Cirencester

I find myself in Cirencester, a town in the Cotswolds part of England. It has origins as an important Roman city, just after London. I am having a hard time pronouncing the town correctly, so I try to avoid saying it or devising round about ways of discussing this place when talking. It sounds something like siren-sester, but even that might be wrong in the emphasis. Oh well, it doesn't take away from the beauty of the place. You have the average market town parts and the Cotswolds stone buildings about that make this quaint town the "Capital of the Cotswolds." The Cotswolds encapsulates the essence of what a British country town is ideally in my mind. It is like a time capsule when wool was the chief economic engine.
My host is Neil, who is a singer/guitar player in a local band called The Layers, and is a science teacher, too. He also plays soccer (football, that is). He found me a pair of turf shoes my size and we played a scrimmage in a town nearby called Stroud. Later, we went to an open mike night at a local pub and he performed a set and then played with a few other acts. I got to go up and I actually sang backup on an R.E.M. song. What fun!