Thursday 21 February 2013

Friday on my mind....

More or less crawled out of bed this morning.  It has been a busy week and I was not keen to face the freezing cold on my bike - I knew that the trip would be a struggle today, so I  took the bus.  Luckily I have a big parcel at work which I can't get home on the bike, so I did have a good excuse really - not just being a lazy ass...
 
Anyway, the bus was freezing cold, so I actually ended up colder than I would if I had cycled in - ah well, such is life.
 
One bonus of taking the bus was that I could enter the city through the old gates:
 
 
These have recently been closed to traffic, but there is a strong group who want them reopened, despite the fact that trucks and buses often scrape the stonework on the way through.
 
Inside the gate you can still see the Murder Holes, which would have been used to drop and pour stuff on attackers who got this far.

 
A brisk walk up the high street warmed me up as I contemplated breakfast - nothing appealed, so I had the standard fry up at the Uni refectory.  Always sets you up for the day....
 
I am going to start work on a wargames army for a tournament later in the year.  I already have the models for it (not after yet more stuff, Mrs RC!) but I do need to do some work on them.  It is a Roman army from one of their many civil wars.  A small number of actual Roman soldiers backed up by a surging mass of barbarian infantry and an elephant!  Going to be such fun!

11 comments:

wigsf3 said...

Contemporary architecture does not incorporate enough murder holes.

ShadowRun300 said...

Sorry about the cold bus! Rotten break! Sounds like there were some bright sides though.
Did you actually go through the gates, or just drive by them? So much cooler than the Arch I drive by.

Riot Kitty said...

The spam comment is cracking me up! You'd think they'd at least post something more interesting, like, I don't know, shoe fetish stuff.

I'm continually amazed at the history that surrounds you. We are mere babes in the woods in comparison.

meleah rebeccah said...

Fab photos. Also, I hate being cold. Sorry the bus was freezing too!

Rock Chef said...

Wigsf3 - I suspect they will make a comeback sooner or later...

ShadowRun300 - The bus goes past them, but I got off and walked through in the old fashioned way. But your arch is world-famous!

Riot Kitty - I miss my old spammer who kept telling me to boycott American women! Poor guy, he sounded so crushed and bitter...

Meleah Rebeccah - Thanks - I keep telling myself that Spring is coming - despite the flurries of snow this morning!

agg79 said...

I'm with Wigsf3 - homes nowadays need more murder holes. That gate has definite character and style, much like a lot of your buildings and architecture.

Rock Chef said...

Agg79 - Maybe they will start to incorporate Murder Holes into the entrances of gated communities?

CiCi said...

What temperature are you talking about when you say cold? Just wondering how cold it gets there. I guess anything below 30 degrees Fahrenheit is cold. This morning it is 5 degrees Fahrenheit here. Have to dress appropriately, like a big snowman (woman). Hoping the highway is cleared enough so we gals can get to the next town later this morning to eat lunch and play bingo.

Rock Chef said...

CiCi - our idea of cold is nothing compared with Prairie cold. This morning was probably around 30 - enough to freeze the water in the bird bath. Feel free to snear at me :-)

terri said...

I can't imagine how amazing it would be to live and work in an area filled with such history, like your old gates. Nothing much like that here.

We got more snow here yesterday. I'm so tired of it.

Shammickite said...

Cold? COLD? You wimpy Brits don't know what cold is!