A scene on Pulteney Bridge
Did you know the ancient Brythonic word for “river” was “avon?’ So here at Pulteney Bridge in the center of Bath, Somerset, England, I’m looking at a bridge over the River Avon: the river river.
Did you know the ancient Brythonic word for “river” was “avon?’ So here at Pulteney Bridge in the center of Bath, Somerset, England, I’m looking at a bridge over the River Avon: the river river.
It’s a cold morning in late April. The sun is peaking in and out which adjusts the stone bridge from gray to Bath’s famous gold. The water slides underneath before tumbling down steps as the Avon wanders towards the Celtic Sea .
A traveler takes a photo of his wife and son. The little one is grinning; perched on her shoulders playing with her hair. She only smiles for the photos then winces as he tugs.
A young couple argue in Spanish (or they’re having a civil conversation in heated tones, I don’t speak Spanish).
Summer isn’t here quite yet. The ash trees are shy, waiting for more warmth to pop their leaves out and I feel a breeze that sends my hands to my pockets. The little guy is crying now.
On the bridge, the street narrows, fills with people. A local slides through on his bike either grumbling about tourists or just looking sour because Brits look sour a lot.
On the right is an antique map store. In the window is a faded light brown parchment map of 18th-century Yorkshire, another of the borough of Westminster and an 18th century approximation of Anglo-Saxon Wessex. I’d go in but the price says 450 pounds so I assume they’re genuine.
Across the street is a cafe run by a kind Egyptian family who make average coffee and an above average “full on” English Breakfast which is bacon, sausages, eggs, mushrooms toast and beans on one plate. It’s said that farmhands would eat it in the mornings to get all of their calories for the day.
I’m an American so we just call it breakfast.
So I sit with my second cup of average coffee over a plate where I couldn’t quite finish the mushrooms and appreciate my view of the river river.