Through a forest along the Jianhe River, there is an idyllic path leading to Grantchester. Walking on the path, grass, wheat fields and rape blossoms are endless, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds. In the open field, cows are grazing leisurely, colorful wildflowers are dotted among them, and ancient villages in the distance are looming between grass and wheat fields. Through the forest and grassland, we walked into Grantchester Village. The air is filled with faint fragrance, and we occasionally hear the melodious bells of St. Andrew's Church and St. Mary's Church.
There are many old houses and churches in the village. The old school in the village is a typical Victorian building. 1867 opens and 198 1 closes. The most important building in the village is the old mill, which is said to be the old house where Russell's teacher alfred north whitehead lived. Russell once lived there. It is said that he wrote a mathematical monograph there. After his manuscript of Principles of Mathematics was completed, he transported it to Cambridge University Press by carriage. The miller story in Geoffrey Chaucer's masterpiece Canterbury Tales happened here, in which two Cambridge students and an old priest's residence were mentioned.
The pastor's old house is located near the orchard in Grantchester. Rupert Brook, a poet, once lived in the priest's old house, which can be regarded as the poet's former residence. There is a full-length statue of Rupert Brooke in uniform in the priest's old house. There is also a big and unique garden in the priest's old house. In the garden, there are trees, lawns and flowers, as well as some exquisite marble statues, such as shepherds and girls. In addition, the garden can also see the pastoral scenery of small bridges and flowing water.
Here, the pace of life becomes slow. Tudor-style houses that have gone through a hundred years are particularly simple and elegant in the morning light, and vines covered with dew are crawling all over the walls. There are three characteristic country bars in Grantchester, namely Rupert Brook, Green Man and Red Lion. Among them, the green man is one of our favorite bars because it has a country flavor. It is very pleasant to have a drink in an English country bar and talk to the local people about what happened here.
The orchard in Grantchester was built in 1868. It used to be just an ordinary orchard. Grantchester Orchard is famous for its afternoon tea. 1897 One morning in the spring, a group of Cambridge students asked the owner of the orchard, Mrs. Stevenson, to allow them to drink tea under the flowering apple tree instead of in the teahouse. It is rare that this kind housewife accepted the students' suggestions and moved the desks and chairs under the fruit trees in the garden. This broke the tradition of drinking tea indoors and started a tradition with cultural characteristics in Cambridge-going to Grantchester Orchard for afternoon tea.
The news that the students are drinking tea in the orchard has spread in various colleges of Cambridge University. For students and scholars in Cambridge, the orchard soon became a scenic spot in the upper reaches of Jianhe River, which contributed to the cultural trend of thought in Britain and even the whole world. 100 years have passed and times have changed. Since the establishment of this orchard, time has been fixed in a free, quiet and poetic time, and there is basically no change.
When it comes to orchards, we can't help mentioning the English poet Rupert Brooke. Brooke is handsome, talented, passionate, romantic and noble. 1906 Entered King's College, Cambridge University. 1909 In his junior year, he moved out of King's College and came to Grantchester. He rented a farmhouse in the orchard to write papers and meet guests, and enjoyed the quiet life in the English countryside.
Brooke, the "most handsome guy in Britain", keeps having friends to visit him. These friends were philosopher Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, novelist edward morgan forster, novelist Virginia Woolf, economist John Maynard Keynes, and artist Augustus John. Later, they developed into a seven-member group, namely "Grantchester Group", which became a beautiful talk in the history of humanities. Brooke is the core of Grantchester Group. Virginia Woolf once called the Brook and Grantchester groups "new heretics". As one of the greatest novelists in the 20th century, Woolf is a pioneer of modernist literature and feminism.
Brooke is infatuated with Grantchester's rural life. He lives in a house next to the orchard. Besides studying and making friends, he runs in the fields in the morning, often swims in the river, walks barefoot in the village, eats fruit and honey, and canoes to and from college. It is said that on a moonlit night, Brooke and the beautiful and aloof female writer Woolf went skinny-dipping in Byron Lake near Grantchester. Byron swam here when he was studying at Trinity College, Cambridge University, hence the name "Byron Pool". When we came out of the orchard, we first saw the priest's old house, walked the old mill not far away, crossed a bridge along the highway, walked into a dense forest not far away from the highway, saw the sign of Byron Pool, and walked not far along a winding forest path by the river. Here are towering old trees, lush vegetation, clear rivers, beautiful scenery and elegant environment. In 2005, it became a local nature reserve.
