Visit to Nottingham and Mansfield.....

Last week I was in the East Midlands, visiting family friends. I stayed in Nottingham and Mansfield for a few days. Most of the towns in the Midlands are erstwhile coal mining towns. The Mines are long gone but the towns remain. The vast areas which housed mines long ago, have been transformed into vast tracts of arable land....growing wheat, barley, potatoes and strawberries!!!

Also made short visits to Sheffield, which has a substantial population of South Asian people and Chesterfield which is famous for a church with a very crooked spire (wonder what they were thinking of when they constructed it!!!!) and there are several theories trying to explain why such a thing has happened... the most commonly held belief is that the timber has expanded over the years because of the heat...

In Nottingham, I visited the Nottingham Castle , the International Water Park, Wollaton Park and the Sherwood Forest (yeah ..that of Robin Hood and his Merry Men fame). The Sherwood Forest has the famous Oak tree which is believed to be atleast a thousand years old and which was a hiding place for Robin Hood and his merry men as they were escaping from the king. What is striking is that like an old human being, the Oak too has been supported by metal supports, metal poles acting like crutches!!!!! The Forest area is very informative and has lovely trails for walking along....the complex also houses a museum...geared for both children as well as adults.....

On my way back I took a bus and had a grand 86 year old lady as my companion. She was quite chatty and we had lots and lots to talk about. She was in the army at one point of time and she was asking me about the Nortrh Eastern region of India. She was an interesting lady who liked fast cars...hmmmm...Ferraris and Jaguars.....and who liked art, music and adventure....a great dame she is...i must say!!!!!

On the whole, the trip was hectic but quite pleasant......