Betty's Travel Journals

Book excerpt: The travels and observations of Elisabeth Hewes in her retirement years, during the last decade of the 20th century. With contributions by Stephen Butt and John Florance of BBC Radio Leicester During her retirement years, apart from her diaries, Elisabeth Hewes of Ravenstone in Leicestershire, wrote of her many travels, which were often accomplished in just one day. Betty's Travel Journals begin in April 1992 and finish at the end of 2000. They give a vivid insight into her love of life and people; we see familiar things through different eyes and visit unknown places which leave us with a feeling that we must go there ourselves. Travelling by road, rail, or merely on foot, Betty uses only the most salient points to describe her world in rich colours, but always with humour, intelligence and that steadfast sense of belonging and purpose found in her diaries. As Betty counts down to the New Millennium, she meticulously records her high days and holidays. We travel with her the length and breadth of Britain: from Bardon Hill Quarry to Buckingham Palace; from mighty Canterbury Cathedral to Snibston's little St. Mary's; from the most serene and tranquil Lakeland view to the busiest bustling day in the heart of our nation's great capital. Her journals feature hundreds of indexed and detailed entries in which she quotes from sources as diverse as the essays of Dr. Johnson and her local newspaper, each equally as relevant and informative as the next. Betty's Travel Journals are laced together with a strong historical and religious narrative but with an ever watchful eye on history in the making. Her travels were not confined to distance however; the 1990s saw incredible strides made by humankind and Betty documents our world's biggest events in the final years of the twentieth century as they play out alongside her journey through what turned out to be the last decade of her life.