Plymouth

In my last post about our trip tp Plymouth, I didn't mention so much about the city per se - so here goes - my descriptionof Britain's Ocean City, as she is also known! She boasts three universities : Plymouth University, Plymouth College of Art and Plymouth Marjon University. 

This was our excellent hostelry, The Three Crowns, which are just visible on the wall. Their rooms were above the bar,  so booze on tap and right in the busy Barbican area.   

As in London, the name denotes an original fortified post or gateway, its narrow cobbled streets conceal lots of surprises. Below you can see the gin-producing distillery stack. There are lots of tourists shops, many luring you in with their goodies made from Devon's famous dairy products: fudge, tablet, toffees as well as establishments offering scones and cream teas. 

We had learned our lesson in Brighton when Marina's longed-for breakfast was snaffled aloft by a marauding gull. Here there is clearly a similar problem. This poster warns  against feeding gulls as they can become aggressive nuisances.  This one is certainly not appealing !

 

Now I had heard of Plymouth Hoe but I must confess to not knowing what that was . :0 Here it is : The Hoe is a green park area sloping down to the sea.   It is a site for major events, has a putting green, picnic areas, and an Art Deco Lido with a natural sea-water pool, open from April to September. The War Memorial  honours those in active service who fell in both world wars.

 

Below you can see Smeaton's Tower. A lighthouse originally warning mariners of the Eddyson Reef, it was relocated inland in 1882 and is now  regularly visited by tourists.

 

Legend has it that it was here in 1588 that Sir Francis Drake played his cool game of bowls while awaiting the arrival of the Spanish Armada which he famously thrashed .  From here The Pilgrim Fathers embarked on The Mayflower in 1620 seeking  freedom  to practise their Protestant faith in the New World. Other world-famous explorers who left on their adventures from these shores are : Captain Cook (1768), Charles Darwin (1831) and Scott of the Antarctic (1912).

Plymouth is essentially a seaport whose economy was originally based on ship-building and sea trade. She houses HMNB Devonport, the largest operating naval base in Western Europe.  Today there are regular ferry links to Brittany and Spain and her pretty harbour bustles all year round. 

Incidentally this  shot  below used no filters - these were the natural colours of that grey day !

 

But let's not  forget why we visited this grand dame : to attend Angeliki's graduation ceremony.

This is my fave picture  of her, gowned and hooded,  taking a celebratory sip of champagne. 

A Worthy Celebration.

The Intrepid Two meet up at 07.30 at Athens airport for another adventure, which meant a very early rise for me ....and my driver ! :) Our Aegean flight to Gatwick was fine ... apart from the catering. Breakfast, purporting to be Croque Monsieur, was brittle and well-nigh impossible to cut without  little pieces of 'shrapnel' flying off the tray. Croque Missile, more like! Then a train trip ( again disrupted !!) to Plymouth. What is it with English trains?!

  

We were there to attend Angeliki's graduation at Marjon University and she had organised everything beautifully. Our b&b accommodation at the  Three Crowns bar was perfect  with this lovely view of the harbour 

                                               

We needed some sustenance beforehand and, instead  of the local Devon cream tea, we went for the  Cornish Pastie - well, we were  on the borders of the two counties. A semi-circular short crust pastry pie, usually filled with meat and potatoes, it has a thick bevelled crust all around for ease in holding. Tradition says this was the food carried to work by the Cornish tin-miners.  

First the gown, hood and cap had to be picked up and here she is titivating a little before going to the venue, St Andrew's Church.

 And here The Master's - with distinction !! - is being conferred on her by the Vice-Chancellor. Isn't the University officials' rich regalia  impressive? 

 When it came to  shooting Angeliki , her fellow course-members and their tutor, I wanted  to show off the hoods, shaped according to the university with colours  dependent on the faculty department. It's interesting to see that the graduates wear the traditional mortarboard - the square board attached to a skull cap, while their tutor wears the doctoral soft-crowned, round-brimmed Tudor bonnet. Incidentally, since there are now so many universities in Britain, with each one selecting designs and colours for their academicals, in 2001 the Groves classification was  introduced whereby details for each uni are identified by a code of letters and numbers.

                                               

Christina, a friend, currently a doctoral candidate and tutor at the University of Lancashire, came down to share in the celebrations, bringing a beautiful bouquet. 

 

Her family run the award-winning  Greek restaurant, Greekouzina, in Preston and we were delighted they came to join us.  

 

The local gin distillery with restaurant seemed the ideal venue for our celebratory meal. 

Good food, great company and high spirits - a really memorable evening !