I’m on the train to Canterbury having just transferred at Faversham. The countryside is pretty but the sky is full of dark clouds and looks like rain. It looked the same yesterday but did not rain. This is what it always looks like here and last week’s weather was highly unusual. I still haven't even used my umbrella yet!I’m glad that this is my last day and that I’m going home tomorrow. Although I will not miss taking the Underground everywhere, I will miss that familiar voice saying "Mind the Gap" over and over. It’s really funny that they say mind this and mind that. It is easier than saying "Watch out for the gap." I will also miss all the different British accents. I've figured out that there are quite a few more accents and dialects than one would think. They have different words for things than we have and they have peculiar ways of saying things although "Mind the Gap" is priceless.
I’m having a delicious banana milkshake in the ice cream parlour opposite the main entrance to the cathedral. I do like it here in Canterbury and am glad that I’ve saved the best for last. The Cathedral was much more interesting than Westminster Abbey. It’s incredible. I don’t know why the Abbey is such a big deal (probably because it’s where coronations take place and it's in London). This place is such more important, to me anyway. Just because a bunch of people who inherited their titles are buried in the Abbey - oh, I guess I’ll stop. It’s just my opinion.
Earlier, I found a lovely little garden behind the Cathedral with very few people in it. Then I had lunch - fish and chips, green salad and potato salad and Coke for seven pounds. It was very good. Then I took the riverside walk with more lovely gardens. It was just beautiful and charming and quaint - everything I remember Canterbury to be like. At 5:15 pm, I want to go back to the Cathedral for evensong in the quire (choir) area.
Later, in the Cathedral - Not many people are here for the service - I’m surprised. It starts at 5:30 and should last for 45 minutes. That gives me lots of time to make the 6:50 train back to London. I should be back to my room by 9:30 or earlier.
This Cathedral is very interesting looking with the lights on inside, the way it is now. Earlier, the ceiling was dark. Now, the lights are illuminating it so that there are gentle shadows among the curved arches. It is beautiful. This has been my favorite House of God of all that I’ve been in during this trip. The entire day has been wonderful. That could be because I know that I’m going home tomorrow and my dad is picking me up at Dulles. Maybe he’ll have Saucy and my mom too. Whatever the reason, I love Canterbury and I’m so glad I came here today.
I did some shopping earlier and bought a pale lavender dress with white pattern and a khaki green t-shirt. Black is really the "in" color but I don’t want it for the summer.
I like this little town much better than York and it has a wall also. On my way into town from the train station, I walked along part of the wall - it was cool - much more pleasant than the York wall. Because there was no one else there.
There is so much history here - I had forgotten most of it in the past eighteen years. I had forgotten that St. Thomas Becket was made a Saint soon after his murder and that people were healed from illnesses from touching his grave (or something like that) - that’s why there was a pilgrimage. I’ll have to read Chaucer's Canterbury Tales again soon. I’ve got so many things to read over when I get home.
Well, I’m back on the train on my way to Victoria station, London, on a train - again. There is a good view of the landscape. It’s beautiful when I can see through the trees. Once in a while, the hills are breathtaking. The sky has cleared during the day and when I left the Cathedral, the sun was shining on it from the west. Sitting with me on the train is a young girl, about 12 years old, with her parents. She asked if she could have a bottle of Dr. Pepper and they gave it to her. When she opened it, it immediately fizzed out of the bottle and sprayed all over her. Oy! What was really funny about it was that her father grabbed it from her and got it all over his suit too while trying to close it for her. Double Oy! I had a few napkins in my backpack that I gave them to wipe off with.
The evensong service was very good and worth staying for. The choir was above average but the music wasn’t particularly inspiring, not like Diana’s funeral. But, when I thought about where I was, I felt very honored to be there. It really was a special way to end my stay in Canterbury. After I left the Cathedral, I followed signs to the train station and became very lost. I didn’t think I’d make it to this train. Waiting on the platform with me was a woman and her dalmation that I saw at the Cathedral. It's nice that dogs are allowed to ride trains here.
I don’t know why I always feel like all I ever do is ride trains. It’s the same every day at home too, going to work and back. At least then, I don’t have to worry about figuring out where I’m going and I can relax and read or nap.
As I listened to the singing, I briefly felt as though I did not want to leave. The thought didn’t last long. If I ever come back here, which will be a very long time from now, after Saucy is gone, I will come to Kent and stay in the southeast and/or west. Yorkshire was lovely - I will want to go back there again too, but definitely not London. It seemed like everyone there is aged 20-30 and dressed very well, especially during rush hour. A lot of men wear pinstriped suits and women wear suits as well - all are mostly black. Some of the men are just so attractive - well, I’d better stop for the day.