing again. It will be interesting to see how my left leg, it has been giving me some trouble now for nearly 9 months, will do, as well as whether or not my allergies will be to much for me to handle. Right now I'm pretty plugged up, but I'll take an allergy pill before the dance and hopefully that will deal with it.
   In the meantime; here are yet more pictures from the trip to England last year.

Contra Dance Week in Ely England - April 7 to 16 - Part IV

To the very left in the picture is part of the building where Rima and I stayed and were 'house parents'. An important sounding title that basically meant we helped people find their room when they arrived and acted as a liaison between dancers and the remaining school staff. The building with the yellow gable end is part of the Bishops Residence.

A view of one of the Ely Cathedrals two towers.

A close up of the base of the Octagon Tower.

One of many, many gargoyles scattered about the Cathedral and it's other buildings. Many had large mouth openings like this one and were used as part of the gutter system on the roofs. This one was just hanging outside the Porta Gate and was low enough for me to get a picture of. It is interesting to see what 800-1200 years of exposure to the sun and other elements will do even to solid stone.

Looking up at the top of the Octagon Tower.

The burial crypt of one of the high church officials buried along one side of the nave. Note the angel holding the head.

Looking up at the inside of the Octagon Tower and all of the stained glass panels there.

Looking at the ceiling of one of the transepts. The detail in the stone work is fantastic.

There isn't a lot of wood inside of the church, but where there is, it is all beautifully carved. I wonder how long it took for craftsmen to carve and assemble this Rood Screen into the Presbytery.

Part of the pipe organ. As part of our week Gwyn secured tickets for all of us for a near private concert. Quite awe inspiring to hear that much music in such a huge space.