Trip out today

I went into Boston today and had a pleasant mooch around. I've not really looked round the shops properly since I stopped working there in 2005 and the shopping area has expanded. There is even a Costa Coffee and a Greggs now not that these necessarily constitute an improvement. Everywhere was busy and as usual in Boots you needed a packed lunch and a good book before you joined the queue to pay. Why is the service so slow in Boots? I used to find this in Spalding and I thought it was just that store but Boston is just as bad.

The sun was out this morning - it's raining now - and I was standing at one end of the marketplace looking toward St Botolphs church - AKA Boston Stump - and marvelling at how dominant the church is. It sort of fades into the background if the weather is dull but comes into its own in sunny weather. One of the pubs close to the church is called The Stump and Candle which always amuses me. The Wetherspoons pub by the river is called The Moon Under Water - which may be particularly relevant if the river overflows its banks.

I've always thought Boston is a bit drab in appearance but when you look at it more closely there are so many Medieval and Tudor buildings it's amazing. Lots of lanes as well with their names in wrought iron in an arch at the beginning and end. Strange street names as well: - Strait Bargate (yes it really is spelled like that), Wide Bargate, Dolphin Lane, Pump Square, Pescod Square. I must go and remind myself of what Pevsner says about Boston buildings.

Trip to Boston

I've been here today though I didn't go into the church only to the council offices and a quick browse round the shops. The picture aside is of what is locally known as Boston Stump. Strictly the parish church dedicated to St Botolph. It's the tallest parish church in England - if not the UK - and one of the biggest still in use.

It can be seen from Lincoln - 35 miles away - on a good day and is one of the favourite places in Lincolnshire for jumping off, next to the Humber bridge. It looks magnificent on a sunny day like today.

Almost next to it is an old house/shop which is leaning at a very precarious angle and looks as though it would fall over if given a slight push. I think it's medieval - must look it up in Pevsner.

Boston does have a great many old buildings including the Guildhall which has recently been restored and which dates back to the 14th century. Then there's Pescod Hall - see picture - which was picked up bodily and moved 20 metres away in 2003 to make way for a small shopping complex. The Hall itself is now a shop. This photograph was taken before it was moved. It is a former merchants house.

Talking of moving houses I've just started reading a book about May Savidge who moved her house lock stock and barrel from Ware in Hertfordshire to Wells -next-the-Sea in Norfolk. More of this fascinating book tomorrow.

Books etc and reviewing wars

Books: I am currently reading Barbara Erskine's latest time slip offering - 'The Warrior Princess' - and totally absorbing and scary it is too. This one to a certain extent follows on from the last as it's set in Romano Britain and modern day Wales and Italy. More later when I've finished it.

Noreen over at Norn's Notebook has raised some interesting points about the life and death of the high street as we know it. We need moderation and balance really - not just independent shops but also the chains. In Spalding - population approx 25,000 - there are Boots, Woolworths, Holland and Barrett, Dorothy Perkins, Specsavers and just outside the town centre - Halfords, Sainsbury's, Argos, Carphone Warehouse, Lidl, Co-op, Aldi etc. But we also have - an independent book shop, independent butchers, greengrocers and bakers. It is a similar mix in Boston - population approx 70,000. Though in Boston there are more of the chains and they have a Marks & Spencer whereas Spalding only has an M & S Simply Food. If I was to draw a sweeping generalisation I would say small towns perhaps get the balance right. The bigger towns are of more interest to the chains - e.g Boston has a Waterstones, Costa Coffee and Past Times. Spalding has an out of town outlet centre which attracts a lot of visitors from elsewhere as it has an excellent garden centre, Cotton Traders, Marks & Spencer outlet, Next outlet etc etc. So really we have the best of all possible worlds living here. There is also a water taxi from the town centre!

Reviewing wars - I only became aware of this issue recently because I belong to Amazon Vine. There is a members only forum where such esoteric issues as tactical voting on reviews published on Amazon are discussed. Apparently there are certain reviewers out there who apply tactical voting to other people's reviews to try and get higher up the reviewer ranking list. As no one has managed to work out exactly how Amazon calculate the reviewer rankings I can't help feeling this is a total waste of time. Through reading the discussions I become aware that there are some very weird reviewers out there - people who always mention their family in derogatory terms in the review, others who post exactly the same review whatever the product and then there's the people who paste in reviews from elsewhere on the Internet! Skulduggery aplenty!! Amazon do take down anything that contravenes the law but they seem to let the rest carry on - fascinating stuff!