In 2017, we visited the city of Bury St. Edmunds, where we met an American living in Britain. I have no idea of her official legal status, but she has lived there for decades, as her husband's business originally took them there. Perhaps she and her husband had dual citizenship. Perhaps they live with a visa. In any case, she and her husband were retired now, and she graciously donated some of the time she could have spent with him to be a docent in her local cathedral.
Because of their historic status, many churches and cathedrals in England can only be updated within strict guidelines. St. Edmundsbury Cathedral seemed to have escaped these restrictions, and sported all types of modern upkeep and improvements. The management strived to present the cathedral as it would have looked when it was new. Thus, there were lots of little improvements, like the colorful shields that hung in the altar area. These, as I recall, were reminders of the important landowners and aristocrats who would have originally founded and supported the cathedral.
While we marveled at the beauty of their sanctuary, the American woman and her fellow volunteers helped string banners up along one wall. These banners, she explained, had been made by local school children. Through their artwork, they celebrated the importance of the cathedral, as well as the community's spiritual life. When I told her that many American's perceived the British as largely disinterested in their churches, she was shocked. For her, the spiritual life in Britain wasn't just alive, but thriving!
At noon, we took our packed lunches outside, and toured the ruins and their beautiful gardens. Benches were situated all over the grounds, and provided beautiful, scenic views. But the sun was obscured by clouds, and a cold breeze promised to make sitting outside a shivery affair. So we headed back into the cathedral's dining hall, where we purchased a pot of tea, and a slice of cake to accompany our sandwiches.
When the table next to us came free, who should sit down there but our new American friend. She proved graciously amenable to continuing our dialogue. She shared with us everything that appealed to her about Britain, and why she and her husband continued to live there, instead of spending their retirement years in the United States. We learned that much of what appealed to us about her adoptive country appealed to us as well.
In the British TV series Lovejoy, Ian McShane played the title character, who traveled around the country buying and selling antiques. St. Edmundsbury Cathedral may never have been used as a location, but the production used several other places in Bury St. Edmunds, such as public houses and parks. Lovejoy celebrated a reverence for the old, and the need to preserve it. At the same time, the itinerant antiques dealer wasn't wholly against the modern. He simply didn't want people to confuse the two. The differences--what separated the old from the new--were important, and should be recognized, as well as celebrated. That is what I'll remember of my visit to Bury St Edmunds, as another American celebrating past and present in their magnificent cathedral.
Dragon Dave
