Reuniting with a dear friend in Canterbury & the Cathedral

I first met Penny at McGill University in Montreal in 1974 when I was a reception clerk in the Employment Office and she came in for a job. Somehow we hit it off as friends and we have stayed friends for the past 45 years even though we almost always have lived in different countries and only meet up every few years. The last time we met face-to-face was 10 years ago this summer, when I was in England and she lived in Sussex. But this past Monday it was like that was only yesterday. We talked and talked as we wandered around Canterbury Cathedral and along the streets of Canterbury.

Penny had never met Richard and they hit it off immediately as well. It was a sunny, mild day for walking around Canterbury. The Cathedral was, indeed, magnificent. Overwhelming really. R has bought a book on its history, illustrated with beautiful watercolor paintings so I will enjoy looking through it and actually absorbing the Cathedral’s history.

We ate lunch at a very good Italian restaurant called, for some reason, Ask Italian. We sat and talked at the table for a couple of hours; it was relaxing and really quite magical. Then we went to M & S for sandwiches to bring up to our room and Penny drove us back to the hotel. I really hope it won’t be another 10 years before I see her again.

I am trying very hard to live in the moment. Don’t think of where we are going yet, don’t think of what might be going on back in Arizona or worries about the past. Just today, just where we are. It is so good to be an observer of history and realize that things change but patterns remain. And seeing history puts life into perspective somehow.

Looking into the Choir in Cathedral

Very old baobab tree in Cathedral grounds

Memorial to horses killed during World War 1

Busy town, loads of medieval buildings mingled with later ones.

And some background on Canterbury Cathedral

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