Canterbury Tales
This week was a bit more toned down than previous ones. Since I am actually in school I was trying to get some papers out of the way to leave room for more adventures later (trips to Winchester and Paris in the near future). But in keeping up with one post a week I figured I'd write a bit more about everyday life here... or just post a bunch of photos.
It's amusing coming across Canterbury in my school work. Mordred is crowned at Canterbury, usurping King Arthur while he's in France fighting Lancelot, Bishop Augustine was sent by Pope Gregory and arrived here to convert King Aethelberht, and Chaucer's pilgrims travelled on the road to Canterbury Cathedral. The city is sprinkled throughout medieval and early modern writings, but with all that history I can go into town and see Canterbury Dental Office or Canterbury Yoga and Spa. Sunday, after church at Canterbury Vineyard a group of us went into town to walk around. I've started to develop a sense of direction in town - basically just orienting yourself to where the Cathedral is at all times.
A bit of culture clash that still messes with my head are the greetings. Normal greeting: Hi, how are you? British Greeting: y'alright? This confuses me, because asking "are you alright" sounds like they think something isn't, it sounds like they're concerned so it throws me for a loop every time. Most other vernacular I'm pretty much accustomed to by now but every now and again one keeps out at you.
The average week, for me is Monday-choir, Tuesday - Class and CU, Wednesday - Class and either reenactment or an apologetics group, Thursday - A ton of classes and then weekend is just whatever I have planned - or not really planned. A group of us have started watching through Orphan Black, it's a great series, very addicting and we had a night at Amy's a few nights ago as an Autumn Party complete with board games and apple cider. Amy's room has a window seat, my favourite thing about British architecture. Give me a window seat, a fuzzy blanket, a steaming cup of hot chocolate, a stack of books and a rainy day and I'd never leave.
Currently Canterbury, to promote some festival, has put a bunch of piano's around town, beside the cathedral or in larger squares that are just open for anyone to play. So as you're walking down the street you get this blend of songs; from a kid plinking out a tune and as that passes behind you a ragtime melody and then toward a beautiful performance of Hallelujah. I, of course, did my Pirates because that's pretty much the only song I can remember off the top of my head anymore- and because I'm a show off whenever I can be.
I've been going to Canterbury Vineyard church and the welcome has been amazing. Last Sunday Amy, Alexis, Sophie and I were invited to one of the family's home for dinner at their ranch. After my thrown-together meals it was lovely to sit down to a family dinner. Also their big German shepherd made me miss Salsa and Kita. For this Sunday, after Vineyard and wandering, we also went to the Cathedral for the Evensong service. Sitting in that place, a place of worship for 14 hundred years and just listening to the soaring voices above the organ's chords, is amazing. I would've liked to sing along but you're only allowed to for the hymn at the end. For a good chunk of the service, I was just looking at the seat I was in, specifically the carved owl face that was quite close to my own. I feel tempted to try and carve something like that, just to see how much actual work it took, and then to look down the row and see hundreds of these little carvings on everything.
I know everyone always says England is so rainy, but other than the odd day it been absolutely glorious. And even when it does rain it just feels like someone has a spray bottle on mist and is following you around- hardly umbrella worthy. If it does start to rain, there's always a little hole in the wall cafe, bookstore or charity shop to duck into.
Oh side note, today is the 600th anniversary of Agincourt, so I'll probably be watching Tom Hiddleston's Henry V at some point today.
In the photo below is Abigail, Alexis, Chiara, Esther and then myself. 5 girls, 5 different countries: England, the US, Belgium, France and Canada. We found the bookstore that had been one of the first search results that came up when I was researching Canterbury, trying to pick my school. It has a comfy arm chair in the upper room which may very likely become one of my favourite places in town. It reminds me a lot of the subject of my photo essay, Macleod's bookstore in Vancouver, except with much lower ceilings - and the whole crooked aesthetic.
I just ordered my tripod on amazon and my ND filter got to me via mail so I'll probably do more town shots, but these were just quick ones from an afternoon's running around with my camera.