Laying siege to the upper gatehouse
From left to right: Patti, Anita, Fiona, Kirsty and Alys
As I crossed the bridge and examined the upper barbican more closely, I heard an unmistakable voice shouting down at me. I looked up and discovered Kirsty & Co. (Alys, Anita, Fiona and Patti) standing in the upper gatehouse. I naturally took a picture, though it wasn’t until later that I learned that my dear friends were in the very spot where Robin fought so valiantly against one of Raven’s men in “The Inheritance”. It was also where Much and Isadora stood after they had defeated the soldiers of fortune that first time. Much cries excitedly, “We did it!” and Robin (the wet blanket) says, “They’ll be back”.
As I knew I’d be exploring the upper gatehouse myself, along with the curtain wall and upper bailey gate, I volunteered to do some filming for Nikke. What I probably should have done was volunteered to find someone who could actually use a camcorder. That isn’t to say that I hadn’t used one before: I’m just a bad cinematographer, that’s all. In addition to the jerky camera movements, pans that swept too quickly or ended abruptly, Nikke was treated to a voiceover of “OOPS! Sorry, Nikke!” at regular intervals. I hope she was able to edit out some of the less attractive shots and dub over my voice.
Nikke films the upper barbican, while Rina tries to stay out of the shot.
During my wanders with Nikke’s camcorder, I witnessed part of an exchange between Phil Rose and Jeremy Bulloch. Phil Rose was in the upper gatehouse (with me and a number of other people) and Jeremy was standing on the bridge below. I couldn’t really hear what they were saying, but it was obviously pretty funny because the people within hearing distance were laughing. I know that Jeremy got into some humourous antics with Sar, Kathye and Ange. On one of our train journeys after the con, they told me that Jeremy had cast them as guards in an imaginary film. Sar claimed that Kathye was the star and she was the Guard on the Left. I guess that made Ange the Guard on the Right. Anyway, Jeremy took his job as director very seriously, saying such things as, “Are those spectacles from the right period?” and “I don’t think you’ve got the right watch on – you’ll need to get a new one.” If only I had known they were doing this film: I could have filmed it with Nikke’s camera!
During my stroll along the curtain wall, I ran into Peter, Julie and the Silver Arrow Lion.
After doing some filming around the upper barbican and some exploring in general, I reunited with Nikke and Rina. As we had started to feel a might bit peckish, and Janet had told me the coach was leaving in a couple of hours, we decided to check out the castle gift shop and then grab some lunch. After carefully making our way down the steep declining path through the upper and middle baileys (which involved Rina and I digging our heels into the gravel, hanging onto Nikke’s wheelchair for dear life, and occasionally shouting, "Make way for the watch!" *g*), we reached the lower bailey where the gift shop was located. However, getting inside was going to be more difficult than we had first anticipated.
They had closed off the barrier on the outside, and it was going to be impossible for Nikke to gain access from inside. I was prepared to give up, but Nikke was determined to get inside. This was more than a physical obstacle to her. Fortunately, as we were discussing the situation, a kind soul witnessed our plight and asked one of the ladies in the shop to unlock the barrier. Then, with the help of a couple more kind souls, we were able to get Nikke’s wheelchair up the few steps to the shop. And it was well worth the effort as we all bought something inside. Among my purchases was a book on Chepstow Castle, which has been invaluable when it’s come to labeling the pictures in my photo album and writing this section of my report.
Janet and Dan at the south-west tower.
After taking a quick detour in another gift shop in the car park (where I bought another book – bad girl), we went in search of lunch. I don’t think I’ve had so much trouble finding some in my life. Our first attempt was made at the Chepstow Castle Pub. I thought it might be crowded and we’d have a struggle finding a table, but we got one right away. As there didn’t seem to be any servers around, I walked to the bar at the back. On the way I saw a couple of angry people grumbling that there was no food in the pub. I thought they must be kidding, but I was told at the bar that there would be no food available for at least an hour.
