Sanctuary!

In the picture: Esmeralda gains sanctuary in the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, at Woodchester Mansion, Gloucestershire.

My sister and her daughter are visiting, and after a morning spent shopping in the markets of Stroud, and helping to load the grow-mate onto a pickup truck (see last Sunday's blip) we collected friend J and drove to Woodchester mansion, an unfinished Victorian gothic revival mansion in a secluded valley. My sister K had never been there before, and when I suggested booking it, she noticed from the website that a circus performance was taking place, and suggested that we go to that.

The majority of the performers were participants in a two-week long summer workshop based at the mansion, and some had no previous circus experience at all. That they brought the show together in such a short space of time is remarkable. The story, based on The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo, was not especially easy to follow, and the audience was taken up and down stairs, from the roof to the cellar, up and down corridors, in and out of rooms, multiple times. I didn't mind that, though I could see that some people were finding this difficult. I think I liked the procession of singing monks best, though they didn't perform any aerobatics. J liked the gargoyles on the scaffolding, as did K, while K and niece J loved the unique setting. We'll have to return another day to appreciate the architecture more. I've been to the mansion several times before, but it is always worth revisiting.

We took the minibus back up the drive (because it's a long, long way) and drive home for a supper of fresh beef burgers from the farmers' market, and locally grown cherries.