Tuesday at Canterbury Cathedral

Today featured a day trip to Canterbury Cathedral and our last concert of the trip.  Today was our earliest start - we had to leave the hotel at 8:00 to get to Canterbury for our 10:30 tour...that was painful.  But we were able to rest up on the bus and do a REALLY QUICK warm up on the bus before the tour - not ideal, but better than nothing.  Canterbury Cathedral does not allow for any rehearsal time in the space.

The Gate to the Cathedral

The Cathedral is magnificent.  By far the most impressive we've seen, from my perspective.  You could just sense the history in the walls.

This was one of my favorite parts - the monks were allowed a certain amount of ale everyday.  They each had their own mug, and they would put the mug in the hole below and voila - out came their allotted ale!  Love it!

Of course, the main part of the tour centered around Thomas Becket and his martyrdom.  What a horrifying story.  If you haven't seen the movie "Becket" with Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole you must - it is one of my favorites.  Although, they make it seem more like Disney than real life.  Apparently the soldiers who killed Becket didn't just kill him - they hacked him to pieces, as our very proper English guide said.  One of the soldiers hit him so hard that he broke his sword.  The spot where he was killed is now called The Martyrdom, and the stone on the floor was inscribed in honor of a visit by Pope John Paul in the 80's.

We also visited the crypt where Becket's was first interred, and then later moved to the nave.   We could not take pictures in the crypt, but it was an eerie place.  Apparently when Cromwell took over the cathedral he used the crypt as a barracks for soldiers, and they desecrated many of the graves there by cutting off the heads of statues, etc.  What a place.  Becket's tomb lies where the candle is burning under the stone in the picture below:

After the tour we waited to begin our concert.  One of the interesting things about both Canterbury and Salisbury is that at 12:00 noon all the touring stopped for a few prayers and the leader then encouraged everyone to pray the Lord's prayer in their own language - a great reminder of what the building is truly for.  When it was time, we marched out into the Quire to begin the concert - we had anywhere from 200-300 people in attendance!  Our largest so far!  The choir did an excellent job at the end of a long and taxing residency.  There were a few tears in a few eyes as we ended our working part of the trip - it was truly an unforgettable experience for everyone, and all are looking forward to the next adventure...

After the concert, we ate lunch in Canterbury - some of us enjoyed yummy fish and chips from a small, local place.  Who would ever have thought we'd see Larry eating "fast food" in an alley?

And of course, we can't forget our friend Plastic Baby Jesus.  We took this picture of him as he sat on the dirty ground outside of the gate to the Cathedral.  He was going to go back in and pray, but it cost 9 pounds just to get in!  Poor PBJ - too poor to go into his own house and pray...does anyone have a few pence to spare?

We went our separate ways for the rest of the evening - some had theater tickets, and others explored the city - you'll have to wait for their posts when they get stateside!

One more day left - tomorrow we visit the historical sights of London - Westminster Abbey, The Tower of London...can't wait to see all these wonderful places for real!