We made our second attempt at a pub called The Three Tuns, and were confronted by the fact that it wasn’t wheelchair accessible. Then Nikke noticed that there was a patio at the back, so we went through there. As we parked ourselves at a picnic table, we immediately found some very familiar faces. Sar, Kathye, Ange and Shell were at one table and Alys, Anita, Patti and Fiona were at the one beside us. I went inside the pub to try to hunt down a menu, bumping into Kirsty, who had also gone to fetch a menu. However, it was a challenge. Kirsty had managed to snag one from a server, but I wasn’t able to grab him in time. Kirsty suggested that I pop my head in the kitchen, as she had seen a server, carrying a menu, disappear in there.
I looked in and two startled, flushed faces stared back. That should have been my first indication that dining here wasn’t a great idea. I asked for a menu and was told that the server would be taking orders from the patio soon, so I sat back down at our picnic table and one came out about five minutes later. That was the fastest service we received.
The view of Marten’s Tower from The Three Tuns
After Rina and I put in orders for three ham and cheese sandwiches and a tea, I went to order two cokes from the bar. I ran into Ange and Shell, who had apparently introduced themselves to the locals. An old man at the bar asked me where I was from. I said Toronto. He said, “What?” I said “Toronto” again and he still didn’t understand. As most people from Toronto pronounce it “Tronna,” I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. In the end Ange and Shell clarified the situation and said, “She’s from Canada.” The old man smiled. “Oh, another colonial.”
After establishing that I was, in fact, a colonial, I managed to place that order for two Cokes. However, the gas went out and the server couldn’t get the beverage tap thingies to work. As she didn’t know how to get the gas working again, she asked me if I’d like two lemonades instead. Despite the fact that I was in serious need of some caffeine, I said yes because this looked like the first positive proof of service in this pub.
Back outside, I talked with Nikke, Rina and our friends at the adjoining tables as we waited for our meals to arrive. And waited. And waited. And waited...Sar, Kathye, Ange and Shell, who didn’t realize that they had missed their opportunity to place a lunch order, got tired of waiting and decided to go somewhere else to eat. I took another photo of Chepstow Castle because one can never have too many pictures of a castle. Nikke spotted a robin. It disappeared but was coaxed back with some breadcrumbs from Nikke’s sandwich – when it eventually arrived. Out of sheer desperation, Kirsty headed off to buy some sweets, which she shared with us on her return.
When Rina’s tea actually reached our table, Kirsty & Co. groaned in protest and we gloated. Then they received an item themselves and it was their turn to rub our noses in it. After sitting in the patio for about an hour, the ham and cheese sandwiches arrived. About a half an hour after that, an order of chips arrived at Kirsty’s table, then, slowly, the other dishes. The remaining North Americans arrived back at the pub just after Kirsty’s table had received all of its orders. They were carrying Tesco grocery bags and said they’d walked to England to get lunch. I thought they had been joking at the time, but it turns out that they had, given how close we were to the Wales/England border.
Robbie, Patti and Jeremy in the Chepstow Castle car park
By some miracle, my table managed to finish lunch with a bit of time to spare, though I think Kirsty and the gang might have still been there when we left. On the way out, I stopped at a table where the Belgian fans had just congregated. In all good conscience, I knew I couldn’t pass them without a warning about the service…or lack thereof.
When we reached the car park, we ran into Patti, who asked me to take a picture of her, Jeremy and Robbie, as she had run out of film. So as Robbie’s girlfriend finished packing up their car and tending to the baby, the Bulloch boys posed with Patti. A car park isn’t the most idyllic backdrop for a picture, but I think it turned out really well considering who the photographer was.
It wasn’t long before we were being herded back in the coaches and on our way back to Bristol. Back inside the hotel, I parted company with Nikke and Rina to take a break in my room. Sar was already there, so we swapped stories about the day and compared castle shop purchases. Then I spent some time flipping through one of my books and trying to work on a postcard or two. However, all the fresh air and exercise (not to mention a caffeine-free system) must have got to me because I ended up taking a nap. When I woke up Sar was gone, so I decided to call my mom’s cousin, who lives just outside Oxford, and we had a nice chat. Sar returned just as the conversation was drawing to a close and informed me that Shell had invited us down to the bar for a drink.
