Con't... My story when in UK (Part 4)

20-21 October 2007 (Saturday & Sunday)

The next day (Sunday), we go to Lincoln (http://www.visitlincolnshire.com/). Not much places been visited, but at least we have the opportunity to see internal building structure of the Lincoln Cathedral (church). Normal day they will charge 4 pounds for admission except Sunday. Most of the shops also closed at 4.30pm on Sunday, that’s why we go back after this hour and reached hotel at 6.00pm.

When we go back to the company to tell the story in Lincoln Cathedral, our UK colleague who lived in Lincolnshire quite a number of years, do ask us wheather we have seen the little demon in the Cathedral. At first, we didn't know the articles he mentioned to us. After searching in the internet, I believed this is what he means:

"We can't leave the Cathedral behind without a word about the Masonic marker of its infamous Lincoln Imp, high up between two arches on the North side of the Angel Choir. This 13th century demon is said to have been blown into the Cathedral by the wind. Generally speaking, an imp is a small demon that has such a restricted power that it relishes in creating havoc by spreading untrue tales and lies amongst the gullible. The word originates from Old English 'impa' meaning 'shoot', 'offspring', 'graft'. In Masonic architecture a graft is 'the place of junction of stock and scion'...'scion' a word from Old French 'sion, scion', meaning a young member of a family, a descendant, an offshoot. Is this a reference to what Dan Brown in his novel refers to as the alleged fathered child of Jesus and Mary, and the Priory of Sion who keep the secret ?"

Inside the Lincoln Cathedral

My story when in UK (Part 4)

20-21 October 2007 (Saturday & Sunday)

As planned, we go to York (http://www.visityork.org/) on Saturday. York is a walled city, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city is noted for its rich heritage and it has played an important role throughout much of its almost 2,000 year existence. York's centre is enclosed by the city's medieval walls, which are a popular walk. The entire circuit is about 3 miles (5 km), including a part where walls never existed, because the Norman moat of York Castle, formed by damming the River Foss, also created a lake which acted as a city defence.

York Minster, the second largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe, stands at the city's centre.

Statue of Constantine the Great outside the Minster, which largely covers the Roman Army HQ building.

Which way to go?

St. Mary's Abbey

Clifford's Tower, a stone quatrefoil keep built on top of a Norman motte, was the site of a massacre in 1190 when the small Jewish community of York sought protection in the tower on the feast of Shabbat ha-Gadol. Many Jews took their own lives rather than face a violent mob in an event regarded as one of the most notorious examples of antisemitism in medieval England.

We visited the national railway museum as well. It is very educated if visit by small kids. The admission to this museum is free. The National Railway Museum is situated just beyond the station, and is home to a vast range of transport material and the largest collection of railway locomotives in the world. Included in this collection are the world's fastest steam locomotive LNER 4468 Mallard and the world famous 4472 Flying Scotsman, which is being overhauled in the Museum.

The Yorkshire Wheel from inside the National Railway Museum.