A Meandering, Historical Drive through parts of Christchurch.
Many hours of planning by In Betweens’ leader, Judy Dodwell and her committee went into the July outing held last Monday.
Frieda Looser, a fellow parishioner, local history authority and author of “Fendall’s Legacy”, had agreed to lead us on what she described as a “meandering, historical drive” through parts of Christchurch. 38 women gathered at St Barnabas on Monday – with not a soul complaining about the rain and general wintry conditions – and we all clambered on the bus with the assistance of our very genial driver, Graham.
We didn’t spend much time in our local area and were soon on our way to Lyttelton with Frieda’s informative commentary stopping any chatting. We now know about the naming of the four avenues in Christchurch and all the streets named after bishoprics. We learned about the development of Ferry Road and The Bricks and various commemorative plaques were pointed out that we could visit in our own time later.
Frieda reminded us of the time long ago when the funding of the Lyttelton tunnel was helped by a toll. She encouraged Graham to turn his motor off and coast gently downhill through the tunnel but he wasn’t too keen to oblige. We parked on a side street in Lyttelton for Frieda to inform us some more, and then we were on our way to Sumner. The bus windows were getting pretty fogged up by this stage and some of us were encouraged to stop breathing.
Lunch was served at The Daily on Suffolk, opposite the Pumphouse on Tuam Street. We had our own room ready for us, and we were very efficiently served with a sandwich and scone and a drink of our choice.
All too soon we were on our way home. I think we all agreed that despite the weather it was a wonderful outing.
We are all very grateful to Judy and her team and the wonderful, unflappable, Marion Cook in the office. And special thanks to Frieda who agreed to share her knowledge so generously without charge. And we are grateful to the keen men who wanted to join us, but who graciously stood aside. I’m sure you’ll again be included in future outings.