Finding the Magna Carta

It sounds ridiculous to say I had a disappointing day in England because it is one of the Wonders of the World as far as I'm concerned.

You know how sometimes you over-anticipate something and build it up so high that it backfires?  That didn't happen. Stonehenge just really sucked.

No, really: the pictures DO do it justice. It really is a bunch of large stones in a cow pasture. I have NO IDEA why calendars are devoted to it.  One thing not replicated on film is the fencing that keeps tourists away and the little shacks that sell souvenier rocks and bottled water. Presumably, so you have a memento of the experience and are hydrated on the long trip home. 

An hour and a half train trip and nearly 45 minutes by bus, for this? I was positively inconsolable knowing that the day could have been spent doing something, anything else.  So I parked my butt at the train station and was thumbing through Fodor's Guide to the Universe when lo and behold I found a cathedral nearby with one of the tallest spires in England. And it was, like, a 10 minute walk.

I headed through town and could not help but notice the most marvelous smell coming from the fish and chips storefront just off the sidewalk, literally one step in and you are at the counter. Real English fish and chips, bubbling in oil and seasonings, being scooped up and drained on newspaper and copious amounts of vinegar and salt added before being tightly wrapped in fresh newspaper and shoved into a bag. L3, please. There was a line.

I took the searing bag of hot lava onto the street thinking I would die from the salt alone and that lunch would probably need to be thrown out. But at present it was keeping me warm. 

Salisbury turned out to be an astonishing stop, architecturally and historically. It was deserted except for a friendly docent standing in a nave who introduced me to one of the last remaining copies of the Magna Carta signed by Prince John. Fodor's didn't even mention it!

The Magna Carta is as historically significant to the English as the Declaration of Independence is to Americans. It is a proclamation of freedoms granted to the citizens and limiting the monarchy's autocratic powers. This particular document was intended to 'reign in' Prince John who, in King Richard's absence fighting in The Crusades, tried to enslave Britains and usurp the throne.

Imagine standing there with an oozing bag of fragrant cod fillets in stark disbelief. I had some time to kill and the docent was very knowledgeable about the church and the document. I was right there looking down at Prince John's flowery signature from the 13th century!! Go, me!!

Walking back, I thought about what a close call the day had been, and how unlikely it was to find Salisbury Cathedral and the Magna Carta. I was in such a good mood, even the rail strike that delayed the trip back by several hours and required some creative criss-crossing to outlying towns around London didn't get me down. As it turns out, the fish and chips were out of this world.

http://encyclopedia.tfd.com/Magna+Carta