Residing in the tropics is a luxury, there are no cold mornings, you are guaranteed good weather in the summer months and 'cooler' season and you can wear shorts all year round. Although Christmas is just not the same without chilly days, warm pub fires and frosty morning walks along the canal paths. So last Christmas the Explorer family went back to Gloucestershire in England to embrace the joys of Christmas with our beloved ones.
On Christmas eve we had planned to go to Gloucester Cathedral, a triumph of Architectural delight and the epitome of locations during this festive period. But as it was 'The Season to be Jolly!' I had met up with some of my old friends the evening/night before, helping the local watering hole diminish its stocks of the finest English ales, presenting me with the mother of all hangovers on December 24th - the day of our cathedral visit. Nevertheless this self inflicted 'zombie state' wouldn't stop me from our intended mission!
The architectural triumph, viewed from the courtyard
Some Architecture On The Way
Gloucester seemed to have some what changed from my childhood, the small city was a lot more pleasing than I remembered. With my head banging like a pneumatic drill, the self-inflicted pain was peaking, but the fresh air and a modest walk did seem to soften the blow, although the hangover haunted me in waves. We parked at the rejuvenated dockland area and headed towards the cathedral, passing several interesting pieces of architecture on our journey.
Grandpa and Explorer Junior observing the swans
Some striking masonry
Another holy sighting
Arrival and Escape
We arrived at the cathedral to find it was under restoration, making it harder to obtain those postcard pictures and by this point I was battling a headache, which resembled 18 rounds with Mike Tyson and self-medicated with Explorer Junior's sugar fuelled Haribo sweets. We entered the Cathedral and there were only a few people gathered inside, so we decided to take a stroll around to check out some of the cathedral's awesome architecture. This would happen to be our first mistake. When we came back to the cathedral's main hall it was packed to the brim, making it cramped, hot and with know where to sit! We did manage to find one spot for my sister-in-law who was about 7 months pregnant at that point!
The face of the splendid structure, currently in a restoration stage
My hangover started to get the better of me, they started to sing hymns, the structure had amazing acoustics but this bombarded my pounding head and my winter clothing made me feel like I was back in Thailand! It was time to ease my hangover, I explained my predicament to my English family and swooped off with Mrs Explorer and Explorer junior, off to explore we went!
Exploring the Cathedral
It was a relief to escape the crowds, heat and let my pounding headache eased off in the quieter confines of the cathedral. We had a good wonder around and my head soon began to clear, having a young child always keeps you on your toes and he always loves exploring for new discoveries. I didn't take as many photos as originally intended and admittedly was on quite poor form, but I have included a selection of shots which I hope you enjoy!
Beautiful stained glass windows
Apparently these corridors were used in the filming of 'Harry Potter'
Lighting illuminating the beauty of the ceiling
Calm after the storm
More marvellous masonry
Courtyard Panorama - Spot the hungover Explorer
Gloucester Cathedral really was a treat for the eyes and did help ease the pain of a horrific hangover! There are thousands of cathedrals across Europe and England, if you ever get a chance go take a look, don't forget to take your camera and definitely don't waste your viewing pleasure with an unnecessary headache!
Well Steemians, thank you so much for reading my blog, it is truly appreciated. If you enjoyed this, don't forget to upvote and follow to see more exploring in England and my current home Thailand.
Keep exploring!
(All photos are originals)
You have been scouted by @promo-mentors. We are a community of new and veteran Steemians and we are always on the look out for promising authors.
I would like to invite you to our discord group https://discord.gg/vDPAFqb.
When you are there send me a message if you get lost! (My Discord name is the same as here on Steemit)
Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by theexplorer from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows. Please find us at the
If you would like to delegate to the Minnow Support Project you can do so by clicking on the following links: 50SP, 100SP, 250SP, 500SP, 1000SP, 5000SP.
Be sure to leave at least 50SP undelegated on your account.
The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!Hello @theexplorer, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine.
Thanks for the support, it is truly appreciated. I will 100% be checking out your magazine!