Mysterious doors to an ancient way of life are round every corner of Medieval Southampton. My lunchtime walks take me past several examples. Parts of the old walled City sit incongruously beside modern glass and steel.
I try to pigeon-hole many things. People, places, music all need labels and can then be eased into a category. Very comforting to have drawn concrete conclusions. One quite large slot is reserved for stuff I review once and consider irrelevant. Forming an opinion for me is almost immediate and I seldom change my mind.
The doors pictured above could represent the permanent shutters to my pigeon-holes. These doors have existed a long time and don't look as if they are going to re-open any time soon. I am curious to know what lies behind them. Maybe I should re-examine the labels I have applied to life's events. Cut the seals and re-assess.
'I am always right' is a belief so engrained that I don't even question the mind-set, still less the opinions I have formed. Habits of a lifetime are hard to break and I am a creature of habit and addiction. I feel uneasy at the thought of change, perhaps I may just experiment by re-assessing one pigeon-hole first and see how that goes.
"I know what’s on your mind my boy
I can see oh everything.”
The Libertines – Vertigo
5 comments:
Ah, change, scary stuff indeed. Try one door, you may be pleasantly surprised?
I have usually been pleasantly surprised when I opened a door that I didn't think would be fruitful or that I had already set opinions on. It's amazing what you can find.
Grace - it takes courage and dignity to change something as we know only too well. I have changed important things already but I will try for more one day.
Jen - Oh those habits of a lifetime are such tricky things. Fear is a big factor in my reticence to change. Yet time is rushing by and I know I should broaden my horizons soon.
I wish I lived somewhere with medieval roots. The oldest we get here is about 1650, and there aren't many things here from then, either. Take more pictures of old things, please.
And, where's Southhampton? (I could google this but I'd prefer you tell me.)
CC - Southampton is a deep water sea port at the mid point of the south coast of England. It sprawls around the estuary of the River Test in the County of Hampshire. Population is over 200,000. I work there but thankfully live in a village about 10 miles south west of the urban development.
It has been settled since Roman and Saxon times and fragments remain here and there. The City was walled in the medieval era and large sections of the solid wall, towers, gates and battlements are everywhere. The main Bargate is circa 1180.
More photos to follow!
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