Last Day in Bournemouth

We had several last things we wanted to take care of in Bournemouth, but struggling to find a place to park was a real challenge.  We mostly took the bus around and walked a lot. 

International banking fun and games:  We went to the HSBC bank to try to get a savings account set up for Delaney.  First we went to the teller window. She said she couldn't help us, but showed us where to go on the mobile app to do it ourselves.  We decided to sit down in the lobby and do it in case we had any problems.  We had problems.  We got a prompt that you can't use the app if you pay taxes in another country (or something like this). We queued in another line to see a customer service rep.  We get to the gatekeeper lady at a front desk and rather than simply taking note of names and passing people to the reps in the back, she tried to triage every problem.  She also went to the app, got the same error and seemed puzzled by it.  She consulted with someone via phone and then decided our issue merited escalation to someone in the back.  We finally sat with someone who knew what was going on.  In the end, we couldn't open a savings account, but he told us we could open a secondary account that would hold multiple currencies if we want to.  Kind of cool if you want to take advantage of fluctuating exchange rates.  Overall, I'm so underwhelmed with HSBC's customer service I can't even begin to find words. 

Polish dining deja vu:  Delaney wanted to take us to a Polish restaurant she had discovered near her dorm.  It was very Polish, including the menu which we could mostly read.  I got pierogis, Delaney got schnizel.  It felt very much like being back in Poland.

Brief beach visit:  We took a brief walk out to the beach.  It was very windy and a bit stormy.  There was a single kite surfer out in the waves that was flying along!  The water was so cold I can't imagine doing that (and there were no guards or anyone else around if they got into trouble).

Polish Market:  Delaney took us to a Polish market she had discovered and we stocked up on Polish sweets and chocolate.  We brought back some of the treats that an exchange student friend (Zuzia) really liked and missed.  (She cried when we brought them back for her).

A good last day, but we're sad to have to say bye to Delaney until Christmas. 

Last Day in Bath

Since the Bath at Work Museum was unexpectedly closed the previous day when we tried to visit, we made one more attempt on our last day (knowing we had to leave at noon to get Delaney back in time for a class).  This museum was Delaney's pick so I didn't know what to expect.  It was smallish, but really cool!  Just enough there to spending an hour or so.

The collection is basically all the remaining inventory, parts, equipment from a company that was owned and operated for three generations in Bath.  The founder was JP Bowers.  They had 13 children, nearly all of whom went into the business.  It was started in the late 1800's and finally closed in 1969.  The contents were incorporated into a museum in 1978.  

The original location was elsewhere in Bath, but the museum building was acquired and all the rooms were basically recreated like a time capsule in the new location.  The business started with small metal works, mostly brass, but expanded to include a very successful carbonated drink division in the early 1900s.  

The family prided itself on economizing and the collection included the one and only machine that they bought new.  All the rest of the equipment was bought second hand, or custom built by employees for the company.    This typewriter was from the front office. 

I particularly liked this Coleman-like gas lamp with a second 'spout' below it that could be used for melting sealing wax (or lighting the owners pipe). 

In the pattern shop, the craftsman would make wooden models of the metal parts to be cast.  These had to be slightly bigger than the needed piece because the metal would shrink as it cooled. 

The metal (brass or other alloys) would be heated in the forge and then poured into sand molds that were made from the wooden models.  These cooled and were finished by hand or with foot powered machinery. 

It was a little overwhelming to see how many items they had in stock.  My interpretation was that rather than being on the leading edge of change, the business was lagging.  If you had an old item that needed a replacement part, this was the place to come.  Eventually, even those old items were no longer in use and their supplies were not needed. 

So of the finished brass pieces were coated in lacquer for the final step.  For example, these handles for the beer on tap in pubs.

I found this sign fascinating.  It was a predecessor to a neon sign.  The letters were hollow with several holes in them.  Gas would flow through them and a flame would be lit from each of the holes, thus making the metal letters stand out with the backlit flames. 

In the early 1900's the technology developed to create CO2 gas and infuse it in water for carbonated drinks.  Manufacturers started adding sugar and syrup flavors.  This machine was used to create and store the CO2 using sulphuric acid and calcium carbonate.

