Canterbury High Street Revisited

Was great to walk down Canterbury High  Street again last summer.

Got a quick shot inside the Eastbridge Hospital of St. Thomas the Martyr (above). Have just read that Eastbridge Hospital became an accommodation site for pilgrims after the death of St. Thomas Becket in the late 12th century. Can recall seeing a very old fresco when my wife and I went on a short guided tour of the building in summer 1999.

Below, there is the Black Griffin pub on the High Street. Remember this pub having a bare wooden floor and great Rock jukebox. In particular, I can remember going on an all-day drinking trip to Herne Bay and Whitstable in 2007 or 2008 with EFL Steve, getting back to Canterbury, and listening to the whole Metallica album 'And Justice for All' in the Black Griffin:

During the trip to Canterbury last year, my friend from Ireland spotted the interesting plaque below on the High Street:

How could such an old building have been demolished?

Canterbury: Juxtaposing Old and New

Not really a big fan of (post-) modern art, but think that the juxtaposition of old and new above, near the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, works quite well.

The shot below is part of the Blackfriar (Dominican) monastery remains in Canterbury which lie on both sides of the River Stour:

Gondolas can often be seen gliding in between the Blackfriar monastery remains above. Have just read that the Blackfriars buildings date back to the 13th century when the Dominicans were granted land within the city walls by Henry II.

Starting Pride and Prejudice

Between 1987 and 1988, I read Emma three times while attending A Level English Literature classes at Bury College of FE once a week in the evening. To be honest, I quite enjoyed studying Emma, and can't understand why it has taken me 32-33 years to start reading anything else by Jane Austen.

Having seen the wonderful film version of Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley, I can still remember the general storyline of this novel. I'm only a few chapters into the novel, but I like what I see. Jane Austen quickly allows her readers to see that there's much more to Mr. Darcy than what his aloofness would suggest, and that the wonderful character of Elizabeth will bring this fully out of him.

Really like how one of the female characters describes the difference between pride and vanity early on in the novel:

A year or two ago, I really enjoyed reading Oliver Twist having not read any Dickens for about 22-23 years. Think I'm going to similarly enjoy catching up with Jane Austen through Pride and Prejudice.

Was pushed towards reading Pride and Prejudice by the great scholar of Catholic literature, Joseph Pearce. In Literature: What Every Catholic Should Know, Pearce explains that despite being Anglican, Jane Austen was sympathetic towards Catholics and their religion. If I remember correctly, he also stresses that in Pride and Prejudice, much can be learnt about the art of curbing pride, one of the seven deadly sins, of course.

Canterbury: Old Coaching Inn Gate

Not 100% sure but this seems to be an old coaching inn gate. I spotted it while heading towards the Westgate Wetherspoons in Canterbury, Kent.

Having followed in the footsteps of my favourite writer, Thomas Hardy, around Dorset a few times, I've come to love the sight of old coaching inn gates. They kind of connect me to an aesthetic past.

Passing Bunratty Winery

I wanted to get a bottle of mead from Bunratty Winery, but, unfortunately, the place had closed for the day.

Have just read that you can get wonderful mead and potcheen at the Winery, and that Bunratty mead was first discovered by Irish monks in the Middle Ages.

Seeing Bunratty Castle

I arrived way too early for my flight from Shannon Airport to Stansted (on route to Canterbury) last summer, so I took a half-an-hour bus ride to spend a couple of hours at the picturesque village of Bunratty.

As soon as I got off the bus at Bunratty, a Spanish family excitedly told me to have a look at the Castle. Unfortunately, it was late afternoon, so I couldn't go inside the Castle grounds, but it was possible to have a nice cold beer admiring the Castle tower building from a short distance:
 

Have just read that the origins of Bunratty Castle date back to the 13th century.

There was also a quite picturesque bridge near the Castle:

Kaja

Sadly, Misiek passed away last year, but thankfully, his mother, Kaja (above) is still going strong.