Well, we did as advertised.... went out for lunch, had a bit more exploring of Rye, and then went to Evensong service at St. Mary the Virgin Church and had supper after.
Lunch at Bailey's -- Mom and I had an excellent chicken curry dish... Catch had a soup of pea, asparagus and stilton cheese... Dorie had a vegetarian pasta with tomatoes and mushrooms. Then we went to the Rye Heritage Center, home of the Rye Town Model Sound & Light Show, featuring a model of the town, circa 1832.It was built about 35 or 40 years ago by a local school teacher, then her husband wired it all for light. The voiceover tells about some of the history of Rye, and it's very interesting. Conveniently there is also a gift shop there where we got some more --- wait for it --- postcards! After that we came back to the cottage where naps were had.
About 5:20 pm we headed out again, this time to make our way to St. Mary the Virgin Church at the top of the hill around which Rye is built. Being persistent like I am, I got us all the way up the hill, around behind the church and right past Ypres Castle (the magical moving castle I could not find the other day). Dropped everyone off at the side of the church and they went on in to wait for me while I went off to park the car. Still not sure how, but I turned a corner down a skinny little cobbled street and realized that directly in front of me was one of the main historical buildings in town, Lamb House. Was so pleased with myself, I had to take a picture of it. Which I did. While I was driving. Ha.
So I drove in a big circle all the way down to High Street and then down The Mint to The Deals to Strand Quay, and then.... I made my way all the way back up to the top of the hill and parked... half a block from the church's front door. Yep. Most pleased with myself.
The Evensong service is a traditional Anglican service. The Reverend Teresa Munro officiated. The service is part call-and-response, part singing of hymns, part chanted Psalms, part sermon. Though the church itself was rather cool and drafty ("we try to not light the boiler before October first"), the welcome we received was warm and the service was lovely.
After, we talked with the reverend and the church warden a bit, and then ended up at The Ship Inn for dinner. It's the pubbiest pub we've been in so far, perfect for the cool and drizzly night. There was a fire in the hearth, folks having dinner and folks having pints and an old WWII movie on the telly. For dinner, Catch had calf's liver, Dorie had a lamb chop, Mom had haddock rarebit, and I had Rye Bay Fish Pie. I figured if it had 'pie' in the name, it would probably either have crust or mashed potatoes in it. Either way, it would be a win. And it was. The fish pie was a hearty mix of haddock, cod, prawns, and mussells in broth, covered with excellent mashed potatoes. And it was EXCELLENT. Then to make things even more excellent, we had dessert. Catch ordered passionfruit cheesecake, which was less sweet and more of a gelatin based cake than cheesecake in the States; Mom and I liked it more than Catch did. And I ordered two scoops of ice cream, one chocolate and one cinnamon. Yep. Made dinner even more excellent.
After that it was time to come home and wrap it up. Skip Bo was played, red tea was drunk, and then Catch and Dorie watched the news before bed. All in all.... a grand day.
