May 15th: Here be dragons

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Click for photos of the stone carvings in the Cathedral

My cousin Kookee was back in town, so we had lunch together in the market. He was always my favourite cousin - I don’t think that’s changed.

Norwich is special - it doesn’t just have one cathedral. No, it has two. One for the protestants, the other for the Catholics. And they’re both beautiful buildings. St. John the Baptist Cathedral is the Catholic cathedral, built in 1910, and is situated on the outskirts of the City center. It has few statues, but it does have a Lampedusa cross - made from pieces of a boat that was wrecked off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy, taking the lives of 311 Eritrean and Somali refugees fleeing from Libya to Europe. 155 refugees were saved by the people of Lampedusa. The Cathedral is sleek and bright, with pillars and other decorative features of Frosterley marble which is studded with fossils. Robert and I spent ages gazing at each pillar, each slab, picking out our favourite fossils. Each pillar has a number of stone faces, and dragons, near the base. We discovered one face that was upside down but, when we asked about it, no-one else realised it was there! We also spent time trying to discern which of the faces were of the stonemasons who built the cathedral. I don’t think we found them. Oh, and the Cathedral has a tower, with 280 steps up a spiral staircase. You can climb the tower on select dates ... you know we’re going to do that as soon as we can!

We left the Cathedral for a stroll around the nearby Plantation Garden. Norwich is full of wonderful surprises like this. The garden was originally a chalk pit, but was transformed as part of the vision of Henry Trevor, a local businessman. It is well hidden, and one stumbles upon it. A well kept secret containing a fountain, terraces, rockworks, woodlands, shrubberies, lots of garden beds - all in bloom, serpentine paths through both the gardens and the woods. Although it is hidden there were many young people sitting around reading books, sketching, and just enjoying each others’ company. It was pleasant place to be on such a pleasant day.

We left as the gardens were closing, and walked back to the Cathedral for vespers, sung in Latin. It’s funny - neither Robert nor I are church goers, but we seem to be visiting every church and Cathedral in Norfolk!

We had time to walk around the Cathedral gardens, all in bloom and very pretty, and chat to one of the men who volunteers at the church. Then it was time for Vespers. They even sang The Magnificat - but not the Gumley House version. Gumley was my senior school, The Magnificat was our school song.