Categories: uncategorized
Date: 02 December 2010 12:15:02
The quadrangle is layered in deep and tranquil snow
Below the stone pillars of a millenia
There is still silence within the square.
Beyond the walls preperations begin
For an advent celebration
Of local enterprise
Cables are laid
Lights are hung
And tables begin to be laid out.
Then as one explores the stone corridors
Leading out of this tranquil centre
You discover the busyness and beauty
Of church cum tourist attraction at work.
Organ music pipes seasonal tunes
As somebody reherses
And workmen continue
To prepare for the celebration outside.
Mechanical diggers mix with men and spades
To give access to this site
Of world heritage and spirituality
Where Cuthbert is buried and architecture is celebrated
by Harry Potter enthusiasts wanting to see
Where quidditch was apparently played.
The tourists head back
To where marquees are being erected
Amid the snow that's cleared
Into piles.
I head backwards to the college
Where academic and clerical offices and houses mix
With children who are talented or rich
And sometimes both.
Here the snow lies thick
But has been mechanically removed
From the road
To allow the Range Rovers
To drop their children off.
A solitary car stands parked
Covered in snow
Inches deep upon its roof.
The owner is one of "us"
The many who trudge around the city
In our walking boots or wellies
Trying not to slip on the sludge
Or be run over by the workmen.
As I head into my office
Holding a cup of seasonal coffee
From the Cathedral restaraunt
I sigh, breathing in the stillness
And the beauty - in this still quiet part
Of the busy complex of spirituality and commerce.
Tonight I will head on bus
And then foot
Back out of the city
To an estate covered in snow
Which by turns resembles an eerie ghost town
And childrens play area
From where I glance over the snowy rooftops
At the great building, towering about the city.