This post is titled 'A Reminder' because so much of what we went to see today was centered on death. I saw thousands of graves today, each in many varying sizes and forms, but my epiphany came from considering the tombs differently than I usually do. The places I will try to describe are all very mighty places that hallow the dead of many different eras. While they were each so different in appearance and use, all of these imposing structures exist to fulfill the same two purposes; to protect their dead from the irreverent and to impress upon the mind of the beholder that these are the homes where Death resides. The force reminding the visitor of death in these places is strong, to say the least. Yet the more I got thinking about the strength of such a reminder, the more I realized that a sincere visitor understands a third and greater purpose of every reminder of death: a reminder that each of these people really did live too. It's easy to focus on death in a tomb, but when one considers that a tomb can also serve as 'A Reminder' of the life that came before death, one may recognize that these incredible structures, built and used by real people to honor and care for the dead before them, signify the even more incredible state of being alive, as well as of dying.
After another joyous drive through the country landscape at 7:30 this morning, we stopped first at the Avebury circles. These are neolithic-age circles made from enormous stones, a lot like the Stonehenge circle, though quite a bit more crude. They were most likely used for pre-burial ceremonies.
Afterwards, we made the very short drive to a giant chalk hill in the middle of a flat field. At first, I just thought it was a really really steep hill that people would climb and have ceremonies on top of, but I was wrong. While the hill was indeed the evidence of a ceremony, I learned that it wasn't what happened on the hill that was important, but how the hill came into existence. It is a MAN MADE hill, where countless years were spent hauling chalk stones and dirt to raise the hill around what I understand to be a grave in the very center, until it became what we can see today. It's seriously a massively tall and incredibly steep hill. I couldn't believe that it was not a natural creation of the Earth, except it stands upon a perfectly flat field.
We then took one more very short drive down the road before walking to our next site, but unknowingly to Tom, we first fulfilled a great wish of mine en-route. Our next spot to see were The Barrows, a neolithic mass-burial tomb that looks like a long raised mound about a football field long, about six people wide and two people tall. But in order to get there, we had to walk through a long field of tall wheat. I have admired these fields from the road for almost two weeks now (has it really only been two weeks?? It feels like I have been here at the very least a month!), but today, I got to walk into it, at last!! A trail for visitors had been cut through the center so we wouldn't damage the crop, but I gladly took the opportunity to walk along the edge of the trail, letting my fingers finally feel the tips of something so simple, but had made me so truly happy since I arrived.
The Barrows was a special spot. A small portion of the front had been exhumed years ago by archaeologists, leaving the cramped stone shelves and multiple rooms bare. Years later, out of respect, the exposed portion of the barrows had been bricked up so that no one could dig further into the mound, and some glass squares had been put into the ceiling inside so that a little natural light filled the vacant portion of the tomb. We all squashed into the small space, and Tom again lead us in a trio of another Welsh tune we had learned in class. I thought it was really cool that we were able to gather and fill that grave with some music in a language that the residents may have spoken each day, but may not have heard by visitors for some time.
As we left the Barrows, Tom made a unique announcement: Because we planned on visiting Jane Austin's place of death and grave today, he was going to have us listen to the Kira Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice during our car rides. Lets just say that I had zero complaints about this whatsoever. :)
We then drove to look at the outside of Salisbury Cathedral (we would have gone inside, but we were short on time and it cost a lot of money to go in). I thought it was very cool that this cathedral had a double-transept layout! I had never seen a double one before! (A cathedral is always laid out in the shape of a cross, with the horizontal side areas called transepts. So for this cathedral, just imagine a cross, but with two horizontal pieces parallel to each other). While I unfortunately do not remember the name, this is to honor a particular saint who had a double-transcepted cross on his flag.
We then went to see Stourhead Manor, a massive mansion with a vast estate that had been built into a Victorian garden estate. I call these 'surprise gardens' because as you walk along the beautiful trail, it has been constructed so that as you can only see so much at one time, but much is carefully hidden behind the incredibly carefully manicured jungle and forest scene all around. When you come around a corner, you are supposed to gasp in surprise at an incredibly beautiful, but completely unexpected part of the trail ahead. While everything but the original gothic features were removed many years ago (a highly detailed Chinese bridge over the lake leading to a Japanese pagoda, a large colorful Turkish tent, and other 'exotic' things), there were still many incredible sights.
It did indeed look like we were walking down a trail in either a jungle or a garden, depending on the section of trail we were on. One of the first surprises we came upon was a mini-parthenon. As we walked in, the whole room was filled with seven life-sized marble statues of the gods. While my high school english teacher would have me shot if she knew, I could only identify Diana and Hercules, and even that was with help. I think another was Athena and while I recognized the important symbols of the boars-head god and the rock and roll goddess, I couldn't remember their names. Above each of the marble statues were tablets depicting important stories from Greek legends. The detail was incredible on them! The one I looked at the most was the same story I had seen as a painting in the British Museum of Art in London. It was of a war between small people and centaurs. While I read a lot of Greek and Roman legends growing up, I was very unfamiliar with this story, but I thought it interesting that this was the second time I had seen it. I'll need to look it up one of these days.
