The village of Spalding promised some interesting architecture. The church of St Mary and St Nicholas turned out to be a gem. It is a huge building and the interior splendidly maintained. Meeting one of the organists was a great stroke of luck. He was a delight to talk to and, to my great surprise, was happy to explain to me the very complex workings of the keyboards, stops and peddles. This took the best part of an hour and the church reverberated and sang as he demonstrated voice after voice. He finished with a resounding Jerusalem - what a fantastic experience!
A cafe in the town square provided a good lunch and coffee served by a woman from Rome - my dreadful Italian took a severe beating ...
The biggest shock was the number of passers-by who spoke Polish ... particularly noticeable among the groups of teenagers ... the UK has the most advantageous state support systems of the EU which could contribute to the situation ...