I simply love Canterbury, especially the Cathedral. I remember one Christmas Eve that our family decided to take an impromptu trip to Canterbury Cathedral. During a family Christmas vacation to Paris and London when our boys were probably seven or eight, my wife and I asked the question “Why not a trip to Canterbury?” Well, we located the train from London to Canterbury; we boarded the train; we listened to a fellow passenger enthrall the boys with stories of being a child during the World War II German Blitz. decided to take the train from London to Canterbury in order to attend the Christmas Eve service.

The service itself was magical. As hundreds of us surged into the Cathedral, we found our place behind the high altar. While we, and certainly our boys, couldn’t see much, we heard that chilling soprano boy’s voice, echoing off the stone ceiling and stone columns, singing “Once in Royal David’s City” as he led the choir into the cathedral. Wondrous!

Canterbury offers so much. There aren’t many greater gifts than hearing a Canterbury choir. Divine. Like many of other visitors, I pause by the memorial candle set above the original memorial to Thomas Beckett destroyed by Henry VIII. Since I know that I’ll be hearing French for the next two months, I appreciate that the music, the readings and the prayers are in English. Staying 100 feet distant from the Cathedral at the “Annex” of the Cathedral Lodge, I attended four or five services. Listening to a clergy person lead the morning prayers or the responsive reading from the others present during vespers, I settle into a reverent mood. Although I don’t have long conversations, I’ll remember chatting with Canon Emma Pennington, Vice-Dean Will Adams, and Dean David Monteith. Having earlier said to Dean Monteith that I was taking a rest day before my walk, he later asks “Did you rest on your rest day.” I hang my head and shake it guiltily, “Nope. Too much to see and do!”