Moving on

“Everything I was I carry with me, everything I will be lies waiting on the road ahead.” – Ma Jian

We have our airport overnighter at Stansted to be sure, however, today, and Stamford, constitutes, to all intents and purposes, the end of our Northern UK sightseeing circumnavigation and the beginning of something very different. We take with us the roaches of the Peaks, the Lake’s pristine waters, Roman bastions, a few too many cathedrals, way too many beers and a couple of extra kilos. Young Master Lambert is our health guide here, and we realise it’s time to move on (to lots of walking). Buried in Stamford in the grounds of St Martin’s, his Epitaph reads:

“In Remembrance of that Prodigy in Nature, DANIEL LAMBERT, A Native of Leicester, Who was possessed of an exalted and convivial Mind, And in personal Greatness had no Competitor. He measured three Feet one Inch round the Leg, nine Feet four Inches round the Body, and weighed Fifty-two Stone eleven Pounds!
He departed this Life on the 21st of June 1809, Aged 39 Years. As a Testimony of Respect this Stone is erected by his Friends in Leicester.“

Also in St Martin’s are the memorials to the various masters of Burghley House. The tomb of William Cecil, the First Baron of Burghley, who became chief advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, is grand but respectful. John Cecil, the 5th Earl of Exeter’s tomb, is that of a man who needs to be remembered – definitely compensating for something. Were it possible for parisheners to miss the self-aggrandisement expressed in the larger-than-life god-like effigy (surrounded by bare-breasted women), John’s self-authored tomb inscription clinches it, “in no wise unworthy of his renowned progenitor. For he beautified an excellent genius with the best of manners…..etc. etc.” (see the photo for the rest). We can thank John for the impressive art at Burghley House; he overspent his estate’s income by 50% per year for his 22 years as Master there (Wiki). Legend. He did start the Order of Little Bedlam drinking club, though, and that’s pretty cool.

A liesurely exploration yesterday saw us again resting our weary feet at the the Order of Little Bedlam club house (the Bull and Swan) where we saw the afternoon out chatting with locals Cameron and April (and their dog Garfield) and with Mark and Suzie, Mark a librarian from Cambridge who invites us to tour the library there should we return on our way to Ireland. Twas a lovely afternoon.

Today, with high expectations, we headed to Milly’s to see the ‘live jazz’. Online, not a single table remained. On arrival, the car park was overflowing. In the ‘jazz’ lounge, we found a lone vocalist singing over backing tracks to an old guy reading the newspaper by the fire with his dog. To be fair, he was very good (the jazz singer, Metz). The backing tracks, recorded by his session musos, were excellent, and he was very engaging. The audience expanded over time. We stayed till the last set, then wandered to the George for a quiet Sherry before heading home for dinner and bed.

Tomorrow, Standsted, probably via Rutland Waters, thence to Bairitz, Saint John Pied de Port and the start of the Camino!