Wookey Hole

This week we bought a car. It is a ’99 Rover 400 which we immediately named Roger. So, with a stunning weekend of weather on the charts we headed for Wookey Hole just outside of Wells. Home to yet more underground caves we wanted to get a feel for this area next. Having yet again stopped off at Wells to stock up on breakfast and coffee we headed to Wookey.

Upon arrival it was quite apparant to us that although it is a lovely village the Wookey Hole attractions were very much geared towards kids with witches, wizards, clowns (which I REALLY don’t like), bad special effects and music, it wasn’t going to be something we were interesting in paying 14 quid each for.

Therefore we went for a wander around the area where we eventually bumped into some other walkers. They recommended to us a walk to Ebbor Gorge so we headed off to find the public footpath. Now when I say footpath they are very rarely paved walkways. Public Rights of Way are common in England and Wales with quite often clearly marked walking signs. We found the entry point we were after and headed off to find the gorge. By the time we found it our boots were covered in mud but we had fun spotting all the local wildlife. Thankfully Steve had thought to bring the binoculars so that made it easier to look at the birdlife close up without disturbing them.

The gorge itself was quite small but a great walk which lead you right up to the top. We found some interesting holes in the ground which we think were badger holes and another one where a rabbit had dug out their little home but had done so in amongst a midden. Old pottery including a ceramic waterbottle and a clear glass medicine bottle had been partially uncovered. We took some photos but left the items there as they are a dime a dozen over here. They might be of interest to the next person who comes along.

Although the day was very sunny with clear blue skies the temperature remained low. Frost was still lying on the ground at 1pm today. What do you do after a long walk and cold weather. You head to the pub. We drove to a little town called Priddy and had lunch in the local pub complete with crackling wood fire.

All in all, a fantastic day.

Movie: Jumper

With a fantastic premise this movie was a “must see” on our list. Besides the fact that Hayden Christensen was starring in it we put this to one side and saw it anyway. Just as I anticipated it would be, his acting was complete rubbish but Jamie Bell and Samuel L Jackson are well worth seeing.

The premise of the movie is about David Rice (Christensen) who is a genetic anomally in which he can teleport himself and other people or items that he is touching. Once having discovered this talent he takes off from home where mum left mysteriously and abruptly when he was 5 and dad is a bit of a bully. Sadly he leaves behind the “girl next door” that he has been in love with since they were 5. He uses his teleporting skills to “jump” into banks to fund his lifestyle, teleporting in and out of countries as he pleases. What he doesn’t know is that there are other jumpers like himself as well as a group of bounty hunters called the Paladin that are organised to capture and kill jumpers. The Paladins are an ancient organisation that have been hunting jumpers for centuries (i.e. witch hunts in the medieval ages etc). Things start to go wrong for David when the Paladins catch up with him at the same time he hooks up with Mille, the girl next door that he left behind. Help and a person to explain what the Paladins are after comes from a fellow jumper named Griffin (Jamie Bell) to try and stop key hunter Roland (Samuel L Jackson).

With amazing locations and such an intriguing storyline it was a pity that it ended so abruptly and unsatisfactorily. Jamie Bell’s character fell away when things were getting good and the whole ending to the movie felt rushed like they ran out of time or just couldn’t be bothered anymore. I haven’t read the novel so maybe this might hold some insight into where the movie has left off but I am assuming that a second movie is a possibility.

Memorable quotes:

“You think you can go on like this forever? Living like this with no consequences? There are always consequences”

2.5 out of 5.