Arts & Crafts in Canterbury

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True to form, another splendid day with only a couple of clouds to mar the blue skies! We were out in Cathedral Square quite early looking round the market stalls before popping in to the Library to send some emails. If we thought it was quiet yesterday, today was even quieter - so peaceful.

We then walked down to the Arts Centre where a weekend market had been recommended. Well, my goodness, what a wonderful place the Arts Centre is! In the 1870s they built the first University of Canterbury, together with the Girls and Boys High Schools, in Victorian Gothic. The buildings had subsequently been abandoned by the girls in the 1880s, the boys in 1929 and the University in 1957. Alumini at the University include notables such as Rutherford, and I was interested to see that the first female student was admitted in 1881 ... she subsequently married her professor, who had been the person that had fought for women to be admitted!

The buildings, which are fantastic (and made me think of Hogwarts! - especially the Great Hall), were under threat of demolition for several years until they were turned into an Arts Centre in the 1970s. There are several artists in residence, as well galleries and shops. I could have stayed there forever ... and if you ask John, he’ll probably say I did!! We did poke our noses into the Botanical Gardens, sitting in the sunshine and watching the fountains, but I was having far too much fun chatting to some of the artists - weavers, jewellery makers, etc.

Having said that, it wasn’t all one-sided - John found an excellent photography stall on the market ... unfortunately he also found two American women who were ‘born again’ - thus ensued the type of discussions that take place on our doorstep at home if a Jehovah’s Witness is unfortunate enough to have John answer the door to their polite knock. The advantage of this is that I could shop in peace, and was even given care of the wallet for my purchases! The downside was that the stallholders eventually asked them to move on as they were putting off potential customers!

We went off in search of a beer, and it took us ages to find a pub - we eventually had to settle for an Irish Bar, which wasn’t terribly successful as they were playing mournful Irish dirges at full volume. We eventually gave up and went in search of an early curry, followed by sorting out suitcases and chatting to various members of the family before an early night ... well, it was more like midnight!

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