An Interesting and Productive Day

Started off with a haircut yesterday. For those of you who don't know, Ruth used to be a licensed hairstylist. In fact, that is how we met...she cut my hair! But of course all of her haircutting supplies were left inside Sherman (our motorhome) when we left Mexico in May.

However, Ruth's cousin Helen also used to be a hairstylist and she brought her gear with her for their visit this week. So Ruth used Helen's scissors etcetera to give my hair a badly needed cut.

I look respectable again! Well, as good as it gets anyhow.

Then we took the dogs for a walk up on the common, had some lunch, and then headed off to the city of Hereford (pop 56,000), about a twenty minute drive, to do some exploring and grocery shopping.

The Hereford Town Hall is an interesting building.

Looking up at the roof in the stairwell at the Town Hall.

One of the downtown churches.

Heading towards the central area.

The Old House Museum.

The house was built in 1621 as part of a row of similar houses. The rest were demolished between 1816 and 1850, with this one being the only one left. It became a museum in 1929 and is now surrounded by modern buildings. No pictures of the inside! They wanted us to sign a form before taking any pictures due to copyright issues. Huh? I don't understand these things. The whole situation can probably be blamed on a lawyer somewhere. 

Then we stopped in at an optician. Both of us would like to get eye exams done, but we don't need them badly enough to pay the inflated medical prices of Canada or the U.S. For some reason, optical exams in Britain are reasonably priced. Sometimes there are even sales on, and Boots Opticians currently have a coupon out that gets you an eye exam with prescription for only £10 ($16.50). Boots couldn't take us yesterday, but we'll make an appointment for next week some time and go back on the bus. Anyhow, this optician we stopped in at wanted £35 ($58), and I asked the girl what I get there that I wouldn't get at Boots for £10. She said they were the best, and they also take a picture of the back of your eye. Hmm. To save £50, we think we'll got to Boots.

Then we saw another church. This one seemed to be turned into a commercial building of some kind. Interesting, so we wandered inside. It was very strange. While the church is still being used as a church, it also has a cafe and offices, as well as modern glass entrance doors and one of the chapels is being used as a shop. Didn't like it at all, and I think the people who made this decision don't understand anything about culture and old buildings. 

Facing the alter. But then, standing in the same spot, I turned around...

And took this picture of the cafeteria.

We didn't get it. The cafeteria occupies the same space as the church. This is a 13th century historic building and we think they've ruined it. Oh well, just our opinion. Of course many churches in England have cafe's, but they are always away from the main area. Even worse was the modern washroom thing they built in the base of the tower. Didn't bother getting a picture of that. It was an ugly thing.

Then we wandered over to the cathedral. Nothing special from the outside, but some interesting things on the inside.

The tomb of Sir Richard Pembridge. Died in 1375. Sir Richard was one of the earliest knights of The Order of the Garter and fought at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356.

Then we went and did another big grocery shop to try and do us for another 12 days. We're here until the morning of October 3rd, so we found it a little difficult figuring out what to buy. I think we may have overdone it on some items, but Helen had a coupon for £9 ($15) off any grocery purchase over £60 ($99). They also had a wine special where it was 25% off if you bought six bottles or more. What a great sale. So our total bill was £99 ($163), but with the savings on the wine and the coupon, it came to £79 ($130). Not bad, but we're a little high on our booze costs for this month!

On to something else of interest. When we were out for a walk the other day, I saw something glistening in the mud in the forest. I dug up an old glass bottle that had some writing on the side. Took it home and washed it out as best I could. 

It says "Koko for the Hair".

So I researched this term. Apparently "Koko for the Hair" was manufactured in England between 1888 and 1915. It was claimed to prevent hair from falling out, and prevent it from turning prematurely grey! I found an advertisement for the product...

Too funny.

Turns out the bottle I found is a collectors item. If I find the right buyer, I might get up to £9 ($15) for it! Anybody interested?