Episode50: In Search of Lost Time

It had stopped raining by when we arrived in the Cotswolds in southwest England. We came here through Cheltenham from Bourton-on-the  Water by bus.

A wonderful afternoon after the rain, the leaves and the roads which reflected the sunshine were extremely brilliant. The leaves already turned a golden colour and showed a beautiful tapestry. This lovely world reminded me of the Winnie the Pooh story, although the scene of this masterpiece was set in East Sussex. I was very fond of an episode of “ Pooh and a honey pot ”. The story brought me an image that honey was a special food. That was why I had always put it on pancakes before I found maple syrup.

Cotswolds’ houses are made of the limestone which is honey-coloured. Many tourists are captivated by the picturesque charm of England the country yard.

However, actually I found that several houses had ‘for sale’ signs hanging on them.
That gave me a shock. According to our guide’s explanation, disappointingly, people moving to cities has been interesting the last several years. Cotswolds is a Conservation Area. So, renovations and reconstructions are very restricted so as to keep its landscape. I assumed that having to conform to strict design criterion forced them to go out of the ancient-looking village.

However, recently people are flowing back into this timeless town again, despite the demand on them to keep “the old-fashioned life style.”

They must search for Lost Time into the honey-coloured dream.

※毎月1日、15日に掲載予定です。
※この記事は、The Traveler’s Time vol.3に収録。

第50話　失われた時を求めて

イングランド南西部のコッツウォルズに着く頃には、雨は止んでしまっていた。コッツウォルズへは、ボートン・オン・ザ・ウォーターからチェルトナムを経由してバスで来た。