A weekend to cherish

Photo: by author

Recognising a reformer The statue of Raja Ram Mohan Roy

“You look bright eyed for this early in the morning!” the lady at Border Control observed, “So what is your purpose for visiting the U.K.?” It was 6.45 a.m. and I had arrived at London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 looking as fresh as one of the daffodils that had compelled Wordsworth to rhyme because I had been treated to a full night of fitful sleep thanks to British Airways’ Club World seat.

The indulgence had been worth it because I had a full day of meetings in London, followed by catching up with friends after work. I just couldn’t afford to give jetlag and fatigue an appointment.

After a few days in London, I drove to Reading where I have family and we decided to drive down to Bristol and Bath for the weekend.

It was such a beautiful day that we pulled off the M4 motorway and on to the A420 towards Bristol.

As soon as we left the straight and fast Motorway, we hit country roads that, albeit narrow, were big in character and ambience. Little villages and stone houses with immaculate gardens affront fully completed the picture of an English driving holiday. Bristol was brimming with activity the Friday afternoon we got there.

Locals were making the most of the cloudless sky and our hotel, the Thistle Grand, Bristol, was right at the head of Corn Street that led to the city centre. This street is also the venue for the St Nicholas Market, a very colourful street market where you can buy an array of stuff from ‘colon cleaning’ hot sauces to traditionally-made country cheeses and artefacts. You could also sit at the many little pubs and sip on a real ale or snack on some authentic Bristol sausages and mash. That evening, we also checked out the newly-opened Cabbot Circus and new mall in Bristol that is very well laid out and is designed to make a lot of use of natural light.

The next morning, our plan was to head for Bath, and I woke up early to yet another sunny day and went for a ramble around Bristol just as the sun was peeping over the sloping roofs of the cities Victorian houses.

I love walking around cities just as they are awakening. Between downed shutters and closed doors, little cafés that have opened for early birds like me call out to their customers thanks to the heady aroma wafting out onto the street through their doors.

Fortified with one such steaming cuppa, nestled in my hand, I set off across the city centre towards the Bristol Cathedral. Standing tall frozen eternally in stone outside the Bristol Cathedral is our very own Raja Ram Mohan Roy. The Indian philosopher, reformer, patriot, scholar and a founding father of Indian renaissance — as the plaque below the statue states — died here in Bristol on September 27, 1833. The statue was sculpted by Niranjan Pradhan and unveiled in 1997 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Indian Independence. Down the road from the cathedral are two more imposing structures that house the Bristol Museum and the Bristol University. I was so very fortunate to take all these grand stone structures in on a bright winter’s day.

The soft rays of the early morning sun really brought out the best shades of the stone structures and their articulate architecture. The weather fully cooperated that day and the next and we had a lovely time in Bath, which is one of England’s oldest cities — in existence since the time of the Romans.

My 10 days in England went by in a flash, and soon, I was back at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 on my way back. The new terminal is an absolute delight because it simply cuts out queues and minimises crowds.

I’d had a successful visit to London and I celebrated that by getting a flute of champagne from The Champagne Bar. It was the perfect send off from this lovely city.

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