Yesterday we joined the National Trust and went on a literary pilgrimage to some of the sites related to the authors in this area.
First was Cloud's Hill, the tiny cottage where T.E. Lawrence hid from his legacy as Lawrence of Arabia. The building is bizarre. His bedroom was like a ship's bunk and lined in metal. His second room was a music room with a huge, and presumably hugely expensive, gramophone. Downstairs he had a bedroom cum library with a 6 foot square bed and thousands of books (a room I admired) and the final room was a bathroom lined in cork that he could have a hot bath in, but which had no toilet. And there was no outdoor toilet either: just a rhododendron wood.
T.E.Lawrence was a friend and visitor to Thomas Hardy and next we went to Higher Bockhampton where he was born. The cottage is beautiful and recalls the stories of the man: that he was believed to be stillborn and put aside until the nurse realised he breathed and the day his mother found a snake curled up in his crib with him. These stories may depress those who struggle with Hardy's language and less than uplifting themes! Afterwards we went to the newly opened Max Gate, the house he had built, which is where he wrote the masterpieces 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles ' and 'Jude the Obscure'. The building has only been open for one season and there is much to do to tell the story of both the building and the writer, but just standing in the room where Tess was created was really moving.
(I am sorry the photos are jumbled at the end recently - since IOS5 I can't find a decent Blogger app which allows me to post in the order I wish without crashing)
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