An Unappreciated History

A Memory of Hereford.

When you grow up in an ancient city such as Hereford and have really no other frame of reference you don't fully grasp the enormity of the depth of history that buildings such as Hereford Cathedral embodied. The Romans built this city !!! The Romans !! To European kids this 2000 year old history is everyday to them. I think you have to get away from it to be able to take it all in and my 40+ years in Canada and the USA gave me that perspective.

I wept in awe and  wonder at my country's rich history when I took my 18 yr old son and 16 yr old daughter with me to Westminster Abbey in 2001.

Back then, when I was 14, at Hereford High School I was a member of the school's CCF Army Cadet Corps and every year our company would polish up our buckles, shine our boots and press our uniforms so that we would look our absolute smartest as we marched in the huge parade down Broad Street to the Cathedral and through those magnificent arches, our boots noisy on the ancient flagstone floors,  for a mass service ( I can't recall what the occasion was).

The cathedral truly is a marvel, though, being a Yorkie lad I have to say that York Minster tops it and Canterbury is pretty close too !