General Chat

:-D :-D

:-D

I meet friends for coffee three or four times a week, some I knew when I was very young and kept in touch wherever we were and others I met through work over the years.

It's as entertaining as the local pub, cheaper, and we always have a good laugh. :-D

It gets us out, as the saying goes. Our oldest is 81 and could easily pass for 20 years younger.

I'll give away my age when I say I also meet for lunch, friends I've known for almost 70 years and never had a cross word with. We, too, kept in touch throughout moves we made.

We are all good mixers and enjoy each other's company immensely. :-D

or an ice cream from the van :-)

Dermot!! :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

I refuse to buy a cup of coffee that costs more than a jar of coffee :-|

Nope too cheap to buy coffee outside....don't want all this fancy stuff just give me good strong black coffee from home LOL

Caroline, Costa is Costa Coffee. You must not frequent them as much as I do. :-D

Get on wiv yer, Dermie, we know you won't. :-D

I know what you mean though; some people move next to a field and want to stop the farm smells like others move next to a church then complain about the bells.



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Bad planning allowed the structure to be built so close to a busy road.

Ok - I'll get my coat & leave! :-S

I too visited it before it was commercialised, I remember touching the stones. I actually don't remember when I went there but it was before 1960.

I can't remember at the moment what it is called but there are standing stones in a circle near Keswick, they are very atmospheric, expecially when we visited when there was snow. No gift shop, no entrance fee and parking along the lane.

LOL didn't say it wasn't blink and you'd miss it.

Avebury yep Silbury hill yep....but still even with all the hype you have to do Stonehenge at least once if you're in the area don't you.

Woodhenge is pretty boring - but Avebury has a museum, and a couple of pubs nearby :-D :-D :-D

Edit: And Silbury hill!

I also found woodhenge just down the road not much to look at compare to Stonehenge but still no one else there!

Yes Joy a gift shop where you could buy your own mini version of the stones :-) Maybe even a coffee shop now who knows.

Just re-read ... Stonehenge has a gift shop!!!

Get in line Costa.

Sharon, I walked around it in the 1960s before it was 'taken over', I was surprised to see that it was out of bounds when I was next along there.


You are right, Maggie, although I never 'felt' anything back then.

I've passed it many a time, or, in times of Gridlock, the driver has 'rat-runned' through Larkhill, but haven't been there since English Heritage got their hands on it.

When I was a child, it cost nothing - and you could touch the stones - even sit on the fallen ones! There was no fending, and no gift shop.
!t was a piece of Heritage open to all. Now it's just a cash cow.

I prefer Avebury now, anyway.
True, it hasn't got all it's stones - but Stonehenge was messed around with.
Virtually every stone was re-erected, straightened or embedded in concrete between 1901 and 1964 - a fact that isn't included in the official guide.

I knew somebody who used to play on Stonehenge when he was a boy.

See that's the trouble what would be destroyed, lots we can assume.
The stones have been fenced off already so to speak. Traffic does slow down to look for free. Haven't been for a few years but it used to be you were pushed through the gift store to encourage you to spend even more money.....yes I know everyewhere does that now that's what I'm saying can you imagine what famous places looked like before the gift stores ...

There are known to be preserved hoof prints of wild cattle, known as aurochs, near to where the proposed flyover would be built - and goodness knows what they don't know is there.

Strikes me, it's just another way for English Heritage to 'hide' the stones - and get more money from those visiting - the start of which was to get the A344 closed :-|