Sunday, September 20, 2020

A Treasure from My Shelves: Town Tours in Britain

We readers know that books are treasures, but most of us will admit that some volumes are more precious than others, and that's the sort of book I want to share with you today. But first, the background.

For all of our trips to the UK but one, Denis and I have flown into the Manchester Airport. Denis was born and raised in the Manchester area. Family lives there. And... if your trip includes driving up to Scotland, the Manchester Airport makes a lot more sense than one of the ones in London. 

On one of our visits, we spent the entire day with our niece Karen, who'd come to stay with us in Arizona more than once. (One of these days, I hope she can come again.) She geared the entire day to us, and in particular to me. I well remember our stroll through Hebden Bridge's High Street, and I think she'd be surprised to know that I remember many of the shops we visited throughout the day. Now... on the first couple of visits to the UK, I was in a fever to Buy Stuff. It couldn't be just any stuff, and I didn't go wild to the point where I was mailing box after box back to Phoenix (or any boxes for that matter), but I just wanted to find special items that meant a lot to me that wouldn't break the bank. You understand, right?

Well, when we spent that lovely, lovely day with Karen, I'd already reached my limit for extras going into the suitcases. I might have been able to shoehorn an earring or two in the luggage, but that was about it. That's when I found a book that I fell instantly in love with. But it was a big three-ring binder of a book, and there's no way I could have fit it into either suitcase without leaving our underwear or some other essential behind. It was with great regret that I didn't buy it.

I'd successfully managed to put the book out of my mind when-- lo and behold-- I received a gift package from Karen, and there it was! She'd gone back and bought it for me, bless her. 

I have spent so much time immersed in the pages of this book, and several of the pages even went with me on subsequent trips to the UK where they came in so handy. Town Tours in Britain is one of the greatest treasures on my bookshelves, and I will never willingly part with it. Precious memories of people and places are what need to be added to a book to turn it into a treasure. Would you agree?  

Now let me show you the book.

 

Here's the front of the book. One of the things that drew me to it was the cover. You may not know this about me, but I love maps. Real maps. Denis can have his GPS.


Here it is opened to the title page. Now you can see that it is, indeed, a three-ring binder.


Here are two leaflets from the book. They are easy to take out of the binder so you can use them when you're out and about in those locations. In case you're wondering, yes, I did leave the file sizes large so you can take a closer look!


Here's the leaflet for Cambridge, where Denis and I spent the day exploring. The front of the leaflet is a walking map... did I tell you that I love maps?


The reverse side of the leaflet tells you about the area, some of the places you can visit and some of the things you can see.


 

I hope you enjoyed this look at one of the treasures on my bookshelves. I may just have to do this again! Would you like that?

16 comments:

  1. Wow--the book really is a treasure, for itself and for the thoughtfulness of your niece. I especially love the view of Cambridge which really does help you visualize where things are in relationship to another. I wish I'd had this when I visited years ago. :)

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    1. It's been invaluable to me for our trips to the UK, Jenclair.

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  2. Oh, Cathy, that book looks fantastic! I can see how you would treasure this as you do. And how kind of your niece to get it for you. I'm sure that makes it even the more precious to you. Thanks for sharing it, and I hope the time comes when we can travel again.

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    1. So do I. I think I've put down roots. Denis may have to call in a lawn service to transplant me soon.

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  3. What a neat book! It truly is a treasure. I would love to see other treasures from your bookshelf :)

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    1. I think I've decided on the next book, Gretchen. :-)

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  4. That is a lovely story and, yes, please do this again. That book looks wonderful!

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    1. It is. I love it to pieces...oops! Not quite that much! LOL

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  5. What a great book that is! It's extraordinary for it's design as much as anything else about. I love how useful it is in so many different ways. I can imagine, too, how many great memories a book like that can bring back, even years after the fact.

    Like you...I love maps. My big complaint about GPS, especially on my summer road trips, is that I'm not always sure even what state I'm driving in. Some of the "border crossings" are so poorly marked that it's hard to tell without a real map. Over the years, I've put together a pretty decent collection of state maps, and I keep the appropriate one handy when I'm in unfamiliar territory. Somehow, it feels like I'm only making real progress when I can maark it on a paper-map.

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    1. I have old road atlases, some of which I've used to make envelopes. I love marking things on maps which is one reason why I keep track of the settings of the books I read at an online site.

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  6. What a lovely book, and an even better memory!

    The book makes me wish for something similar for several places.

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    1. I've always been afraid to look to see if there are others, just in case there were and I'd have to buy them all! LOL

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  7. Oh, gosh, what a wonderful book. And I love maps, too. Whenever I read a book where location is key, I'm looking at maps. If it's set in the Hebrides, I'm looking at maps or at the Firth of Forth and the Wemyss caves, one of Val McDermid's books. Or Norfolk or Cambridge, England, in Elly Griffiths' books. Or Kamchatka. Or the areas in India mentioned in Sujata Massey's books.
    And even in the U.S., since I grew up in Chicago, when I read Sara Paretsky's books, I'm looking up neighborhoods and streets there. And seeing the changes, too, with new parks, schools, other buildings.
    And by the way, mentioning Manchester, when I did 23 and Me, which reinforced that I had some ancestors in England, I found I have some cousins in Manchester. I have never heard of them, but obviously my great-grandfather, James Newcomb, had family members there.

    Definitely a treasure. And that it's useful today, is a real gift. And your niece is wonderful to have sent it to you.

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    1. Yes, she is. She is very special, and I love her dearly.

      My English ancestors were from Northumberland (Vera territory) and Yorkshire. The branch that lived outside Bradford would be shocked to learn that their house is now a museum.

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  8. Thank you for your lovely words, I love you very much too. I remember this well, because I knew you liked this so much, it made me sad that you couldn’t get it and hence why I did ;) I will absolutely be coming to visit you as soon as I am able. You are first trip to be made.

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    1. What wonderful news to brighten up my day! *HUG*

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