This weekend I am going on yet another adventure. This time to the county of Kent…near Faversham, this is near Canterbury, so basically a very small English village. After lots of confusion I was finally able to purchase my train ticket (my credit card was acting up) and got in contact with Bridget Hailwood, my Host family. So Friday evening I boarded my train heading to Faversham, and upon arrival I wandered around slightly confused because I was meeting up with a woman I had never met or seen before, but luckily I found her within a few minutes and we were off to her house. Upon arrival I met her son and they fixed me dinner while I read my book and tried to avoid the cats…now at first it was a little awkward just going to a random persons home for a weekend and not knowing much about them, and the conversations to get to know one another are slightly strange at first, but that quickly changed for me and I loved my time with Bridget. That night we had an assortment of quiche, and then Bridget and I sat in the living room and chatted getting to know one another and deciding what to do that weekend. We decided on a visit to Canterbury to see the cathedral and Canterbury Tales Exhibition with her childhood friend. Bridget made me feel like I was so welcome in her home and life that weekend, and it was nice to just spend time with someone that kind of reminded me of my mom…a little taste of home.
The cathedral was incredible…words cannot describe it accurately. My favorite part was just the scale of how large it is, and then knowing when they build it…in the 10th century if I am correct, but then that there are such tiny details in everything. The stained glass windows were everywhere and just endlessly cast colorful shadows through cathedral. I saw the oldest surviving drawings in the UK in the crypt, and witnessed the ringing of the bell at 11am, and watched the military personal practice for Sunday’s Remembrance Day Service. We spent a couple hours exploring the cathedral before moving on to go get a warm cup of coffee…surprisingly massive cathedrals don’t have central heating. After that we went to the Canterbury Tales Exhibition where we got to walk through certain traveler’s stories as they were reenacted by humorous sets while walking through a castle like structure. I thought this was a fun experience but then again I have read the Canterbury Tales and am slightly nerdy when it comes to literature…for lunch we had sausage rolls and headed back to Norton because we were volunteering at the Bell Ringing Contest at Teynam’s church which is the next village. When I say bell ringing I am not talking the small hand bells, I mean the large ones in the bell tower. I helped serve tea to the participants and chatted with church bell ringers from the surrounding area, it was an interesting experience…who knew there were competitions for bell ringing. That night we watched the British equivalent of Dancing with the Stars, the Remembrance Day Program which the Queen attended, and then a BBC program on Pan America. A well rounded evening of television and conversation.
That Sunday we got up and had breakfast, which consisted of porridge (actually I really liked it) and tea. Then Bridget and I were off to church to ring the bells; I got to climb up in the bell tower and watch them warm up…then they even let me ring the bells!!! They started me off on the heaviest one which weighed more than me, so I couldn’t ring it which gave them all a good laugh, but I was able to ring the next one. Who knew so much went into ringing bells?? I didn’t but I now think it’s incredible whenever I hear bells ring when I am walking around London. We attended the Remembrance Day Service which was particularly moving with the bagpipes played by a townsman that has passed up 90 years old. I think it would be very nice if we did more for Veteran’s Day in the US. After church we had a proper Sunday roast which was very delicious and for dessert a plum cobbler or that’s what its equivalent would be in the US…and to help digest the massive meal we took a walk through the countryside because the sun had come out!!! The walk took us past groves of cherry and apple trees with strawberry bushes underneath and upon a massive stately home we stumbled. This was the home of the escaped Russian Prince from the Romanov family. They told me the history of his life and then took me to his and his daughter’s grave in a church across a field. The graves had lavender growing out of them and right there on the gravestone was the Romanov’s family name and crest. There is so much history here…even in the small villages like Norton. I was sad to leave the home of Bridget because I had a really amazing weekend out in the countryside of England getting to experience things I never would get to normally.
I actually managed to post a picture this time, I hope you enjoy the Canterbury Cathedral!
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