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Sunday 7 August 2016

A visit to Durham Cathedral

On a sunny Saturday in August Laura took her little brother Edmund all the way to Durham.
Edumund and Laura stood with the growing Durham crosses
It was a warm day in Durham however Edmund kept his hat on.  Laura was pleased to be wearing a new summer outfit purchased from Lorraine at the Sasha Celebration weekend.
On the other side of the Cathedral they found The Chorister's School
"I can sing in tune - can I be a chorister?" asked Edmund
"When you are a little bigger" whispered Laura in Edmund's ear
The crest over The Chorister School door
In the cloisters they sat down to eat their picnic lunch
Sandwiches, apples and water were very welcome
They saw The Chapter House where Durham Cathedral choir robe up for singing and discovered that it was used for filming Professor McGonagal's classroom in the Harry Potter movies.  They could not go inside though so peered through the window to get a tiny glimpse.
Edmund and Laura admired the incredible Lego model of Durham Cathedral
Lego Durham Cathedral is incredibly detailed
Each brick cost a sponsor £1 and it was used as a fundraiser for the Durham Treasures exhibition.
Lego Durham Cathedral is now complete and behind glass, so is hard to photograph
Laura tried to take photos of Lego Durham Cathedral
The East wall and Rose window looked splendid as it was lit from inside the Lego model
Another view of the East wall and Rose window of the Lego model
The Great rose window at the East end of Durham Cathedral
The South East corner of the Lego model
The belltower of the Lego model was open so the bell ropes could be seen
Some windows were open so tiny glimpses of inside could be seen - this figure was a Monk wearing glasses
There was information about the building of the Lego model
People could buy Lego blocks to add to the model when it was being built
After visiting the Lego model, they also went to see the Treasures of Durham exhibition - no photos were allowed inside the exhibition or in the Cathedral where they sat to listen to Evensong.
When they left Durham Cathedral they posed for a photo
A shop called 'The Mugwump' in a Durham street had a lovely teddy bear's picnic display in the window
Laura and Edmund were very tired after a long day in Durham Cathedral and slept all the way home.

(We visited Durham for a day as Leicester Cathedral choir had their summer choir tour to Durham and were the choir in residence for the week.  It was lovely to see a certain young university student singing Alto in the choir and we were also fortunate to be allowed to watch them rehearse for the Sunday services in The Choristers School earlier in the afternoon.  Durham Cathedral's photographic policy did mean there was no one taking selfies inside but it also meant we couldn't show anything of the interior or photograph the choir in rehearsal).

3 comments:

NeverUschi said...

The Lego model is incredible! And a very good idea for a fundraiser.

Dee said...

Great post on Laura and Edmond's visit to Durham. Laura looks like a pro with her camera.
What a lot of work to make the Lego model and as said above a very good fundraising tool.

Ginger said...

A wonderful post and I enjoyed seeing the incredible Lego model, just amazing. So very nice to enjoy lunch in a cloister area and the teddy bear picnic display is just precious. Thank you for sharing! :) xxx