19th & 20th July

York is a small city with a lot packed in. First and foremost, it’s old!! Some of the buildings date back to the 1300’s, and yesterday I found Roman ruins in the museum gardens. Note to self to return to those gardens.
Tuesday I walked till I got blisters. I spent the first few hours orienting myself with the city, stopping to take photos of The Minster, a giant cathedral which dominates the city, and any old, beautiful looking building I could find. Of which there are many.
Finally, I found my way up to Clifford’s Tower. Originally built as part of the first castle of York, the stone tower was constructed around 1070. In March 1190, there were riots against the Jewish community.

Around 150 Jews took refuge in the tower, which was then subject to heavy attack by the community and some knights. The Jews ended up setting fire to the wooden tower they sheltered in, deciding that suicide was a better option than dying at the hands of those who despised them. The rioters killed any survivors.
It was strange to think of such violence, standing up there on a warm, sunny day, admiring the views of the city. Each place in the world has a dark history though, and this is part of York’s.

Close to Clifford’s Tower is the York Castle Museum. There were four main exhibitions there: Shaping the Body, The Swinging 60’s, the history of WW1, and a walk through the old prison.
Shaping the Body was a collection of clothing, accessories, food and lifestyle products, dating from Victorian times to the modern era. There was detailed information about how things were worn,

different social classes, and interesting commentary on the health differences between the Royal Upper class and the poorer farming families. Apparently, fruit and vegetables were avoided by richer families, who believed they’d contribute to fever. They suffered scurvy, unlike the poorer people who ate a good deal of fruit and vegetables. Richness does not always buy health, it seems.
Most interesting was a selection of exercise equipment, dating back to 1901! There was also a comparison chart of daily chores between last century and now. The chart listed any physical activity, from farming methods, to sewing, cleaning and even childhood games, and gave the number of calories burned with each one. This was displayed alongside information on our changing diets over the years. Needless to say, there was a clear link between ready-to-heat meals and vacuum cleaners, as opposed to cooking from scratch and scrubbing floors.
The museum had a lower level, which was a real-life reconstruction of the main streets of York, during Victorian times. Each shop had a front display, like those you would have encountered “back in the day”. There was even a fully stocked pharmacy, with bottles of remedies I recognised. It contained advertising similar to that which we see today. Some of the shops had actors in full costume, who would explain the wares to you. The lights changed from day to night, street lamps lit up, the temperature changed and there were recordings with sounds such as horses and people who would have

been present. I even noticed a different smell to the air, and thought it was just my imagination, until I heard other museum-goers commenting. It smelled of horses, I thought.

The 60’s exhibition was a small collection of clothing, videos and music. They had a life-sized space capsule, and screened one of the original Dr. Who episodes.
The WW1 exhibition was a visual reminder of what a waste war is. The sheer number of deaths and injuries made me question why we still haven’t found an alternative to shooting. There were reconstructions of bunkers and tunnels, displays of bunker art, and horrible, horrible statistics.
The prison was most interesting. Different cells were fitted with names above the door, and there was a sensor based hologram in each one. The hologram was an actor who portrayed the prisoner, with information on their crime, life, and their fate. They say York is haunted, and it’s easy to believe, having been down into that dark, cold place.

Back in the sunshine, I had a wander down The Shambles; a laneway where fresh meat used to be displayed. Nowadays it’s a collection of shops, many still with the original windowsills outside. Again, I’m just amazed by the age and structure of these buildings. Between the intricacy of The Minster and the character of the shops and houses,

I’m reminded that great feats of architecture don’t necessarily require today’s technology. That said, I’m sure our modern safety standards are much better, and I’m sure any of today’s builders would be grateful for that.

In the evening I found El Piano, a vegan and gluten free restaurant in the centre of town. It was food heaven! It’s strange to be relaxing by myself in a café. My brain is still work-wired, and I have the feeling of needing to be somewhere else, doing something else.

Wednesday was a reminder to myself to just relax and enjoy. Having spent the vast majority of the day reading a book, I ventured out late, and had a look through the National Railway Museum. I’m not much of a train person, but it was actually really interesting to see the older carriages, and learn about food, mail and people transport. The royal carriages were more lavish and superfluous than most modern dining rooms. Velvet seating, floral couches, porcelain tea sets and a special separate carriage, where royal staff could go to take a break from the demands of royal service.
There was also a giant model train set, and models of trains from the earliest English carriages, right through to the Japanese bullet train. Standing in the middle of a collection of different coloured, shaped and sized trains, I couldn't escape the feeling that I was maybe mistakenly on the set of Thomas the Tank Engine. There

was no mention of him, or any of his train friends.

I went back to El Piano for dinner, and then walked aimlessly around the city for a few minutes. I watched a man in black top hat and clothing, walk slowly, pointedly and with mock anger down the street. He was followed by a crowd of laughing people, and suddenly I found myself at the start of a ghost tour. He was more comedian and magician than storyteller, but he managed to convey some sad stories with good humour and some respect. If anything, it filled the hour I had spare with laughter, which is always a good thing! At one part of the tour, we turned a corner and on our left was a huge number of white feathers, floating through the air. It lent a spooky feel to the story which followed; an orphanage manager who murdered all of the children in his care, having spent all the funds for their basics on booze. The feathers floated only metres from where they were found, and whether there was a connection or not, it definitely left an impression.

The highlight of Wednesday was an open mic night at The Habit, on Goodramgate. After a false start at a different pub, I walked into The Habit in the middle of David Ward Maclean’s set. David is known

here as the granddaddy of the York music scene. He he’s created an open mic at The Habit which welcomes all, and the night turned out to be a huge array of talent, loud applause and flowing beer. More and more people kept pouring into the pub, which barely had standing room only when I first arrived. I’ve made friends with an American couple, here for the month while she teaches medieval literature. They’re coming to Sydney next year, so am looking forward to taking them to my favourite open mic there.
At around 2am I crawled into bed, feeling pretty satisfied with myself.