An Important Chapter In My Life…
I only lived in Bristol for a couple of years….Clifton to be more precise… but it was an important chapter in my life, and from it I gained the love of travel.
In the Summer of ’86 we had a major renovation to complete. My girlfriend and I had purchased for a knock down price, St Vincent’s Priory on Sion Hill, right opposite the hotel that we use today when guiding people through the area.
The Priory is a neo gothic structure that a couple of well known owners before had allowed to become dilapidated and ruinous. It needed two people with energy and enthusiasm to restore it. We bought it at a bank foreclosure auction and set to work.
NO this is not going to be a boring old step by step chronicle of those balmy days, atop the scaffolding tearing out old windows. I’m not even going to tell of some of the architectural treasures that we found within.
I want to tell you of a moment of peace that I had whilst looking from the scaffolding across the Avon Gorge ( clear views of the bridge).
People used to wander up Sion Hill as they made their way to and from the hotel, opposite. Always looking up, they would sometimes wave at me, and on one occasion an American couple shouted out to me……. ‘Gorgeous’ they said.
I waved back.
The house was looking beautiful and they had done the very simple thing of acknowledging that to a stranger. I smiled and went back to work.
During the course of the day I smiled many times to myself as I thought of that unremarkable event. I was surprised at how open and generous those strangers had been….. and I was surprised at how a simple comment affected me.
I had become curious about Americans and America.
It was a simple thing and it changed my life.
Two years later I was travelling to New Jersey…. And a great American adventure had begun for this young Brit’.