Doctor Foster and Flat Jessica

On Monday, Michal was packing for her day in Gloucester when she suddenly heard yelling. She looked around confused and then opened the drawer which made the shouting get louder.

"Listen here, lady," Flat Jessica said angrily. "I did not come all the way to England to just hang out in your room. I have only been to one place and I've had enough!"

"Well, I'm going to Gloucester tomorrow." Michal replied apologetically. "I'll take you with me. I just didn't want to earlier because I was concerned about the weather."

"I don't mind a little rain." Flat Jessica said. "Besides, it's Gloucester. It won't rain."

"You do realize the poem goes: Doctor Foster went to GLoucester in a shower of rain. He stepped in a puddle right up to his middle and never went there again." Michal said.

"I'll cross my fingers." Jessica assured me.

"You're flat, how can you cross your fingers?"

"Just finish packing."
Flat Jessica was thrilled to be taken on another trip. She and Michal made it the train station without any problems and were ready for start their adventure. However, things weren't meant to be. The train out of Oxford was delayed and by the time they got to Didcot Parkway, they had msised the train by one minute. Flat Jessica was excited to enjoy Didcot Parkway for the next hour but Michal wasn't, seeing as there is nothing in Didcot Parkway. So they sat in the station, frustrated and annoyed, waiting for the direct train to Gloucester.


There were some beautiful, snow-covered mountains to look at out the window while on the train. As well as some darling little villages built on the small British hills.


Gloucester was a pretty well-signed area which was good because neither Michal nor Flat Jessica had brought a map with them. Passing by the World of Beatrix Potter, they made it to Gloucester Cathedral which, along with being a gorgeous cathedral is also where several Harry Potter scenes were filmed. Also, the most recent Doctor Who Christmas special (The Other Doctor) was filmed here. It is also the home to some gorgeous ceilings, incredible stained-glass windows.



Flat Jessica enjoyed seeing the tombs of Edward II.


And also the tomb of Osric, King of Mercia.




The Cloisters were where most of the Harry Potter scenes were filmed and even though we didn't run into any Harry Potter characters, Flat Jessica and Michal were able to wander about the Cloisters and take pictures

Flat Jessica pointed out that the red door below was the same door where the flood in the girls' lavatory in the Harry Potter takes place. She was right, although this time there was no water spilling out from underneath, nor was there any Moaning Myrtle.


After leaving Gloucester Cathedral, Michal and Flat Jessica headed out into the rain and walked down to the Gloucester Docks. There were at least twenty large buildings that back in the 17th and 18th century, houses various merchandise like sugar, corn, paper, etc. Now most of these buildings are shops, community centres, museums, restaurants, etc. They still absolutely dominate the historical docks area.




Because Michal loves antique stores, she and Flat Jessica stopped at a little one tucked behind one of the dock warehouses. Michal made Flat Jessica take a picture with the creepy warlock/ogre/troll/orc? that was in front of the store. Flat Jessica was not happy with Michal and didn't speak with her for a little while.


Because it was pretty wet and Michal didn't want to pay $5 for the Waterways Museum, they headed back towards City Centre and after a short jaunt through the indoor market, went to the Gloucester Musuem. It was partly under repair but still a lot of great things to see, including a beautiful Roman mosaic.

Then Michal had to save Flat Jessica from an attacking dinosaur. They both emerged unscathed. Michal then sat down to watch a Jeff-Goldblum narrated video about dinosaurs and palentologists while Flat Jessica, still a little shaken from her near-miss with the dinosaur remained safely ensconced in Michal's bag.


The Gloucester Museum was a combination of art, historical pieces and natural history pieces. Michal enjoyed the old door knocker and the Celtic relics.


After the girls went upstairs, disaster struck. All of a sudden, Michal noticed that Flat Jessica was not with her. She walked all away around the museum twice, even checking the bathroom and the trash can in an effort to find Flat Jessica. She even returned to the scene of the dinosaur crime but she didn't see any scraps of paper so concluded that there wasn't another dinosaur encounter. Finally, Michal had to assume that Flat Jessica had ventured out on her own and went back upstairs. But there, lying on the floor was Flat Jessica! They had a happy reunion and Flat Jessica didn't leave Michal's side for the rest of the day.

They enjoyed the museum for the rest of the afternoon, spent an uneventful train ride back to Oxford and Michal enjoyed her first choir rehearsal, singing Vaughn Williams' Mystical Songs and Durufle's Requiem. The two had a wonderful time together (except for when they were momentarily separated) and Michal agreed to take Flat Jessica on more trips.

And they barely got wet :)