tired, groggy and cranky, but good.
Gerard then picked us up. We got aboard the “flying nun” bus (hilarious cartoon picture here). After indoctrination at the campus, we all went to Tesco to pick up groceries needed and supplies. Tesco is a major corporation in the UK that mostly places itself in the groceries/dried goods/department store sector. It’s big like Wal-Mart is in America and Canada.
After a much needed nap, I headed to the nearest pub from the campus (literally 30 seconds away) called the Crown. This was about 9PM or so. Jill, Kyle, Martine, Amanda and bailey were there, along with Ewen, a student attending harlow from britain. It was great to chat with someone who had grown up in the country.
After this, we headed to tesco again, perhaps astonished by the ridiculously cheap beer there (try 48 cans of Stella Artois for $33.00 CAD, or the 2L bottle of strongbow i got for about $5.50 CAD). Honestly, this is the place to get great beer at the cheapest you can imagine. Hit the hay around 12:30, as gerard wanted us up and on the go by 9AM the next morning.
We started off at this place.
This is the Saxon Chapel, built roughly around 1180 AD. Yeah, that old. The brick handling suggests very unrefined work, with the Buttresses (those stacks on the corners that look like chimneys) supporting the unbalanced, unleveled walls. Inside, the place had this nice old lady to help us with questions, small displays and artifacts and a loft area for browsing around in. A back garden was also there, looking like every other beautiful residential back garden around here.
the loft area scared me abit while being up there. Creaking doesn’t leave me rest assured that it’s a stable structure.
after some field crossing, we hit the St. Marys, St. Hughes church, closer to High Street. This anglican church featured many different styles and fixtures of all kinds.
What? guys kissing in a Catholic Church? i knew it!
stain glass windows came at the time of rising Protestantism in england. The stained glass was done to attract defecting members of the congregation (sort of like a rock concert getting new lights).
We also got to see this large clock, all mechanical, in a part of the church’s bell
tower.
This was a very ancient piece, too. maybe 1991?
Jenny D tried getting a close-up of one of the room’s ladybugs. I used the Macro setting on my Camera to great success! man, that bug was dirty.
We also checked out the harlow baptist church. this is one of those churches that doesn’t have the cross anywhere, that accepts all denominations and also hosted a World Cup viewing night for the Old Harlow community. The minister there was wicked nice, letting us explore all parts of the church.
a few houses around the neighborhood featured many architectural tidbits. This house very much resembles the Glynmill Inn in Corner Brook. A plaster layering was done over a wood exterior to protect the wood and was most likely part of a style appreciated in the early 20th century, with the foundation probably being 100+ years older than that.
after that, we checked out the St. Johns Church across from the campus (like you could throw a rock at it and hit it - not mentioning that i would ever do so). This is a good spot because it’s mostly a recreational place, hosting lots of different activities and meetings for the community.
we headed back for the cafeteria food and meet gerard later about bus rides and riding the tube (the subway train). Tomorrow is our first day to go to london. There will be lots to see and , no doubt, lots to time walking around. Gerard predicts we’ll all drop dead tired by around 4PM tomorrow.
in that case, make my order at the coffee shop a double Americano, i’m gonna need the espresso to keep up!
alright, i’m off to read and write. cheerio!
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