I was fascinated, during my recent trip to England, to see so many juxtapositions of old and new. Like this, a satellite dish atop a thatched roof:
Now, this particular thatched roof is not itself very old -- it's that the thatched roof as a craft has been undergoing a revival. But still: this is the coming together of technologies that are separated by many centuries and yet considered vital components of the culture. You can't have even a quaint country pub without football on the TV. (This image is of the roof of the White Horse Inn in Woolstone, taken from the garden, near the Uffington White Horse chalk figure.)
Pubs were endlessly enthralling to me, and not just because of the ready availability of alcohol. The Garrick Inn, the oldest pub in Stratford-upon-Avon and a wonderful place for a meal or a quick pint (I stopped in several times during my stay in the town), is situated in a building that's at least 400 years old -- and parts of the building may be centuries older than that -- and it's beautifully old-fashioned, with its sagging low-beamed ceilings, yet it still has a widescreen TV in the corner:
Traffic cameras are everywhere, enforcing the speed limits. Yet it's an image of a camera that speaks more of the 19th century than the 21st that alerts you to this ever-watchful electronic eye:
The traditional red phone box has gotten an upgrade, though:
Very old structures continue to be utilized, and even upgraded, too. The 750-year-old Salisbury Cathedral is currently covered by scaffolding as it undergoes renovation. Any questions about the work being done may be answered by a visit to the cathedral's Web site, as the enormous banner hanging from the scaffolding announces:
This building in Stratford-upon-Avon isn't anywhere near 750 years old -- probably more like 400 -- and its modern use isn't anywhere near as uplifting as the cathedral continues to be to those who visit it daily or weekly, but still:
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