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DUXFORD, AUDLEY END, and the TUMULI - July 3, 2006

Today we got a little U.S. history, along with a better look than I’d ever had of the British air war against Germany.  A big disappointment at Audley End, and then a surprise find to (sort of) make up for it…...and here is what has been called “the perfect English village”:
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otherwise known as Finching Fields.  In fairness, I should tell you that the specific criteria mentioned were that it has a green, a pond with ducks, a church, and a windmill, all visible from the same spot - although not where I’m standing.  Furthermore, when we mentioned this to English friends, they denied that this is really “the perfect English village”—they have their own candidates, and couldn’t agree with one another, either.  So, I guess you’ll have to come over and pick your own!

UPDATED with photos…

July 3, 2006

Big day – we went to Duxford to the Imperial War Museum’s major aircraft display.  Up at 7:00 after fitful night – too many cars passing directly outside the window, and it’s HOT!!  Not what any right-thinking Yank expects from England, to tell the truth!  Slept with only the sheet all night, and wasn’t really chilly even in the early morning.  Used ear-plugs and that helped a bit.  You can’t move in this old place without disturbing others – the floor squeaks like a pack of rats! 
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The “new” parts are over 400 years old, and it was originally built by a wealthy saffron merchant in the early 1400s – crawling around through all the current hostel rooms is fascinating.
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This is where the saffron was dried in the old days….much of the wood was apparently recycled from ships.  The merchant used a lot more than was really necessary, especially on the outside - it is surmised that he was showing off his wealth to his neighbors….and maybe his business competitors?

We breakfasted and were out before 8:00 – car is parked about half a mile away at a free car park – and arrived at Duxford fully 90 minutes before it opened at 10:00!  So we backtracked to the “Abbey Barns” we’d seen on the way – with cars entering and parking – to find that it was an office complex….no Abbey in sight, and no genuine barns, either.  They had named it for some historical site, I’m guessing, and the buildings WERE a little barn-like, but not very useful to us.  We’re never at a loss, however – Gail checked the map and we drove the tiny roads through equally tiny towns for about an hour before heading back to the air field.  Three and a half hours isn’t really enough to absorb everything that’s there, but it’s enough to make one truly grateful to the young men who fought for freedom in the air. This isn’t just a lot of airplanes – they collect everything, including oral histories and every kind of artifact related to the air wars.  Amazing place, and perhaps the capper for me was seeing a B-52….in the same room as the B-24, B-17 and even a Superfortress, all of which were dwarfed by the big jet.  There’s a sign that says they plan to keep 16 of them going at least until 2030!  Gail spent most of her time by the plane her Uncle Bob flew out of Italy—the B-24.  They had tapes of vets talking about their experiences, and she listened to it all.  If you want to see what Uncle Bob’s experience was like, rent Memphis Bell and watch it—we were almost weirded out when we did, because it is SO much like his experience.  They called Bob “preacher”, and he didn’t lose any of his crew, either.  Have a look.

We went from there by circuitous back roads, seeing wonderful little villages, to Audley End House (I think that’s the name), which is a fine Jacobean country house, but it isn’t open Monday or Tuesday, so we just took a picture of the exterior and went on.  (Update: we’ve seen stuff about this house several times now, and the disappointment grows—it’s a WONDERFUL place!  We’ll have to come back one day.)
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Seems like we did something else before going back to the hostel, but I’m not remembering at the moment – AH!  We went to see the “tumuli”, which are seven burial mounds from the early years of A.D.  They are in the typical shape of Roman burial mounds, and contain artifacts that seem to confirm this.  Three of them are still in good shape, two are detectable and two are pretty much gone at this point, having been “excavated” early on for the “treasure” they were thought to contain.  There isn’t a lot of information at the site, and I don’t know what all has been found there – it was not identified very well, and we found it almost by luck. 
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Ate soup and toast and fruit salad for supper, toured around the hostel and saw all the interesting aspects of this ancient building.  I’m always amazed to see houses and so on that are 600 or 800 years old….there was a lot going on over here before Columbus had even set sail for China!!  While walking home from parking the car, I went through the Market Square and the library was open.  I signed up for a card in order to get internet access, but it didn’t work – I’m not entirely sure why because the story she told me didn’t make any sense.  I’m suspicious that I wasn’t supposed to have a library card because I’m not a resident of Essex, but no one would say that.  Anyhow, the old city hall and the public drinking fountain were very much worth seeing.  Here they are:

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