Monday, July 14 - Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Monday - We got ourselves up and out of the hotel and caught a non-stop train to Schipol. A little wait for our flight - enough to drink an espresso to wake outselves up and off we flew to Manchester. An hour later, but only about 10 mins according to the clock that was wound back an hour for the time zone change, we landed. Over to Avis and an hour later we pulled into Jill and Jim's place in Burnley. All accomplished very nicely with the aid of Louise, our Tom-Tom.

I'm not sure about Linda, but I was tired. We nattered (yakked) for awhile and then Jim fixed us a traditional English breakfast for tea (dinner). That is composed of fried eggs, sausage, ham and bacon, a fried tomato, baked beans, and mushrooms. Not something you want to do a lot of, but its kind of a tradition with us when we are in England to eat it at least once. And, when we visit Jill and Jim, he usually fixes us one, all by himself. He will not allow anyone in the kitchen. We decided having the breakfast in the evening fit our schedule. They were confused about how much and when we eat. The truth is we broke some rules during out visit and ate more normally than we usually do but, still no gluten or dairy. I was ready for bed at 8:30, but managed to stay up until after 10:00.

Tuesday - A sunny bright day dawned and Jim wanted to take us for a tour of a weaving mill that he had worked at when he was 19. But, first we toured downtown Burnley which has changed quite a bit over the years since we have been coming. Linda found some lace she was looking for and we ate a too big lunch at a place we would call a very nice diner. I had a double burger, Linda had a swordfish dish and we left stuffed.

Back in the car, we drove over to the Queen's Mill. 

Jim had worked here for about 4 years starting when he was 19. 

Before entering the main building and paying the paltry admission fee of 2 pounds, we were shown the boiler that powered the complex. It was operating and we watched a worker shovel coal into it, stoke it and explain how it worked and what a worker, a hundred years ago, would have done.

Back outside to get to the main entrance, we passed a medium size pond called a Lodge. The water was used to cool the boilers, discharged, and then reused. These days its possible to fish there.

We were shown the steam engine upstairs that drove all of the looms that we would see later. It looked very much like a locomotive steam engine - same thing. Interestingly, everything was kept very clean and all the brass fixtures were bright and shiny.

We walked from room to room guided by Jim some of the time and a former weaver some of the time. Our blond guide had worked at this mill for 19 years. Now she still operates the machinery for demonstrations and works for a government historical agency. 

We were shown the various stages that the cotton was subjected to before it could be put on a loom to be made in cloth. I had no idea that it had to be wound and steamed with sizing, and wound again before the spindle was put into the flying shuttle on the loom. 

The flying shuttle. When they are in the loom, they are moving at about 40 mph and have been known to come off the loom, fly across the room and hit an operator and once in awhile kill him or her. The sweepers, who are on their hands and knees, picking up residue, were particularly vulnerable.

There is no way I can explain all the steps but, the end is where they make the fabric from the thread on the loom.

This room had about 600 looms in it. One of the guides told us at its peak, one of the walls didn't exist and there were 900 looms with each worker responsible for six looms. Depending on the size of the thread, a loom might need tending from every 20 seconds to about every 60 seconds. The operators stayed busy. The six looms would be arranged so there would be 3 on one side and 3 on the other. So, the operator worked almost in a circle to minimize their movement. Must have been a result of a time/motion study.

Some special looms were used to put designs and colors in the fabric.

Toward the end of the tour there was a description of the history of making cloth. This one graphic caught my eye. It briefly explained how very early computer/calculators were used to aid in production. The bottom line was that innovation does not just spring from nowhere, but of necessity.

The day stayed nice and I asked if we could find a nice place to have an espresso. Jill came up with the perfect place: Townley Estate, a large private estate now a park with a café with outside seating. Just the place.

We enjoyed a coffee and the beautiful weather. There was a mansion that looked like it wanted to be a fort or I should say a castle. I don't know the years of construction, so we wouldn't know who they wanted to defend against.

The grounds were manicured and presented good picture taking scenes.

Later, for dinner, we drove over to the Mexican restaurant they had introduced us to last year. Its out in the country, along a narrow road bounded by the traditional stone wall on each side, on a hill, looking down on a valley with goats greeting you in the parking lot.

The food was good and, of course, Linda and I had to order items without cheese, which we were successful. Jim and I had bitters and the girls drank vodka, lime, and English lemonade. We started with gucamole, of course, and then Linda had a fish dish and I had a bowl of chili. Both very good. Imagine, out in the countryside of northern England and eating good Mexican food. The world is changing. Jim and Jill go to this place often enough that the owners know them and came over to talk. We were also visited by an American from LA and his English wife. He just wanted to chit chat for a few minutes.

As the sun set, we all agreed it was a brilliant day!!!