Sheffield
If there is one thing truly impressive about England, and the rest of Europe, are its churches. I took this picture of a cathedral, which is a 5 minute walk from our hostel. While in Malaysia, churches come in the form of modern buildings, corner houses, and sometimes shop houses, churches seem to be the main landmark of their town here in England. There are at least 4 very impressive looking Cathedral here in Sheffield, all of which are over 200 years old.
And while my friends were all busy snapping photos of themselves around the vicinity, I found myself drawn most the church building itself, and its surroundings. i took as many photographs of it as I could, and I liked this one the best.
2 things really intrigued me. One was the floor pavement. Instead of just regular pavements, the floor was covered with stone tablets, each with rows of list of people from the past who had died. I am not sure who these people were, or why their name was on the tablets, and neither did it mention who these people were; only that so and so had lived from when to when and left behind 3 children and a wife. All the names dated back to the 19th century. Perhaps these people made some sort of contribution to the church, or they were wealthy benefactors of the church?
The second was on the church building itself. Now, churches would normally be associated with God and all things beautiful. It would only make sense that a temple of God was decorated with statues of Angels and such. But that is not the case. Instead, all over the church building, the walls are surrounded by carvings of strange, eerie looking faces. Some take the form of a human, others look like a dog, or bear and a few look like some sort of Fuji-Mermaid or freak of nature. Its feels very bizarre, because these don't seem like the kind of thing you would want to put on a church! What did they have in mind? Were they trying to scare away someone or something? Was it some sort of reminder? I have tried looking it up and reading about it, but I haven't found a satisfactory answer yet.
Every time I walk home from University, I pass by that church, and my mind always wonders why it was built the way it was, and I just know that there is so much history to it, as with so much of the rest of Europe. It's ironic because this is supposed to be a first world country, and yet when I am here, I get a feel more of its history than its technology. I feel like I am stepping back into time, into an ancient place, rather than into a city filled with cutting end technology. Development is slow and almost non existent, and that is to be developed has been developed. Shops all close at 6pm, half days on Saturday and never on a Sunday. The place is just generally slower paced. It takes getting used to because back home, everything is abuzz, there are new areas rising all the time, shops are busiest on Sundays, and no major store would dream of closing earlier than 11pm on a Saturday night. I read it someone, and I now find it only too true. In the past, Asia used to be associated with rural mystic and culture dating back centuries. It was the world where Western led development had yet to reach, where modernization was still in its baby footsteps. But come to any major town in Asia today and you will see Skyscrappers, McDonalds, Star Bucks, Seven Elevens, designer boutiques, TGI Fridays and many other modern facilities. Asia has now become the New World.
In support of my case, consider this: There is not a single 7 eleven in Sheffield. (at least none that I have found).
And while my friends were all busy snapping photos of themselves around the vicinity, I found myself drawn most the church building itself, and its surroundings. i took as many photographs of it as I could, and I liked this one the best.
2 things really intrigued me. One was the floor pavement. Instead of just regular pavements, the floor was covered with stone tablets, each with rows of list of people from the past who had died. I am not sure who these people were, or why their name was on the tablets, and neither did it mention who these people were; only that so and so had lived from when to when and left behind 3 children and a wife. All the names dated back to the 19th century. Perhaps these people made some sort of contribution to the church, or they were wealthy benefactors of the church?
The second was on the church building itself. Now, churches would normally be associated with God and all things beautiful. It would only make sense that a temple of God was decorated with statues of Angels and such. But that is not the case. Instead, all over the church building, the walls are surrounded by carvings of strange, eerie looking faces. Some take the form of a human, others look like a dog, or bear and a few look like some sort of Fuji-Mermaid or freak of nature. Its feels very bizarre, because these don't seem like the kind of thing you would want to put on a church! What did they have in mind? Were they trying to scare away someone or something? Was it some sort of reminder? I have tried looking it up and reading about it, but I haven't found a satisfactory answer yet.
Every time I walk home from University, I pass by that church, and my mind always wonders why it was built the way it was, and I just know that there is so much history to it, as with so much of the rest of Europe. It's ironic because this is supposed to be a first world country, and yet when I am here, I get a feel more of its history than its technology. I feel like I am stepping back into time, into an ancient place, rather than into a city filled with cutting end technology. Development is slow and almost non existent, and that is to be developed has been developed. Shops all close at 6pm, half days on Saturday and never on a Sunday. The place is just generally slower paced. It takes getting used to because back home, everything is abuzz, there are new areas rising all the time, shops are busiest on Sundays, and no major store would dream of closing earlier than 11pm on a Saturday night. I read it someone, and I now find it only too true. In the past, Asia used to be associated with rural mystic and culture dating back centuries. It was the world where Western led development had yet to reach, where modernization was still in its baby footsteps. But come to any major town in Asia today and you will see Skyscrappers, McDonalds, Star Bucks, Seven Elevens, designer boutiques, TGI Fridays and many other modern facilities. Asia has now become the New World.
In support of my case, consider this: There is not a single 7 eleven in Sheffield. (at least none that I have found).
posted by Compulsive Blogger @ 7:08 pm
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