Global Warming
On the train going into Cambridge there we read some interesting articles in the newspaper about the coldest winter in Europe in at least 10 years. Apparently in one part of England, temperatures the previous night dropped to –14°C. The newspaper even said that some of the so-called melted glaciers had reclaimed all the missing ice. The article went on to challenge the concept of global warming by using anecdotal evidence of the freezing conditions in China and Russia. The paper also noted that it had snowed as far South as the Middle East. Judith saw snow in Turkey and the schools in Turkey were closed because of the snow. But, anecdotal evidence is just that: anecdotal. Climate change does need serious study and we should pollute the earth less irrespective of the climate: Its just the decent thing to do.
Arriving at Canterbury
(In Canterbury)
The St. Thomas HospitalThe Cathedral
We eventually saw a sign pointing to Information and the cathedral. When we went down the side alley we were stunned by the vision of the cathedral. It just dominated the skyline. Now, we never got into the history of the cathedral but once again we were very amazed by how intricate and detailed the architecture was. The stonemasons of that age were astounding and their dedication to building religious items for the glory of God was amazing.
Sadly though, in the eve of the gate to the cathedral, was that modern shop: Starbucks. They were at the bottom of the Forbidden City in Beijing and here they were again. People have to drink coffee I guess and at least the décor had been made to match the cathedral gate.
The lady at the front door of the Cathedral was very friendly and helpful and even showed us a stained glass window of Adam that was 800 years old. The stained glass windows and the huge archways and the sense of history within the Cathedral kept us in awe.
(Inside the Cathedral)
(Outside the Cathedral)
Canterbury TalesAfter spending an hour or more in the cathedral we went to the Canterbury Tales museum. This little museum is an excellent option if you are only in Canterbury for a day. A guided audio tour takes you from room to room reading out some of Chaucer’s stories. We thought it was very well done and it took about 40 minutes. Queenie got scared inside the museum as it was quite dark and there were a lot of strange noises.
Of course there was not enough time for all the stories but there were enough stories to whet the appetite. The tales that were included were of death, of marriage and joy, on deceit and prophecy. All the stories and the attendant displays were well done. Some of the displays are shown below.
(Displays in the Cantebury Tales Museum)
Closing Time
We then found a restaurant in the town and were surprised by how expensive some of the restaurants were. We stopped in for a meal at The Cricketer only to be told they stopped serving food at 3:00pm. We were shocked. Coming from 24-hour Asia means that we really do have to manage the times we eat: we are not used to doing this.
We finally found the famous South African fast food joint Nando’s Chicken and decided that would be good enough for dinner. Afterwards Mom went to the Oxfam bookstore and bought a huge, 7 kg Bible for Judith who now apparently collects books.
Paul wandered into a Chinese store and met a woman who came from Shenzhen where we lived for one year. The world is truly a small place. She also told us that England is quite boring as everything closes so early. The store, China World sold Chinese things. The boss was English who had married and divorced a Chinese lady. Apparently he couldn’t speak a word of Chinese. Such are the ironies of life.
We then meandered slowly back to the train station popping in and out of the few remaining open stores. We watched a beautiful sunset over Canterbury and then it was time to leave. What a shame!
We all thought Canterbury was a beautiful little town with much to offer tourists. The history of the place is compelling and we highly recommend this day trip to other tourists to London.
Anyway, that’s it for now.
Until the next time God Bless
Queenie and Paul
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