Sunday 18 December 2011

The Building that Brought me to Tears




Bonython Hall - part of the University of Adelaide.
As we approached this building, when on holiday there last month, I became excited at its Gothic style, my favourite style of architecture. I began snapping away with my new camera. We came to the steps and the great doors were open, inviting us in. There was no hesitation as I entered the building and lifted my head to take in the magnificence of the ceiling, the decoration, the flying arches, the heraldry and all the space about me. My eyes welled with tears of joy at its beauty.
A small group of people were gathered at the far end of the hall. They began to disperse. A woman headed towards us and said she would have to lock the door now. I asked if we were not supposed to be in there, and she kindly said it was okay (one of those times when having grey hair and looking like a little old lady when you're not, actually works to my advantage). She allowed us to take whatever photos we wanted before leaving.
That was a day in which we were truly blessed, to have come to that building, the one building on North Terrace I really wanted to see inside, and the door was open for us.
(And if I cry at an Australian Gothic building of the 19th century, I'll need more than a box of tissues when I go to England!!)

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