With an hour to spare after a shopping trip in Exeter, we went to Exeter Cathedral. Not normally one for religious buildings, I was pleasantly surprised. It had a stunning interior including the largest medieval vaulted ceiling in Europe. It was rich with history, too, having been a religious site since the 7th Century.
The Cathedral also demonstrates the military importance of the local area, with the major port of Plymouth just down the coast. There were numerous memorials, not only from the World Wars. The finest was one for the 9th 'Queen's Royal' Lancers. Not pictured here, but it was a fabulous monument noting their achievements and losses during the Indian Mutiny. Unexpectedly, more men were were lost to 'the climate' than in combat.
The first memorial pictured is to the 20th East Devonshire Regiment. Hanging above are their mid-19th century Colours, which haven't aged well.
Next up, memorial to Lieutenant General John Simcoe, who founded Toronto, apparently. The figure on the right was curious, wearing a toga where the other two are richly (and seemingly accurately) uniformed. The small inscription below notes that his son was killed in the siege of Badajoz while the memorial was being constructed.
Finally, an outdoor shot showing one of the oldest, Norman towers of the Cathedral. All in all some unexpectedly good history to learn. And the shopping? A curious haul of socks, bread and two new board games!
EDIT: The store I got the board games from is well worth a shout-out.
Clifton Road Games near Exeter city centre. Lots of board games to browse and a motley collection of miniature gaming ranges and supplies. A friendly staff member was happy to recommend me games based on my somewhat vague parameters. Without that I'd probably have left without a purchase as I wasn't after anything specific. But after just one game of Evo I'm happy with my purchase.
What boardgames did you get? I was in Forbidden Planet the other day eying Battles of Westeros and Arkham Horror.
ReplyDeleteOn a whim and recommendation, I got Evo and Rat Hot.
DeleteOpened up Evo last night and really enjoyed it. Is about dinosaurs evolving and migrating to survive the changing climate. A really fun game (and tragic, for one who grew up with 'The Land Before Time'!). It is by the designer of Smallworld, which I don't own but do enjoy. This clinched it for me. after one game, recommended.
Rat Hot is a quick and cheap 2-player tile-laying game. Should supplement Lost Cities as a travel/holiday game.
Battle of Westerns looks fun but I'm the only GRRM reader among my regular gaming friends, so probably wouldn't see much play. And I own both Memoir '44 and Commands and Colours, all three are pretty similar in mechanics I understand. Always wanted to try Arkham Horror but I hear it is a bit epic (read: long). Though I have played Mansions of Madness once which was fun but I wasn't that impressed.
Phil
An interesting post, and some very nice pics and info!
ReplyDeleteDamn nice pics and info Phil, if I'm ever in Exeter I'll check these out!
ReplyDelete