This was the Essence room, where the secret recipe for the soda was kept and mixed.  During WWII, the soda manufacturers were controlled by the Ministry of Food and were restricted to making particular flavors of drinks.  Bower was allowed to make lemonade and cherryade. 

In order to promote return of the glass bottles for re-use, the company would offer glass marbles to children who would bring in bottles.  These glass marbles were part of the sealing mechanism for the bottles.  They were made in the bottles and when the bottles were filled with carbonated water, the fizz pressure would press them up to the opening of the bottle and seal it. 

There are over 10,000 glass bottles of various sizes and shapes in the collection.  This is just a small portion of them. 

Above and below are the parts of the bottle washing machine.  They would first soak them and scrub off the paper labels, then an upturned nozzle would spray into the bottles and wash them out. 

All the wooden crates were branded with the company name. 

Bottle with a cork and wire seal.

Bottle with an early rubber cork screw seal

Eventual best design: crown twist top

A trip to Bath would not be complete without getting some Bath Buns.  Apparently what makes these special are the cube of sugar baked inside each one (tasty!)  The time they are first mentioned historically is in a Jane Austin book.

Around Bath

I decided to splurge a little and pay extra for an AirBnB right in the center of town.  It was a one bedroom apartment with a pullout bed.  More roomy than I expected and very attractive and comfortable.  We made a bit of a nuisance of ourselves when we arrived by trying to open the wrong door.  The owners (renters?) came to the door and said we were in the wrong place.  We were up another floor.

After spending several hours at the Bath Abbey and Cathedral, we walked around the center city to explore and grab some dinner to take back to our hostel. 

Had to get a picture in front of this discount store.  LOL,

This small hot spring pool was available for private rental.  How cool would that be?

The entrance to the Kings and Queens baths - dating to the Georgian times (not Roman)

As we were walking by, Delaney and I were drawn in by a group setting up a blank canvas and sound equipment.  We'd seen artists and musicians, but not a combo.  Eventually the lady sang several hymns while the man sketched a lot of empty boxes.  Our mystery was solved when he made them into block letters and shared how God is for you, not against you.  We don't need to Worry or Fear.  We can have Hope in the Future because Jesus died for us.  Nice message, intriguing delivery.

In our wandering, we passed a Market full of miscellaneous interesting shops.  This notions store had hundreds of buttons!

Delaney spied a YMCA and wanted to ask to get a tour of the facilities like we were considering joining.  When we got to the door, we determined it was a YMCA hostel, not gym.  We didn't go in.  It looked like a great discount lodging for anyone visiting Bath! Pretty quiet courtyard and minutes from the center of the city.

We saw a lot of great pub names, but I didn't manage to get pictures of all of them.  The Pig and Fiddle above and the Giggling Squid below.

On our second day, after visiting the Baths, we decided to see as many of the cool architectural features of the city as we could. 

We had a picnic lunch on the square, seranaded by a Spanish guitar player.  Very relaxing.  

The Pulteney Bridge.  One of only 4 bridges in the world fully covered by shops.  You can see in the picture below its wide enough for auto traffic.

The River Avon

We struck out for the Bath at Work Museum, hiking up the hillside, only to find it was "closed due to unforeseen circumstances...come back tomorrow".

King Edwards School opened 1552.  Another sign said it was restored in 1979. It looked like it needed a second restoration.

We saw this metal horn sculpture on two different houses on one street.  Never did figure out what it was. 

We visited the Circus and the Royal Crescent - two notable architectural structures in the city.

This picture is funny because its on panoramic, which usually makes straight things look curved, but because the building is in a big circle, it looks almost straight.

(Taken the next morning when we passed by)

The Royal Crescent was in front of a large green.  The Bath Half marathon was run earlier in the day and this was the ending point.  Glad we got here after the crowds were dispersing.  We took the opportunity to find our 200th geocache in the park and discovered what the "Adventure Labs" app is (linked to geocaching without the cache - just way points and multiple clues to tour you around an area).

We were a bit stumped about dinner.  A number of places were closed on Sunday and most were were not serving until 5:30 (it was 4:00.  We were tired and hungry).  We finally found a good Italian place and had a great dinner.  I don't normally take pictures of drinks, but I was pleased to see the metal straw in Delaney's drink.