Tag: History

On Gulangyu Island 鼓浪屿
CHINA

On Gulangyu Island 鼓浪屿

The repeating mantra seems to weave through the incense-infused air, enveloping everything in a cloak of meditative tranquillity. I take a seat on a stone bench at the entrance to the cave that forms the temple’s main focus of worship. I am momentarily overcome by a wave of helplessness and disorientation and burst into tears. The combination of the heat, the difficulty communicating, the distance from home, and my sheer disbelief that I am actually China again, juxtaposed with the calmness and tranquillity of the temple is overwhelming. But it is only a passing phase: I am too hot and too thirsty to cry. Continue reading On Gulangyu Island 鼓浪屿

Two Feet in Asia
CHINA

Two Feet in Asia

Asia is vast. It spans the world from the edge of the Bosphorus in Turkey to the islands of Japan and beyond: a distance of 11,000 kilometres, or 8,000 miles, or 36 million feet. Someone who lives in Istanbul is as much an Asian as someone from Jakarta or Aurangabad, Kobe or Quanzhou. Nearly four and a half billion people walk on the continent of Asia. And now, my two feet are about to join them again. Continue reading Two Feet in Asia

A Room With a View
England

A Room With a View

For my part, as well as associating Bath with the music of Peter Gabriel — his Real World Studios, where bands such as Tears For Fears, Marillion, Elbow, Muse and The Waterboys have recorded — the nautical novels of Patrick O’Brian often reference the city, particularly Laura Place and The Pumphouse. Continue reading A Room With a View

The Cathedral at the Edge of the World
Cymru

The Cathedral at the Edge of the World

The cathedral itself stands venerable and solemn. Its old stones, worn and weathered by time, seem poised to tell stories of ages past, like a monk awaiting a calm moment to impart wisdom. Standing here, at what seems like the very brink of the British Isles, I can feel the boundaries between history and legend blur. The cathedral, magnificent, grave, regal and austere, anchors the town in its medieval past. It is not merely a structure but a sentinel watching over the coming and going of generations.  Continue reading The Cathedral at the Edge of the World

The Pool of London
England

The Pool of London

In days gone down, this river carried with it the germ of empires, the seeds of countries, the dreams of uncountable millions. Some of these seeds took root in colonies at the uttermost ends of the Earth. My great grandfather, Charles Robert Blakiston, sailed down this very river in 1864, bound for the goldfields of Victoria and then, to the fledgling settlement of Canterbury. Continue reading The Pool of London

The New Jerusalem
England

The New Jerusalem

Here, in the cathedral’s shadow, I am still enveloped in its hallowed calm, a secular pilgrim at the gates of history. In this pause between the old stones and the sky-reaching Shard, it seems as though the burden of the present is perfectly balanced by the gravity of the past. I am standing at a crossroads in time, the very air around me saturated with a sacred stillness. Here, in the shadow of spires, I discover a sanctuary in the stone and stories, a threshold to the new Jerusalem. Continue reading The New Jerusalem

The Gordian Knot
England

The Gordian Knot

London is a living entity where new buildings rise, adding to the skyline, yet the historic heart of London remains. The city honours its past while boldly embracing the future, a testament to human endurance and creativity. Continue reading The Gordian Knot

Ship of the Line
England

Ship of the Line

At seven bells in the afternoon watch, Charles and I step aboard the afterdeck of HMS Belfast. There is no wailing of bosun’s pipes, sprung to welcome us aboard. No stamp and clash of Marines presenting arms. No doffing of hats, no white-gloved sideboys, no parade of midshipmen. We are simply two more civilian tourists coming aboard. Continue reading Ship of the Line