Portland Bill, Canterbury, Battle of Hastings, Hedgehog

There is not a great deal more to report on the goings-on of our mission.  Last week 33 new missionaries arrived; a smaller number returned home.  Our district has added a pair of Chinese-speaking missionaries to work with the large number of Chinese students at universities here.  We continue to do a lot of cooking and transporting of young single adults to and from Institute class and activities.  One of our young adults returned to Arizona last week after completing a master’s degree in historic building conservation, but before he did so we took him to see a few more historic buildings and sites he would not otherwise have had a chance to see.  Ok, we wanted to see them too.

Portland Bill Lighthouse

First, Portland Bill Lighthouse, near Weymouth, which guards a treacherous area of strong currents, said to be the graveyard of many ships.  Lighthouses have been there since the early 1700s, though the current one dates only to the early 1900s.

Rocks at Portland Bill

No! Don't Climb that Rock.

Next, Canterbury Cathedral (a little beyond the mission boundary, with our president’s approval), the one in which Thomas à Beckett was murdered in 1170, and the “mother church” of all Anglicans.  It cost £8.50 admission to the grounds and cathedral.  The brochure says it costs over £18,500/day to maintain and operate, so we don’t begrudge the admission charge.

Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral

Finally, Battle Abbey, site of the Battle of Hastings in 1066, in which William the Conqueror defeated Harold II of England.  We had wondered what motivated William to leave France, which has the Riviera, and invade England, which has lots of rain.  Now we know, thanks to Wikipedia.  It seems that when the English king Edward the Confessor died childless in 1066, an English aristocrat named Harold was crowned king, but the king of Norway and William II of Normandy both said they had been promised the throne (Indeed, Edward’s mother was from Normandy, and Edward had appointed Normans to positions of authority in his government, so you can see the Normans’ point).  Harold defeated an invasion by the Norwegian king (who was being helped by Harold’s own brother), but Harold’s army, though victorious, was weakened by that battle and was overcome by William, who had landed on the south coast just 3 days after Harold’s victory up north.  Harold was killed in this battle, and William had a church built on the battle site with its high altar supposedly on the exact spot where Harold died.  The church no longer stands, and the abbey is mostly ruins; a stone slab marks the reputed spot of Harold’s death.  The Battle of Hastings occurred 6 miles away from Hastings, at what is now a town called Battle.  Of course it wasn’t a town then, besides which calling it the Battle of Battle would be redundant and sound a little silly. 

Battle Abbey

Battle Abbey Basement

Battle Abbey

Battle Abbey from Stone Slab Marking Site of Harold II's Death

Battle of Hastings Battlefield, with Tractor

Hedgehog

Language:  (1) In Britain “rubbish” is a noun, a verb, and an adjective.  We frequently hear someone say, “I am rubbish at [singing, maths, etc.].”   
(2) After seeing our first hedgehog, a shy little prickly thing, we researched the subject and found a BBC website stating, "Hedgehogs are the only British mammal with spines."  It’s surprising an editor allowed that.  It’s just begging for cynical comments about British politicians.