We were heading back home today after our weekend in the Lincolnshire Wolds, so we decided, before going back, to go and visit one last place. Daughter had mentioned that Louth was worth a visit, so after a slow start, we packed up and headed along the A631 to Louth, some 20 minutes away. We crossed over The Wolds – Market Rasen on one side and Louth on the other. It was quite pretty – mainly farmland, but with lovely villages nestling in hidden valleys – it was a pleasant drive. We dropped into Louth and headed to the town centre, down roads lined with sturdy old brick houses and tree lined avenues – it was very handsome. We found the town centre, but missed the turn off for car parking and found ourselves heading immediately out of Louth again! We pondered about just carrying on back home – it being a Sunday and nothing really would be open – but we had just driven 13 miles in the wrong direction, so we turned around, found the car park and had a wander through the High Street.
It was a typical British High Street, but seemed to have more independent shops. There seemed to be a main thoroughfare, but with numerous little offshoots and alleyways leading to other streets, a mixture of shops and residences. It was a little rabbit warren. Louth town centre seemed to be full of elegant old buildings and any modern ones, sympathetically fitting in – nothing seemed to make us wince. We were liking this place and thanked our daughter, in absentia, for her great suggestion. Just off the High Street, was St James’ church with its impressive steeple – we had seen it on the way in, dominating the town. The steeple was exceedingly tall and now, standing next to the church, you had to bend your neck right back to see the top. The church was offering tea and cake, so we sauntered in (they even allowed The Dog in) to have a look. What a beautiful and stunning place of worship. A chap came up to us to chat (he had just read a sermon apparently, but was dressed in a shirt and slacks). He started to tell us the history of the church and how all the local churches, in days gone by, tried to outdo each other with the highest steeple. Louth won with its 300 foot one (it’s got the second highest steeple in the land behind Salisbury Cathedral apparently) – we stood under it and looked at the ceiling some 100 feet up, realising there was another 200 foot beyond that. Apparently, some ladies had decided to knit all 7 local churches and put them on tour – the chap had us in stitches with his recount of how St James church dealt with 7 rather large knitted churches in its midst. We could of listened to him all day as he was rather politically incorrect, but very funny with it, regaling stories of rival churches getting each other drunk and pinching their buried martyrs back in the mediaeval times. We didn’t partake in the tea and biscuits, but hovered near a television screen showing the Peregrine falcon chicks nesting high up in the steeple!
We left the church and had a wander around its periphery before making our way back to the High Street for a coffee and something to eat. We were wandering down a side street, admiring the buildings and generally minding our own business, when we passed an old lady outside her front door, chatting to a chap about to get on an ancient motorbike. She called hello to us and we acknowledged her as she started to tell us something. Well, before we knew it, she said goodbye to the chap, called us over and invited us down a little alley to her front door. “Oh please come in, the dog can come in too, I’ve got something to show you” and the next thing, we’re in her little lounge room, full of pictures, cards, memorabilia, ornaments and much more. She starts telling us all about her life and various other people, pointing to the many photographs adorning her wall. She casually dropped in the conversation that she had received a MBE from the then Prince Charles pointing to a framed photo, a little reluctant to reveal why (we later found out it was for her contribution to the community) and later showed us her medal. She flipped from subject to subject in quick succession, but she was absolutely fascinating. She certainly had lived a life – she told us that she had a big birthday coming up the following week. We wanted to sit down and just listen to this wonderful lovely lady, but we only had another hour on the car park! She wasn’t showing off or boasting, just wanted to chat and enjoy some company. After a while, she said “oh I mustn’t keep you, you must have better things to do than listen to me” and reluctantly we began to shuffle towards her front door though it still took us many minutes to leave as she kept showing us more stuff, finally wishing her a lovely birthday and soon we were back outside, wondering if the last 20 minutes had really happened. It felt quite surreal. An elderly lady invites two complete strangers and their dog off the street into her house and tells part of her life story as if we’re long lost relatives. Even The Dog looked bemused. I wondered if her family knew she did this and was happy about it – I’m not sure if I would be with my own mother. But we definitely needed to do some research and see if we could find out more about this lovely lady.
We finally found a little cafe for coffee and cake, deciding to dine outside in a seemingly sunny square, but the wind was an easterly and decidedly cool, so we didn’t linger. A little shopping was done and with the time ticking on, we decided to head home. Of course, with time to spare, we didn’t go the easiest, fastest direct route, but meandered home via Gainsborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, skirting the edge of Leeds before heading home in our little corner of the Northwest. What a splendid weekend, if somewhat unusual.
We later Googled our lovely little Louth lady and discovered more about her. The University of Lincoln had interviewed her about her wartime childhood and the complete transcript was available. We sat and listened to her remarkable story, told simply as if it was yesterday. We were quietly in awe of this wonderful lady that we were so lucky to meet albeit for just a short time. And to think we nearly drove off – looked what we would of missed!
apathtosomewhere 