Mind your Manors
I've been having exams, but in between studying and sitting, I have been working through my bucket list for my last month in England. I got to have an amazing dinner party with Richard, Cecilia, Emily, Nicola, Dan, Ellie and myself in Rochester. This is 'part 2' of the Rochester Dickens festival that we went to around Christmas and I got to wear the lovely regency dress Cecilia made for me. The tables got a bit mixed up so we were scattered about the room, Emily and I almost had a lovely romantic dinner for two before more chairs were found so we could sit, at least partly, as a group. We had a great meal and a fun evening of dancing, followed the next day by the parade and wandering around the streets of Rochester. I saw the Napoleonic guys from last time but didn't get a chance to say hi and met the great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens, who is quite the celebrity for the day at these events.
One of the first days I had been invited along with Richard and Cecilia, the original plan had been to go to Hever Castle. That plan had changed due to weather and it seems almost poetic that Hever became our last outing. Once we got to the castle grounds, we had a lovely picnic outside the gift shop, complete with Pimms before taking the tour around the castle. The main draw to the castle is as the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII who lost her head. It was a beautiful tudor castle, with the wood lined walls and diamond glass windows, covered in historic portraits and embellishments. One of my favourite pieces in the house was Anne's personal Book of Hours, a medieval prayer guide, in which, under an illustration of the second coming she wrote "Le tiemps viendra" or "the time will come." While it sounds slightly ominous, it's meant to be hopeful, and seeing the personal faith of someone from 500 years ago inscribed and saved for centuries is really unique.
There was an interesting character wandering the rooms with us, an American family who's opinions upon the various things were instantly heard by everyone remotely in the vicinity. One such example was, 'Why are all the British people in painting so ugly, I mean they look fine now but back then they just look messed up,' to which Cecilia quipped 'well we just shipped them off to the colonies.' After she was denied the right to marry the man she loved, Anne returned to Hever to 'sulk,' which all thing considered, this would be a beautiful place to pout for a good long time. The gardens are beautiful, lots of roses obviously, and a roman garden with statues and a vista on to a lake.
After that, since we still had time we stopped by Igtham Mote, a moated manor house. Similar to Hever in layout, a central courtyard that the house is built around, complete with 19th century dog house! We didn't have a lot of time to explore, but it's a gorgeous house to see and get a feel for. It's old crypt, originally a cellar, was probably used as a bomb shelter in WWII and the family chapel had some lovely tudor paintings on the ceiling. Most of the rooms were decorated as a bit later but the building itself is one of my favourites. We managed to get some ice cream before they closed up and it started raining.
This whole month has been a trickle of 'goodbyes.' As people complete their exams they head home, either in England or back to France and America. It all still feels like I'm going to see them at CU next week, or in class in a few days, none of the goodbyes feel final. There are always plans to see people again, to come back or visit, or to stay in touch and while distance makes it harder, it's always worth the effort.
Next up is Scotland posts, and my last week in Canterbury.