Canterbury Chronicles

A heavy mist hung in the air all over Canterbury the day I arrived.  Dense fog in London had delayed planes the day before.  A good book by a roaring fire would have been the perfect thing to do but since The Heiress and I would be moving on to London in less than forty-eight hours we made our way to the Cathedral.  Stunning doesn't begin to describe the architecture and atmosphere and if you have a healthy respect for history the fact that saints and soldiers have trod these floors doesn't escape you.  The candle marks the location where the shrine to St. Thomas of Canterbury stood from 1220 - 1538 AD when it was destroyed by orders from King Henry VIII.

The tomb and effigy of Edward, the Black Prince of Wales (1330 - 1376).  A lion wearing a crown is his pillow and a dog rests at his feet.

Cultural criminology is a term created by one of the professors The Heiress worked closely with during her MA program.  Since learning more about the subject, street art has become a topic of great interest to her.  Engravings on the walls of cathedrals and castles display the same need to mark territory or express thoughts that are created on buildings and bridges today.  We saw loads of etchings dating from the 1700s while visiting Dover Castle the next day - initials, hearts and celtic knots were in abundance, dotted along walls where steps provided a comfortable place to sit for awhile.  Wasn't there wood to stack or rabbits to skin?

Strolling the grounds of the cathedral I saw trees that would take at least eight people joining hands to embrace.  And I was thrilled to finally see not one but two tiny English robins in the flesh, ours here in Canada are huge.  Despite this being my fifth trip to England I still find myself walking around in a state of wonder about so many things. 

In a thick fog, surrounded by blackest night, The Heiress took me on a bus ride to visit a lovely friend who let her stay in her flat once she had taken leave of her dorm room.  "We have to walk in the dark for a little bit but we'll be okay" she said.  So dark was it that I couldn't see the path under my feet, we were surrounded by bushes and goodness knows what else lurking in the mist.  It felt as though Halloween had come early and I didn't like it one bit!  "I don't care if we've paid for return tickets, I am NOT going back the way we just came" I said.  "Dad is going hear about this, isn't he?" said The Heiress.  The past thirteen months of absence had already melted away and it was mother and daughter business as usual.