St. Cuthbert's Church in Churchtown
How to go
It takes about ten minues by a car.
<In my case>I visited there in the same way.
The next morning after we had stayed one night at Southport, we went to Southport pier and came back to our hotel at nine o'clock.
We had to checkout by eleven o'clock. We still had two hours, but unfortunately,
all the shops hadn't opened yet.
Therefore, I said to Tsukasa, my friend, "According to a map which John P, my English teacher, drew for me, Churchtown should be in this direction. He said that there was a park called the Botanic Gardens. Shall we go?"
Tsukasa said, "However, we can't see anything in this direction. Probably,
Churchtown must be a little far."
We went back a little to a bus stop to check timetables, but we couldn't
find the timetable to Churchtown. Then, we went to the receptionist at
our hotel to ask if we could walk to Churchtown.
"Excuse me, can we walk to Churchtown?" "Yes, you can, but
it'll take twenty or thirty minutes."
We had to check out by eleven o'colock, so we shouldn't waste one hour
to go and return. The receptionist said, "Can I call a taxi for you?"
Thus, we got on a taxi after a few minutes.
The tax driver asked us, "Where do you want to go to in Churchtown?"
"Where?", I wondered. I answered, "I don't know. Just Churchtown."
Tsukasa asked him, "What is the most interesting spot in Churchtown?"
"Maybe, a church." "So, take us to the church?"
Our destination had been decided.
It took about ten minutes to Churchtown. The taxi driver said kindly, "The return bus leaves over there." We got out of the taxi in front of St. Chuthbert's Church. I was a little anxious if they would welcome us as we weren't Christians, but we entered.
The stained glass windows were very beautiful, so I was enchanted. I keenly
wanted to take some photos. Therefore, I asked, “Can I take some pictures?”
They answered, "Of course!" and turned on the lights. They were
very kind!
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Churchtown is a very small town.
There are some small shops near to the church. All the shops were tiny.
I felt they were lovely.
It was still before ten o'clock, so all the shops were closed, but I wanted
to enter one shop. In the shop, some beautiful greeting cards were displayed
in a glass case. I really liked them. The sign said that the shop would
open at ten o'clock. "Hmm…I want to buy some."
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However, I thought that we couldn't stand there waiting. We began to walk
towards the bus stop which the taxi driver had mentioned. Then, we found
the Botanic Gardens which John P. had had told me about. "We have
time, so shall we enter?"
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The sun shined down on colourful flowers in the garden. Green trees were
growing. Some water birds gathered around the pond. Yes, it was a comfortable
quiet autumn day!
We left there a little before ten o'clock. I said to Tsukasa, "If
you agree…I want to go back to the shop. I think that we still have time
before we have to checkout. I want to buy some cards at that shop."
However, when we went back, it hadn't opened yet probably because it was
still before ten o'clock. "Can we wait a little?"
But, even when it became ten o'clock, the shop hadn't opened. I knocked
on the door a few times, but nobody answered. The ground floor was the
shop and the first floor seemed to be a residence. I looked into the shop,
but nobody seemed to be there. I decided to wait for another ten minutes.
While seeing the glass case, I wanted to buy a water-coloured painting.
Some tiny drawstring bags were displayed in the case. I wanted to buy some.
The longer I looked into the shop, the more the number of things I wanted
to buy.
Another ten minutes passed.
Tsukasa said, "Probably, this shop won't open today." I still
said, "Can we wait another ten minutes? Then, if the shop doesn't
open, I'll give up."
I knocked on the door again, but nobody answered. Boohoo.
When it was almost twenty past ten, a car approached the shop. I thought
that the driver should be the proprietor. Yes!! The person getting out
of the car came to us and said, "Are you waiting for me? Sorry."
I barely entered the shop!
Soon after I was relieved, I found out that I couldn't buy anything using
a credit card. Moreover, she said she didn't accept traveller's checks
either. "Really? Although I havebeen waiting for a long time, I had
to give up buying?". I was upset. Then, Tsukasa said, "I have
money. If you want, I can lend you some." She must be an angel!
Thus, I finally got the things which I wanted to buy. Everything went well.
"THE BOLD ARMS CHURCHTOWN" by BILL SEPHTON
If you want to see the other pictures which I bought in England, please
click here.
From this episode, I learned. "When I travel to a very small town,
I sometimes can't use either credit card or travelle's checks. Therefore,
I should get enought money before I leave London although I don't want
to carry much cash because it is a little dangerous."
Some items which I bought.
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（2004.2.14, 10.16）
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 Trip to England |