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NORWICH CATHEDRAL
We, erroneously, assumed that dogs were not allowed in Norwich, so we planned our walking tour of the city and then to go individually inside. We walked around Norwich’s Nooks and Crannies official walk admiring the many churches and public houses on the route, stopping at a pub/cafe for lunch before walking round Norwich by the river to find Julian of Norwich’s cell.
The Cell is in the St Julian’s Church and although not the original has a quiet and contemplative feel to it. We lit a candle and said a prayer for a friend who had urged me several times to go. Julian was remarkable, writing the first book in English by a woman, and locking herself away in a cell interacting with others to give them counsel through a window. Her famous saying “all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well” is said to show the compassion of Christ towards her in her illness. I know that I could not lock myself away in a cell for years even if it gave me carte blanche to dispense advice!
We walked over to the Cathedral only to find that
dogs are welcomed.
The Cathedral stands in grounds which resemble
a large village with its own green, including a
fabulous herb garden.
It’s hardly surprising to discover that the Cathedral has achieved the Silver A Rocha Eco Award and, on its way, to getting Gold!
There is a statue outside to Edith Cavell, another remarkable woman, who treated both Allied and German soldiers without discrimination in World War 1. She nursed over two hundred Allied Soldiers escape from German Occupied Belgium, was court martialled and shot dead by the German Authorities. The night before her execution, she said, "Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.”
Norwich Cathedral has the second largest spire in England, after Salisbury and before entering it, refreshment called as I was not due to meet the Dean for a further two hours. Norwich has a glass walled refectory attached to the cloisters with space age toilets below and a lift, if needed as well as stairs up to it. The dogs have their own section on the veranda, under cover, which as a dog owner I do prefer. In the interests of this blog carrot cake and tea were sampled and pronounced top notch. The refectory, I learnt later from the Dean is franchised to a local company in Norwich.
The four of us then walked around the cathedral for which there is no charge. It has medieval cloisters, a labyrinth, and another amazing ceiling. This time I had taken my binoculars so I could see the roof bosses but no peregrines on the roof! Note to self, binoculars are always handy for stately homes and churches.
There is a beautiful Peace Globe and we picked up a card with the “universal prayer for peace “ on it ending “let peace fill our hearts, our world, our universe” As I write this there is a shooting of a Presidential Candidate in the USA, the Gazans are again bombed and a senior government MP tells of how one of her workers had her car tyres slashed by a group angry at her political allegiance during the recent General Election.
We visit the shop and buy cards, get our passports stamped and ask how to find the Dean. I show the lady in the shop the email and amazingly she is the widow of John Aves who died over 25 years ago collaborating with Palestinians in Bethlehem. They too raise money for students on the West Bank to attend university. How serendipitous to meet Anne like this!
I meet Dean Andrew, without Dorothy, Kit, and Scout, at his home. He is well versed in the Palestinian Situation and takes time to listen. The John Aves Trust is like ours raising money for university students.
I told him how much we had enjoyed our walk around Norwich. It is said that there is a Church for every Sunday and a Pub for every day of the year!
We then had enough time to enjoy the herb garden outside the Cathedral Office before meeting Colin whose reward for ferrying us around, fish and chips was well received.
