History

Today I and all five of my flatmates went to Dover and Canterbury. We didn't have much time in Dover, so all we saw was Dover Castle, but that was probably the best thing I've done as of yet. We marched up a hill and came to the entrance of the castle wall. First, we took a tour of the secret wartime tunnels, used during World War 2 for the coordination of sea and air attacks. Hundreds of workers were cooped up in these tunnels built during the Napoleanic Wars for soldier barracks. Then we wandered around the castle itself. The keep was awe-inspiring, over 800 years old. One could feel the history oozing off the walls. I kept touching the stones just to see if I could take that sense of oldness into myself. I kept taking pictures of the place, mostly, I must admit, because I kept going: that would be a great example for set designers if I ever do a Shakespearean History play. Silly Jenna. The weather co-operated too, bright and sunny and even the wind was enjoyable.

After the castle we caught another bus to Canterbury, where we explored the cathedral there, seeing the place where the arch-bishop Thomas Becket was murdered. I wandered around, a little over-whelmed and I wondered if I had grown up attending a church like this: seeing a testiment of man's ability to build for the glory of God, walking up steps worn in grooves by the crawling of centuries of pilgrams, looking up two hundred feet to the curved stone pillars to the beautiful domed ceiling- if in that case, I would have been more open to religion, less apt to doubt. If, in essence, I would have been a believer. I'll never know I suppose, but I probably would have enjoyed Sundays less.

After the Cathedral visit we found ourselves with three hours to kill. We had a leisurely dinner, but still had to occupy ourselves for another hour. We tried sitting in a parking ramp, but a couple of guards kicked us out. And then they followed us to McDonald's where we quietly sat with a couple of coffees. Honestly, aren't there more dangerous people to keep an eye on than six shivering girls waiting for a bus?

All in all, the day was wonderful, tiring, but wonderful.