11.09.2011 – 11.09.2011  21 °C

Nice leisurely start today with a 2 pound all you can eat brekky at the hostel! One thing I have to say for this hostel is they know how to make someone feel welcome. Nothing is too much trouble, the kitchen is very well stocked, free meals, comfy beds, great selection of dvds.. you name it and the hosts will try and accommodate you!

We had been warned that an ex-hurricane was due to hit England either late tonight or first thing tomorrow so I really wanted to make the most of my day before the weather turned sour! I started my day by going back inside the town walls of Canterbury and walking to the ruined Canterbury castle. When I arrived at the castle I was pleasantly surprised to see that a mock medieval tournament was being held in the grounds! I spent about 30mins watching some teenagers and young men bash each other with swords and axes before taking a quick look at the ruin (not that there is much to see). The reason for the mock battle was that well over 1100 years ago a band of Vikings invaded this part of England and nearly wiped out the local population! This battle was to commemorate those awful days (well maybe commiserate is a better term? I’m not sure you really want to commemorate a massacre….)

The stewards who were running the event told me of another event happening on the other side of town so urged me to walk to the other end of the town to check out the Canterbury towers where prisoners used to be held. So over I went to have a squiz. The towers are still in working order (or would be if they wanted to re-use the cells) but are today a museum dedicated to all the traitors who were locked up in the towers. I had never heard of any of the so-called famous prisoners (but I guess I’m not a local so what did I expect?) but one guy caught my attention.. He was 15 yrs old when he was put in gaol for stealing. He decided he didn’t like prison so he escaped. He was then re-captured, and then re-escaped. He managed to get captured/ escape over 7 times!!!!! Finally, they had the lad killed so that they wouldn’t spend any more time capturing this escapee!

I rounded out my day in Canterbury by going and viewing a tourist attraction dedicated to the Canterbury Tales.. when in Canterbury….. I had read a part of the ‘Tales’ when I was in high school for English.. When I read it back then I remember not being a big fan of the Tales so I thought that it was high time that I learnt more about this absolute English classic. The attraction actually enacts a couple of the Tales so it didn’t really help me with the background of the classic.. I guess I’m going to have to just re-read the Tales to get an idea myself!!!! I did notice a similarity though, between one of Chaucer’s tales and one of JK Rowling’s Beadle Bard Tales… If you ever get the chance read Chaucer’s Tale about Avarice (I think it might be by the preacher??) and JK’s tale about the Deathly Hallows (the headline one in the actual HP Deathly Hallows story)… you might find the similarities quite striking!! I guess some literary plagiarism is ok when a book is out of copyright and the author has been dead for hundreds of years???

I spent this evening back in the hostel this time cooking my own dinner which was a just a big plate of veges before we all settled in front of the box to watch Sam Stosur win the Women’s US Final! What a great way to end a really nice day in Canterbury. Off to see the White Cliffs tomorrow before I head on to Brighton.