Salisbury was the first stop in my Christmas trip. 

The Salisbury Cathedral is Britain’s finest 13th century cathedral and has Britain’s tallest spire (123 m). Its Chapter House (the meeting place for the “chapter” - the cathedral’s governing body) was beautifully built with one column in the centre supporting the whole Chapter House. The Chapter House also houses the finest of only four surviving original Magna Carta dated 1215. Magna Carta is particularly interesting to the people who study or work with law. It was a concession agreement by King John when he agreed to give more power to the then powerful nobles. It established freedom for the church and trial by jury and other principles of democracy and provides the basis for many countries’ constitutions.

When I entered the cathedral, I was attracted, not by the interior (I have visited too many cathedrals and churches in my life and their interior or exterior extravagance can no longer attract me), but by the sound of organ. Maybe they were practising for the Christmas performance. I have not stepped into a church for around ten years. The music of organ was so overwhelming. I was suddenly moved. How long I have not sit still and thought about life while my life seemed to be always in a hurry. I sat there… silently… 

In the cathedral, I met an old man, a retired British soldier. He had served in Hong Kong and Malaysia and had experienced World War II. He is living in Salisbury and comes to the cathedral every day. He is lucky. He has never been injured or captured in the war. Some of his friends in the army were not as lucky as he was. I asked him, if he could live his life again, whether he would choose to be a soldier as his career. He said probably not. He would like to be a doctor to cure people.

Why we need soldiers? Because there are wars. But why there are always wars? Is human so hopeless? I wish I could say no.

Salisbury is a beautiful old town. Its river brings to it both liveliness and serenity.

There was an open market.

Many people go to Salisbury because it is the resting point to see the Stonehenge. I was no exception. Stonehenge is thirty minutes’ bus from Salisbury.

On the day of my visit to Stonehenge, it was very foggy. But the Stonehenge showed its another kind of beauty and mystery in fogginess. The area of the Stonehenge is not big, but its wonder lies in the puzzle that about 4000-5000 years ago, some very wise people moved the stones from very far places to the current site. How did they make it? Why did they do it? There is no answer yet.