Working on a Bank Holiday...

Working all day in a building that is close to a hundred years old does not do great things for my imagination.

Having locked up a few minutes late thanks to some people desperate to read every last thing of the displays, I went around doing the usual - flipping the lights and knocking off the computers.  It was while I was cashing up that something caught my eye on the security system.  In one of the rooms there was a shimmering light, constantly moving.  Earlier I'd already caught something in the corner of the little shop as I saw rolls of map slide across the floor.  Wondering if someone was hiding there I'd gone to explore to find nothing.  So when I saw this light I kept and eye on it for a few minutes thinking it was my imagination.  But no it kept shimmering.

So I cashed up, put it safely in the safe before returning downstairs and entering the room next to it.  When I'm in there I hear the unmistakable sound of furniture scraping against wood.  As if someone has pushed a wooden chair across the floor.  I froze.  Took a couple of minutes to get a grip on myself then walked around into the darkened room.  It was still, quiet and everything in place but the light was on.  I'd definitely turned it off when I'd turned off the projector.  At any rate it wasn't moving like it had been on the camera.

I swear that that place is haunted!  Especially considering listening to the video all day seems to have burnt an auditory pattern on my brain and it's literally all I can hear on loop...

In other news, the City was celebrating the Battle of Neville's Cross.  I was made aware of this when a horse dressed in a elaborate blanket trotted passed with a knight in full chain mail armor on it's back.  The weird thing was that his leader on foot came in in all of his dress asking for someone that I've never heard of and all I could do was look at him in a bemused sense.  However, during my lunch hour I went and took pictures whilst listening to the amusing characters talk about bow and arrows and watch them start a mini attack on one another.

Working on Sunday...

...is perhaps the longest day in existence.

From the very start there was problem after problem lending itself to being a stressful and busy day.  However, on the other hand, there were long periods of propping up my kindle against my computer screen to pretend I was actually doing something useful, it was that quiet...

But at least today I spent my lunch basking in the afternoon sunshine - the first rays I've seen since the end of March (see above).  This followed a quick trip down to a well known supermarket brand only to witness a student being turned down because their driving licence had expired a week ago...Call me lenient, but seriously?  You're going to turn down business because of a date on a bit of card that clearly shows face and date of birth?  You absolute idiots!

But then I get so angry at things like that.  Life has become too PC for my liking.

The rest of the afternoon was quiet enough for me to get around to reassembling the two arches that had been knocked over by someone thinking it was easy enough to rebuild - they were wrong.  And it was with much trepidation that I had to piece them all together.  It took me 20minutes.  Twenty whole minutes to slot about 12 pieces together in their two separate forms.  Grrr.

Let me explain about why these arches are so important.  The one on the right is the archway we're perhaps more traditionally used to.  It's seen all around the world in bridges and tunnels and massive buildings.  It has its significant keystone in the middle, the piece that without it it would fall apart.  Yet notice the left model without it's key piece and with a pointed centre.  This one on the left was used suddenly in Durham Cathedral.  It was found that you could put more weight on the left one and it would withstand the pressure without crumbling.  Whereas you put weight on the right one and it crumbles.

It is this crumbling that I hear almost once every hour as someone knocks it down.  

So this is a note to any budding engineers reading this - use the left one - it's far less irritating.

Finally on some good news front.

The little lost boy that was swept away in river near me was found today.  Aged 8 and swept away down the river whilst it was flooded.  After a week and two days of endless searching by the never giving up hope volunteers from the community who were touched by the story, the little boy's body was found today.  The most potent thing from this was definitely the community spirit.  No matter what people say, it's still there.  We're united as one in times of moving events.  But let the boy rest in peace now.

World Heritage Weekend

This is one rare occasion where I can explicitly say that today I have done something.

Today it was World Heritage Weekend at Durham.  A day to celebrate the area which surrounds Palace Green being labelled a World Heritage Site.  From 10am there were free walks, tours and children's activities.  And whilst I didn't participate so much in the latter I went on two free walks based on the Lost Buildings of the city and the architectural gems down the medieval bailey before heading on a Cathedral tour.

Whilst my feet may well be dropping off at this point and my body exhausted from dreaming yet again that I had inadequate defense mechanisms in my city (damn you games!) I can say I did thoroughly enjoy myself today.  And I learnt something.

It's is very little that we contemplate our surroundings and think of the history of the place.  We may occasionally peruse for clues about old buildings, noticed the marks on the edge of walls of a building that's long gone, but our investigation would probably end there.  It is with these kind of walks that this insight provides an overwhelming sense of belonging to the area as you get to know more about it, like an estranged relative that you've recently become reacquainted with.

So today as the guide pointed out the structures that have gone missing from gigantic gatehouses designed to protect the wealthy and the houses that no longer exist, as well as what the current buildings tell us about an area today - some you've walked past many years and never really noticed - you really did feel the site come back to life.  You could almost see the medieval people worming their way down the street and the army in the background getting ready for attack.  Even the tour of the Cathedral is one that I found illuminating despite not being religious.  Noticing subtle things in the architecture and understanding where things came from brings a whole new light to the place.

I can honestly say that today has been worth it, and should the opportunity arise to do this in the future please do take it.