Sunday, November 16, 2008

My Town Monday - Around my Town


This week I am fresh out of interesting stories, so I have decided to show you a few shots of the town and one of the reasons I like living in a 'Garden' City!!
Above is shot of the main Campus looking towards the white bridge, called the white bridge as its a bridge painted white!! (That said you can't see it in this shot!!!) The council have recently taken out a load of huge Laurel bushes and replaced them with a pleasant circular paved area with seating which is great for open air meetings, its also the venue for the Christmas Tree.

This shot is looking towards Welwyn Department Store - John Lewis, this is a huge store over three floors. When it was built there were apartments and a social club build on top. As recently as the 80's the club boasted a couple of squash courts plus a bar and function area primarily for the employees of the store. The club and courts have now gone and are used as offices however the apartments are still there. My daughter and her partner live there. Its ideal for them, right in the heart of town, they don't drive so no parking to worry about and her partner works for John Lewis, so they get a reduced rent. There are all sorts of flats up there ranging from studios to three bedroom flats, the down side is the lack of lifts meaning a trudge of around 80 steps to get to where they are and there are two further floors on top of them!!


We visited Laura for her birthday and on the way out caught a Church Parade which started in one of the roads off of the Campus and marched via the Campus to a nearby church. It was great to see so many Cadets joining in!!
This shot is looking towards the council offices (on the left) The building in the centre distance is the multi storey car Park and the building on the right is the other end of John Lewis.
Although this shot looks very similar to the first , its not the same. This is a shot of 'Campus West' This building houses the main town library, The theatre and Roller City. There are also many function rooms where all sorts happens. On the other side of the road is the college and the Police Station.
So A quick tour of my town on a pretty Autumn afternoon!!





15 comments:

debra said...

What is the Campus?

Lyzzydee said...

I think that in the USA a Campus is the centre of a college or Uni, a place where all the main buildings are. In my case The Campus is a huge green area that is surrounded by the important town buildings such as Police Station, Library, Council Offices, Theatre. One side of the campus is the start of the town centre and the shops. I hope that helps!!

Manna said...

Lyzzy, beautiful town you live in! I kinda remember that when I first met you :) It's nice to see the photos though. Looks like many leaves are on the ground for you too! Thanks for sharing your town with us.

Sepiru Chris said...

Hi Lyzzedee,

Thanks for visiting my site. Do you visit your friends in Hong Kong frequently? High tea amongst bloggers at the Penninsula hotel if you are game?

Don't get me wrong from the tone of today's post; I like Hong Kong. I simply returned from a few weeks in Canada so the "people shock" of "my town" Hong Kong took me by surprise again.

Travis certainly does a good job of making the world a smaller place, doesn't he. Nice tour of the centre of Hertfordshire both in pictures and in words.

As an aside, campus is the latin word for a field originally used for martial education, id est, learning the games of war and, to some degree, sport. The connections to universities flows from the affiliations of youth and learning.

In North America the entire university is known as the campus; a cleared space where people congregate to be educated, ideally rigorously.

But campuses are also fields for marshaling the troops.

If I remember correctly, one of the largest Roman settlements in Roman Britain sprung up rapidly in what we now call Hertfordshire.

From a military perspective, I seem to recall that William the Conqueror was deemed victorious at the final conclusion of the Battle of Hastings (1066) in Hertfordshire.

So, good reasons to have a campus in your town! Hopefully you will have pictures of the space cleared from laurels (strong Roman military and sports allusions there again!) and the Christmas tree when it is lit. Is it lit? I for one shall subscribe now so that I can check back, read up, and enjoy your blog.

Thanks for your post!

Cheers from abroad,
Chris

PS. I have a question from a previous post. What does it mean to "bread" a desk? That is a term that is unfamiliar to me. Help? Cheers,
Chris

David Cranmer said...

I've been to a few places that call themselves a Garden City but yours is the first to live up to the title. Very nice photos and I see why you like to call it home. Beautiful.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I was actually in Garden City, Michigan on Saturday and not a garden in sight. David's right. Lovely pics.

Travis Erwin said...

I like the pictorial tour.

Sepiru Chris said...

Hi Lyzzydee,

Thanks for the description of breading. I would say that story is good for a posting. Think of that with a picture of a seagull, a caravan, and your friend's desk...

Cheers,
Chris

Barbara Martin said...

This is one of the things I loved about being in England, to see the green areas centred in a particular location. Ah, a John Lewis store...good memories of going there on a weekend in London on Oxford Street. Thanks lyzzydee.

Barrie said...

Gorgeous trees! I always appreciate your photos!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tour of your town.

I enjoyed the parade!

Laura said...

You'll be happy to know, when we renew rent come December we're gonna get a lift key :P

Junosmom said...

Hi! Enjoyed your post. We are experiencing much the season, only it has suddenly turned cold here. I'm not at all ready for winter.

Wendy said...

Pretty photos! Love all the leaves in your shots!

Have a great day!
Wendy
SBS9

Maureen said...

My I just love reading through your blog...your stories are always brilliant, and your photos are stunning...I'm lucky that I have people's heads in my photos!!! So happy about your break through in your family history, too!
((()))reen