It is very nice to be able to arrange one’s – as our Queen would say –  own day. We always plan by feel, mostly not deciding until the last moment but it was clear that this was <fanfare of trumpets> Wells day. What finally tipped the balance was the weather, and the fact that there is a model railway exhibition going on in the Town Hall.

Model railways, and anything relating to nostalgia of the railways, attracts a vast following and I was quite pleased to pay six pounds for the right to enter the Town Hall overflowing as it was with stalls of all shapes and sizes and subjects. I would say the average attendee was male and the average age was about 60, with a few children tagging along. There were a lot of attendees.

encouraging a reluctant train to go

a fantasy rail line

detailed construction items available

a realistic seaside scenario

a serious hobbyist at work

Wells market is a class act

with serious amounts of local produce

we then moved on to the Bishops Gardens where all the dahlias are named after various UK bishops

the entry to the spring area is a little bit magical

image of the cross being carried by a variety of people with varying degrees of success. Definitely worth a look

50th wedding anniversary celebration

part of one of the allotments

an allotment owned by a couple both in their 80s and doing fine thank you very much

From here we went along to our favourite Pub in Wells. I entered into a conversation between one of the bar staff and one of the regulars. He commented on how often she apologised even when the fault was the other person. She apologised about apologising and said that she had done it ever since she was young and it was a habit and she could not break it. I do notice that an awful lot among English people.  They don’t want to bother other people or be a nuisance. Touching also seems to be in the forbidden area although it’s no one’s fault and there is no deliberacy of intrusion. Sorry, excuse me, sorry sorry sorry.

It’s a bit meaningless if you ask me.

we went for lunch in a vegetarian restaurant called Whole Earth. When you see such a notice board is always a good sign

on to the local museum showing illustrations from the stonework of the Cathedral

part of a World War One exhibition in the local  museum

early 20th and 19th-century Fire services – same museum

We watched a man operate a rather advanced drone which had captured rather brilliant examples of Wells Cathedral from about 100 foot above its roof. He did cease operations soon after we arrived because he admitted that the authorities did not like drones to be operated in the vicinity of historic buildings. I was actually quite excited by the drone because high-quality pictures can be obtained which I would think would be most useful in cases of reconnoitering fire damage or even trying to find someone who has fallen into an inaccessible area. I don’t think airports like them very much.

So back on the bus and to home where we had a siesta in the afternoon sun to be followed by seeing Mo Farah and Usain Bolt’s farewell runs or should I say performances. Win or lose they have won.