We were out early Tuesday morning, before any sunlight made its way into the churchyard in Rayleigh. Cold, but appropriately wintry. Despite the chill, it was nice to take a bit of a detour so we could walk through the familiar old churchyard. For the first time this year, I was really aware of the light that…
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We couldn’t resist. The Italian Food Market came back to Rayleigh yesterday, and we wanted to soak up the feast of food, accents, and conviviality. We’ll be back in Italy in a few weeks, so we saw this as an appetizer, a little sampling to whet our appetites for the real thing. A calzone for…
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We love our local shops and try to support them whenever we can. One of our seasonal traditions is to go to Rayleigh to pick up a Christmasy box of Essex apples to share over the holidays. And while we were there, we also stopped in at Byford’s for a handmade pork and stuffing pie for…
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We made a little holiday pilgrimage to Squires in Rayleigh this afternoon. Squires is a delightful little coffee and tea shop on the High Street that serves more interesting brews than anywhere else in the area, and does it in a delightful old building that absolutely begs you to come in for a bit of…
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I’ve been excited to go to the Italian Market on Rayleigh High Street. Expecting a crowd, we got there right at 9:00, which was the advertised start time, only to find a grand total of two stands, both of which were just beginning to be set up. We parked and walked and waited, and…. it…
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We were back in Rayleigh for an appointment this morning, and we dutifully walked the High Street for a bit of shopping and browsing. As always, we stopped to admire the huge Monkey Puzzle Tree at the junction of Bellingham Lane and London Hill. (We actually took these photos last week when the weather was…
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Coming from a part of the world where public transport is nearly non-existent, I marvel at what we have here in Britain. We live between two different train lines, either of which can deliver us to central London in less than an hour. Today the train into Rayleigh carried two very special passengers, Carol and Kelly…
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Another splendid morning that begged us to enjoy a bit of exploration as we ran our usual errands. Holy Trinity Church stands at the top of the High Street in Rayleigh, watching over the town as it has for centuries. There has been a church on this site since Saxon times, and the tower you see here dates to the…
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Southern England is quite beautiful at the moment, with sunny days, deep blue skies, and glorious flowers. As we had to do a few errands in Rayleigh early this morning, I took advantage of being out and about and went for a stroll along the High Street. This abundant display is outside the Crown pub, on…
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England is not known for being a sidewalk culture, but when the weather is nice, we open our windows and get as close to the outdoors as we can, even in the middle of our towns and cities. Perhaps we appreciate the sunshine all the more because of the many grey days we endure throughout…
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