Salisbury cathedrel

What can I say about Salisbury cathedral that hasn't been said already? I watched a programme called ’The pillars of the Earth’ based on a novel by Ken Follett. Some of it is supposed to be based on Salisbury cathedral and Winchester, while others says the location is in Melksham. The novel is supposed to be set during the time of the anarchy, and the assassination of Thomas a Becket. I took my camera around there yesterday and they had leaflets about the Pillars of the Earth trail, but they only had German versions left because all the English one’s had vanished; oh well never mind. I might read the book to see what all the fuss is about.

At the moment I am reading the ‘call the midwife’ series which is about a newly qualified midwife Jenny Lee and the work of midwives and the nuns of Nonnatus House, a nursing convent, coping with the medical problems in a deprived area of East London in the 1950s. She describes a world that has now vanished and only exists in people’s memories. Soon these people will die and we will know nothing about just how it was, it’s thanks to these books that we can learn. I just found it fascinating how people lived in London then. Some of the stories are funny and some of them are sad. At the moment I am am on the third book called ’in the midst of life’ which tells how people conceive (or view) death. One old lady who lost her husband during WW1, asked the nurse if her husband would recognise her after she had died. She wasn’t sure as her hair had gone gray from the chestnut brown he last saw her in. Yes he would recognise her, because our loved one’s in spirit are there all the time waiting to greet us when it’s are time to cross.

Someone was playing the organ as I wandered around with my tripod, I don’t feel so self conscious with the tripod now. Some of my shots are still coming out over exposed, I’ll just have to save up carefully as the shutter release on this one is so slooow. Talking about the organ I believe it’s known as the The Willis Organ, one of the finest in the UK and sought after by recitalists and recording companies. Built over a hundred years ago, this masterpiece sounds today much as it did in 1877. 

The cathedral had a black cat called Wolfie. I don’t think this picture does him justice. He was a big boy (bout the size of a small dog). First saw him in reception and had to take a double look, didn’t think cats could get that big. I’d love a black cat (you know I’m Wiccan). All my animals have Celtic names. Wolfie died after a short illness in November 2011.

The spire looks like a missile waiting to take off. Its the first thing people see when they enter into the city. It can be seen as far as old Sarum castle, and the red light on top. Salisbury was spared Nazi bombing because the Luftwaffe used Britain’s tallest spire (at 123 meters / 404 feet) as a navigational guidepost as they targeted other English cities. The Cathedral not only has the tallest spire, but the largest medieval cloisters. I was once told that Hitler because he so confident that of victory that he wanted to keep the cathedral, I don't know how true this is.