Went with the University of Westminster Social Programme on Saturday to Canterbury and Hever Castle. Technically, we were supposed to go to Leeds Castle instead of Hever but they closed Leeds due to fireworks. They didn't tell UofW until THREE DAYS before so they did the best they could which was Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn...I think that's a good replacement as any.
The first stop was Canterbury and it was absolutely gorgeous. The Cathedral was even more than I could ever have imagined and the town was absolutely adorable. Nekol and I spent almost two hours in the Cathedral just going through it. We walked through the front Worship Hall, which has beautiful light streaming through the plain windows. The Martyrdom of St Thomas of Canterbury is right after the front Worship Hall. We then went down into the Crypt of Canterbury Cathedral which actually has a place set up for Mass down there as well. They had a table set out where you could write a prayer to be said in Mass the next day, which I used. The Crypt was particularly interesting for the fact that one of the tombs had angels and guardians with their heads and hands cut off a long time ago. It was rather disturbing. Going back out into the main Cathedral, we went to the second Worship Hall where we were able to see the original spot for St Thomas' monument...until King Henry VIII tore it down. There was also the Achievements of the Black Prince of Wales along with Stained Glass Windows that stole my breath away. I wish I could go on and on about the Cathedral but I will post several photos instead.
After Canterbury we headed over to Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. Now, Hever Castle is known for other things besides Anne Boleyn; it was a consolation prize to Anne of Cleaves for divorcing King Henry VIII nicely and then became a home for the Woldorf-Asters. Now, it's a lovely house museum with the gardens kept in well groomed and a nice cafe/shop area. We spent about half an hour there just going through everything. The house was split into medieval and modern. We were able to see where Anne Boleyn slept, her Book of Hours, where King Henry VIII slept whenever he stayed over, and then all about the Woldorf-Asters living arrangements. Most time was spent in the Italian Gardens which weren't in full bloom but still in full glory. There was even a lovely, huge lake at the end of the walk path that Nekol and I just gazed at for a long time. Overall, a really good second choice instead of Leeds Castle. Here are some photos so you better know why....
That was all for Saturday because by the time we got home, Nekol and I were absolutely exhausted. That and we had to save our energy for Sunday!
TODAY!
Today we were heading out to a femme metal festival that one of our favorite bands, Sirenia, was to be headlining at. Well, this place was all the way out in South West London, on the cusp of Zone 3 and 4, so it was going to take a while to get out there. Nekol and I don't bother with jackets because we're going to be inside most of the time. We get to The Peel after about an hour on the tube and thirty minutes on a bus only to wait an hour (as opposed to thirty minutes like we thought it'd be) for the first band to go on...who wasn't all that great. The singer had some real tonality issues and would go flat a lot but hey, at least she tried yeah? The second band kicked butt and I need to find out who they were but we had to leave before their set was over.
Ok, Nekol and I didn't like this concert really because the crowd wasn't into the music at all. No singing. No head banging. No nothing. They just stood there. Three people were maybe bobbing their heads to the music...maybe, that may be pushing it. This group was very English. Here's to hoping any more shows will be in Central London.
Anyways, Nekol and I had to leave early due to the fact that we had to get to a comedy show in Picadilly Circus. We got there a little before 5:30 and had to wait outside for the doors to open at 6:30. Remember when I said earlier that Nekol and I didn't bother with jackets? Yeah, this is where our stupidity smacked us in the face, hard. We were freezing so that when we got inside, we had to thaw out. Nekol and I grabbed a drink and sat down to eat dinner there. It was an ok grilled chicken sandwich on a bun that tasted amazing because I was so hungry. After that, we went and sat through an hour and a half of amazing comedy. It was absolutely fantastic. I think it's been a while since I've laughed that hard that I was crying from it. Brilliant, wonderful, awesome, fantastic, and fabulous are the only words I could think of describing it. Nekol and I may just have to go back on another Sunday or Wednesday night.
So that's all for this weekend...this week should prove to be fun. Nekol's parents come in Wednesday!
<3,
Dre
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