Saturday, 17 July 2010 -- Day 209 (222)

We learned several important lessons today: 1) When traveling internationally, buy a TracFone w/ pre-paid minutes, 2) When faced with difficult situations, we know how to be resourceful, and 3) God provides assistance when other outlets fail. You can probably tell from the first lesson that having a phone today would've meant we didn't have to learn lesson number two. Here's today's adventure............

One of the reasons Ron and I came to Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, was to find out more about the connection b/w our great, great grandfather John Grindley, on whom Ron has done extensive research, and the pottery made by William H. (W.H.) Grindley. Stoke-on-Trent is known as the pottery district so this was the logical place to look. Many years ago when Lori was here she found a place called Grindley Brook in the northern county of Shropshire so this is where we headed today. Grindley Brook only consists of a pub, a petrol (gas) station, and the Step Locks of Llangollen Canal. (shown in this video)

After having tea at the Lockside Canal (too early for the pub) and watching several long boats pass through the locks, we learned that the closest place w/ a church and cemetery was Whitchurch. This is where lesson number one was learned. There was only one call box (phone booth) in Grindley Brook, and I couldn't get it work; it probably had something to do w/ all the weeds growing around it. We walked back to the petrol station to find that they didn't have a phone we could use. Fortunately, a customer in the station used her cell phone to call us a taxi to take us from Grindley Brook to Whitechurch about a 10-minute ride away. This is where the third of today's lesson came in.

In Whitchurch we went to a book store that we were told would have history books of the area. The lady in the bookstore sent us to the library. This proved to be fortuitous for we have surmised a possible story as to how John Grindley, age 26, met and married Ann Evans, age 22. According to an 1851 England Census, John was a bailiff for Mr. Joshua Jones in Ifton Rhyn parish in the county of Shropshire, and Ann Evans was a servant at this same home. We believe the two met, fell in love, and married and then immigrated to the U.S. in 1853. We were so pleased w/ our summation that we went to Chester's for the best fish-n-chips in town.

After nourishment, we went to the top of Church Street to walk through St. Almunk's Church. I am always amazed at the rich smell of wood and lilies wen entering these churches. The other feature that I love to see are the high podiums from which the priest offers his sermons. This church offered an interesting historical significance that Sir John Talbot's heart is buried under a stone of the porch to the church. He apparently wanted the people of Whitchurch to always remember the ultimate sacrifice that he offered to his country in protection of them against France.

We continued our walking, hoping to find an old cemetery that a woman told us about. We started off, but after about a quarter of a mile, we decided we were too pooped. But we again faced the dilemma of how we were going to call for a taxi. Again, fortune smiled as we saw a sign for a bed and breakfast, rang the bell, and were greeted by a sweet, stereotypically brassy older couple. The man took the phone when Ron couldn't get the taxi driver to understand that we wanted to be picked up at St. Almunk's Church and said, "It's the only church in Whitchurch. There's not but one traffic light in Whitchurch. It's in the middle of town; you can't miss it at the top of the hill." Thanks to us being resourceful (Lesson #2) and the providence of God placing these kind people before us (Lesson #3), we made it back to our hotel in Hanley.