There and Back Again

Listening to: Somewhere Only We Know (Keane)
Pondering: Your bat is your life. It’s your weapon. You don’t want to go into battle with anything that feels less than perfect. (Lou Brock)

One week ago today, my sister and I arrived in London amidst the chaos of terrorist threats and airline restrictions. Now, sadly we only have three days left to our holiday, counting today. How quickly time flies.

Today, we did a tour by ourselves, unlike yesterday’s typical tourist activity. My sister and I took the 10:45 a.m. Southeastern train to Battle, East Sussex to see the Battle Hastings Abbey and Battlefield, site of the Battle of Hastings which was fought between King Harold II of England and Duke William of Normandy on the 14th of October 1066. England was defeated at this battle, which started three centuries of Norman occupation of England, Wales and Scotland, and later Ireland.

We walked the length of the battle site. It was a long, uphill, muddy but pleasant walk through England’s beautiful countryside. Every now and then, it would piss with rain. Towards the end of the walk, the sun finally came out though dark clouds still hovered above us. The dark clouds, the site of the abbey remains, coupled with the audio guide’s retelling of Harold’s defeat that fatal October afternoon made for a pensive moment.

After the tour, we walked a bit around the small town of Battle, which coincidentally is the hometown of the guys from Keane - Tim, Tom and Richard. Isn’t that a coincidence? Anyway, the day ended very well. We caught the 3:20 p.m. train back to Charring Cross Station, just barely missing the rush hour that plagues London’s underground.

Tomorrow we have no plans. We shall see.