Another cool spot on this walk was a grotto cave that was cut into the rock just above a stream that led into the lake. A great statue of Poseidon/Neptune (I wasn't sure if this was greek or roman) was unavoidable, and another statue of a water-nymph with an inscription carved in gold below. It was a really cool place!
The next surprise I remember running into fit perfectly with the Pride and Prejudice film we had listened to in the car. While I couldn't see the actual film, I was familiar with it enough to watch it all in my mind. A small roman-esque structure with many pillars came around the corner, in gray, stoic majesty. At first, I just thought it was beautiful and looked forward to taking a closer look just for how it looked. But then I realized it was very familiar somehow. The more I looked at it, the more it clicked: this was the spot used for the scene in the movie where Mr. Darcy tells Elizabeth that he loves her completely and asks for her hand in marriage. This is a very dramatic scene, as it is pouring rain, but Darcy doesn't even notice as he confesses his absolute and powerful devotion to her. Now, I know that this is just a story, and I'm not by any means as obsessed with the story as I know a few other girls to be, but I do very much like a story of such fiercely loyal love. So even though its a story, I really enjoyed the chance to stand right there in the spot where that scene was made. :)
One of the last really cool things I saw on that walk was a tree we had all gathered under to talk more about the history of the place. We didn't get far into any discussion though before someone yelled to look down at the grass. As I got looking, there were definitely things moving around in the grass at our feet. I bent down, and picked up a tiny brown frog! It was so cute, no bigger than my thumb nail!! There were hundreds of them hopping around in that spot! We looked at them for a bit before we once again were on our way.
On our way out of the garden estate, my small group started chatting with a cute older English couple. They, like everyone else here we had talked with, asked where we were from. I was surprised to find that they were the first to associate Utah with Mormons, and thought it was a little funny that no more was asked about our home when they made that connection.
After that, we got back in the van. On this drive, I saw three hawks circling around fields, watching for lunch, and a hill that looked exactly like the hill in the opening credits of Little House on the Prairie (note: I have never watched a full episode of that show. I remember groaning each of the hundred times the opening credits would come on after my favorite shows came to an ever-too-early end).
We drove to the town of Winchester, an old country town gone modern. We took a Tom-paced walk (the equivalent of about warp seven in movie speeds) through the town to the Westminster great hall. This is one of the last and most intact remnant of the old Westminster Castle. The great hall now houses the ACTUAL ROUND TABLE used by King Arthur and his top knights, though it now hangs on the wall as it was breaking its original legs. This hall also displays the coats of arms (in beautiful stained glass window form) of each kings most important people, including head bishops, knights, and future kings. The wall opposite the table displayed a gigantic and very intricate family tree, though I couldn't tell where it began or with whom.
As we walked back through the town to the Cathedral, we passed a West Cornwall Pastie shop! I was so excited I had found another that I could hardly wait for our lesson to finish up so I would have time to grab another Pork, Stuffing, and Apple pastie before the shop closed. We went to one more chapel, built above a guard station, and discussed how July 15 serves the same purpose here as the Groundhog does on February 2. Then we were dismissed for an hour and a half to do as we pleased. Huzzah!
I went with a small group back to the pastie shop, but they had sold out of my favorite flavor. I settled for a Tomato, Basil, and Cheese pasty that was pretty okay, and decided to take a stroll on my own, as my companions wanted to shop. I walked back past the cathedral and eventually the chapel we had just been in before following some directions Tom had given us to get to another site. I followed the directions and found a cute yellow house, squashed among many others. This was the house where Jane Austin died in, though she didn't live there long before her death. A plaque on the wall confirmed this. I looked across the street and saw a tiny little park area, surrounded by rose bushes and, following a hunch, went in. My thought was that this quaint place may have been old enough to be somewhere Jane may have gone in her last days. It wasn't big enough to put a house there, and a very large tree stump confirmed that at least the tree would have been around during her day. I took a moment to look at the stump that may have been a tree she took time to rest under before heading back to the cathedral.
I love the complexity of detail work that is put into cathedrals. Such intricacy is very beautiful to me, so i always end up taking many pictures of cathedrals while i'm there. I took a few minutes to sit and listen to the cathedral choir that was practicing for evensong in the neighboring house. The music was so beautiful. I took pictures of some beautiful white roses and an adorable old house while I listened for a while. That was a really nice moment.
Before I met up with a few other girls from my group, i went into a nearby shop and almost bought a beautiful copy of Pride and Prejudice, in honor of the day, but decided that it was a bit too expensive for my taste. Haha, I realized on my way out that if it was for someone else, I would have snagged it in a heartbeat, but I really hate spending big chunks of money on things for myself that I don't absolutely need.
