A place to think

 I have a special place where I go to have a think. Big thinks, like: should I change career? should I buy this house? and the like. My own thinking space happens to be Salisbury cathedral close because it's green, quiet and inspiring. Sitting on a bench by the lichen-encrusted wall looking at the cathedral spire soaring up into the blue is the place I go to to gather my thoughts far away from my normal busy environment. Although I don't even live in England any more, I found it cathartic to come here during my latest trip and sit and have a think. 

Salisbury Cathedral 2025 from my favourite bench in the close. Built very fast for a medieval cathedral, between 1220 and 1258, it benefits from having a uniform style. The exquisite spire, the tallest in the British Isles at 404 feet (123 m), is a landmark for miles. The cathedral close, full of ancient houses and green spaces behind a high wall, is still locked at night, and is quiet and peaceful by day even when full of visitors. An inspiring place.

 

Sadly, although I brought a small case of skirts and dresses, I had a lot of appointments that I had to do in male mode as that is still my official reality and so I wasn't able to get time out as Sue.

I did, however, have time for a delicious Thai dinner with one of the first trans women I ever met, Chrissie, who is looking beautiful and very feminine a decade or so after her surgery. Chrissie was one of the girls I accompanied to Charing Cross Gender Clinic when I first started going out publicly to see if formal transition was right for me. It was for her; for me the decision is still pending ...

Also sadly, I wasn't here when the local trans group had their monthly meeting but the Wig & Quill where they are said to gather is a very nice old pub with outstanding food. I also enjoyed the New Inn with its beautiful, secluded garden, and the Rose & Crown right opposite the flat I rented, with its terrace on the river. British pubs are much improved from what they once were - just places to drink warm beer - now that they serve food, allow dogs and even children, and no one smokes any more.

The lovely flower-filled, tree-lined garden at the New Inn, Salisbury

 

The garden of the Rose & Crown backing onto the River Avon

One thing that amuses locals and might also please my readers is the fact that the bishop's robing room for grand ceremonies is now in a women's boutique. We know that secretly great men can't resist slipping into something long and flowing, right?

 

I also confirmed what I have felt for a long time: that Britain is a grossly expensive place. I mean, not just house prices and travel costs as always, but now even everyday food, goods and services, especially after Brexit and Covid. As for tourist things, let me give you two examples. 

In the 1990s-2000s I used to go to Salisbury a lot and enjoyed going  up the cathedral tower. You would meet the guide under the crossing and pay him two or three pounds and climb up the 330 steps and enjoy the view from the top. Today you have to buy a ticket that costs twenty-four pounds! For the privilege of climbing stairs. 

A friend once went to the nearby ancient monument of Stonehenge and photographed a toy dinosaur in a way that made it look like it was eating the stones. So I thought I'd do the same. But just to get the bus to Stonehenge costs twenty pounds and the entry fee is thirty. Fifty pounds per person (!!!) to go see a ruin that you can see just as well from the road. The explanation for the high price is given by English Heritage, who manage the site, as the cost of maintaining a major monument. Look, Stonehenge has been a ruin for over 2000 years; in the 18th century the local inn rented chisels so tourists could chip a piece off the monument as a souvenir. What precisely are you maintaining now, English Heritage? I first went to Stonehenge when I was six and you could wander freely among the stones for a few pence. Now you can't get near and they charge you a fortune. This sort of cynical ripoff is one of the worst traits of British officialdom.

So here's my disappointed dinosaur terrorising Salisbury Cathedral visitors instead. Entertainment for free!

 

Anyway, the decision I made was to retire permanently abroad now, where I've been since 2018 anyway. The quality of life, the climate, the costs, the food and the less toxic politics count for a lot in that decision. I've closed a couple of UK bank accounts whilst here and will be rewriting my will under Italian law. I'll still write a trans blog for English speakers but I'll be trying to see my many friends and family in the UK before the change becomes permanent. I say this but with the world in a chaotic mess now it's hard to know if any plans can work properly, but that's the idea anyway.

Still, I was lucky with the weather, as you can see. 

Next stop, the beautiful city of Bath.

Sue x