When I met up with a few others, it was pointed out to me that there were ancient Celtic carvings engraved into the outside stones of the cathedral. I got pretty excited and spent a few minutes hunting some down with my camera. Upon my return, I learned that a few girls had managed to get/sneak into the cathedral for free (a fifteen pound cost, I think) to see Jane Austins actual grave!! I would have loved to have seen it too, but I think I am content with my adventures.
After our entire group met up again, it was a lovely two hour drive to our final destination for the day. Along the way, I beheld a rare breathtaking sight: a red sunset. Now, I know what you're thinking; its probably something like "good heck, this girl is freaking awesome" and then probably "she's not too bad with the whole writing thing, for being a little lengthy" and then finally "holy cow, I wish I liked looking out my window as much as she does." Don't worry, I'm a psych major, so it's really fine that I can know your thoughts that well.
So, to be frank (and not Bob), my sunset is cooler than your sunset because mine is Welsh. That means that sunrises and sunsets are almost NEVER able to be seen here, due to the constant rain clouds that are usually here. But the weather here has been unusually hot the last few weeks (to my complete DELIGHT) and the skies were clear enough for us to behold a deep red sunset from our van windows. It was a treasure to be able to look out across a stretch of water into a sky painted purple, gold, and orange as the red circle in the sky sank slowly to earth.
After our two hours were up in the van, we arrived at our last location for the day: STONEHENGE. That's right gentle reader. You know all those desktop backgrounds and pictures that come up all the time of Stonehenge? Well, I just took my own photos!!! Of Stonehenge!! As the sun was setting!!!! AND OUR INSTRUCTOR HAD GOTTEN THE PLACE RESERVED FOR AN HOUR JUST FOR OUR GROUP ALONE!!!! Oh yes, it was magical all over the place.
There were great big guards all over the place, ready to throw us out by our ears if we touched the stones at all. i was actually both pleased and surprised to see how much security you have to go through to get to Stonehenge. I guess there are too many stupid people who try to bring things to do epically idiotic things there.
Which brings me to my next point; I think it's possible to get a feeling for a place, based on what happened in it. It doesn't matter how long ago those things happened, because if those walls or stones or whatever could speak, I think they would tell the stories of what they saw at the apex of their time. There were a few other rooms and places where I really think I felt the overarching feeling those stories would give (I know it sounds totally weird, but I'm being unnervingly honest), and the feeling of this place was good. I had always thought Stonehenge was one of those crazy places where crazy Druids sacrificed people and animals, where pagan gods were appeased, and where modern day crazies just continued the 'fun,' but I was extremely surprised when I felt an entirely different story. It just felt, well, peaceful. It was a place where the dead had been honored respectfully, where special ceremonies took place for people to say goodbye, and where lives had been celebrated as they came to an end. Sure, lots of other dumb things had happened there too, as well as a lot of sad things, but I don't think the mysteriously vast amount of effort was put into creating such a special place as Stonehenge for any other purpose than to honor what these ancient people cherished above all other things: the chance to live a life well.
So, we walked around, took lots of goofy pictures, and talked with Tom and the guards about this place. Tom read a guide to us about the age of the site (about 5000 years!!) and where people think the rocks came from (some say the bluish ones were transported from 150 miles away!). One of the guards told us how the sun would line up exactly with some of the rocks on the different solstices and how they get about 21,000 people there on average on each of the solstice days! The guard also mentioned something really cool; he pointed out how a few of the remaining stones still stand in twos, two tall rocks on the bottom joined by a horizontal rock with a fitted top that locks onto the tall two and holds it all together. He pointed out that in each pair of upright stones, one was always still very square, robust, and just looked stoic. The other stone seemed to have a softer, more flowy, and intricate sort of strength. He said that he liked to think of these as marriages, with one stone being a man and the other a woman. I don't think I would have ever considered such a connection on my own, but I thought that was a cool little analogy.
When our hour was up, we walked out of the security booth past the group that was waiting for us to leave so they could go in. We loaded back up, and drove home.
When we got home, the fun didn't end. :) We ate some ice cream, made some popcorn, and put on Becoming Jane to round out our Jane Austin Memorial Day. The problem was that we didn't have a good speaker system to watch on, so many of the people just went to bed. We had been told that tomorrow was a free day, meaning we didn't have to be anywhere for anything ALL DAY! As people were leaving, I offered to work some of the knots out of Josie's back and neck, and she wilingly obliged. After everyone else had given up on the movie, she put a few Dr. Who episodes up on her iPad and we watched those while I gave her a full knot-purging process. (Mom, you know how fun that deep-tissue stuff is to get). One thing that was re-confirmed to me that night: Josie has a very high tolerance for pain. When I finished up, she moved her neck around, and then suddenly looked right at me. "It moves a ton now!" she exclaimed, and I let out a sigh of relief. I love working knots out, but I hate how much it hurts people. I've never not had someone tell me that though if they let me get through the whole thing, but it is always nice to get the same reaction each time.
After that, it was bed time at last, only around midnight or so. What amazing things I got to be a part of today...
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