On a trip to Berlin, Brooke was full of homesickness and wrote a famous poem "The Old Pastor's House in Grantchester" on a day in May 19 12. The last two lines of this famous sentence also make the afternoon tea in this orchard immortal: "Does the church clock still stop at three minutes to six, 5438+00?" Is there honey in tea? The church clock points to ten minutes to three? Is there any honey in the tea? ) Since then, St. Andrew's and St. Mary's churches in Grantchester Village have become world-famous. Around the church is a quiet cemetery, with green grass, quiet and sad. There is a monument in the courtyard of the church to commemorate the soldiers killed in Grantchester village during the two world wars, and Brooke's name is among them. The decoration in the church is simple and elegant, with stained glass windows and a unique organ. You can also find old photos of the poet Brooke here. The poet's famous sentences have become the memory of history.
When Brooke returned to Grantchester, she found that her room had been rented out. So he moved to the nearby "pastor's old residence", where he continued to live a bohemian life. From 1909 to 19 14, Brooke had the "happiest time" here. Later, the passionate poet joined the army and became a brave soldier. One step from the countryside to the battlefield. 19 15 At the beginning of this year, Brooke took part in the battle to defend the Belgian port of Antwerp, and then went to the Daniil Strait with the British expedition. 1965438+On March 23, 2005, Brooke died of blood poisoning on a British navy transport ship bound for Turkey, at the age of 28.
He was buried in the olive grove on the Greek island of Skiros. However, just a few months before Brooke left, he wrote at the beginning of the poem Soldier: "If I die, please think of me this way: somewhere in a distant foreign country, it will always belong to England." If I die, just think of me: somewhere in a foreign country. That's England forever. ) The afternoon tea in Grantchester Orchard was fixed in his poems and became a legend with him.
Ted hughes (1930- 1998), an English poet, studied archaeology and anthropology at pembroke College, Cambridge University. He wrote a lot of excellent poems and was the most influential poet in English poetry in 1960s. His poetry collections include Eagle in the Rain, Faun Festival, Meeting My Family, Song of Crow, Song of Seasons, Swamp Town, Under the Big Dipper, Flowers and Insects, Birthday Letters, etc. His works have also won many honors, including the whitbread book awards of the Year in Britain. 1984, Hughes won the title of Poet Laureate. He was awarded the British Medal of Honor shortly before his death. On 20 1 1 year, a stone tablet engraved with the life achievements of ted hughes, the English poet laureate, was placed in the "Poet's Corner" of Westminster Abbey, the national holy place in Britain. This monument stands shoulder to shoulder with the tombstones of Chaucer and Dickens. Ted hughes's legendary life is controversial because of his poetic achievements and rich emotional life. Both his wives died of gas suicide. He suffered great psychological pressure and died of cancer on 1998.
The love story between Sylvia Plath (1932- 1963) and ted hughes is the most romantic love fairy tale in Cambridge poetry. Sylvia Plath, American liberal poet and novelist. 1February, 956, Sylvia Plath won a Fulbright scholarship to study at Newham College, Cambridge University, England. 1956 On February 25th, at a party in Cambridge University, I met the handsome English poet ted hughes (ted hughes, 1930- 1998). Hughes is the most influential poet in English poetry in 1960s. After he got his degree from pembroke College of Cambridge University, he wrote a lot of excellent poems. After the party, the two fell in love. When Hughes' lips moved to her neck, she bit his cheek hard and bit out the blood. Four months later, Hughes and Plath got married, and they had a wonderful time in Grantchester soon after their marriage. Plath gave birth to a boy and a girl for him. The love between Hughes and Plath has transcended art and is one of the most touching love stories in the 20th century.
Plath's poetry is a miracle in the 20th century, and its significance is being recognized by more and more people. She is recognized as a talented poet with enviable beauty and literary talent. But her life, can't help but make people feel sorry. Later, Hughes had another lover, Plath lived alone in London with her children, and she suddenly fell into loneliness. 1962, their marriage officially broke down. Hughes married a new wife, Arcia Wavell. 1963 1 1 In the morning of February, Plath turned on the gas and committed suicide. He is only 3 1 year old. Six years later, the woman who took her husband, Assia Wavell, passed away in the same way.
Plath published only two books before his death: The Giant and Other Poems and the autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. Hughes later edited and published many poems and songs. Ai Lier, as an important representative of Plath's poetry collection, was later edited and abridged by Hughes according to the order of manuscripts, and published in 1965 and 1966 respectively.
2065438+On June 29th, 2005, we went to No.55 Etisley Avenue, which is not far from Newnham College in the southwest of Cambridge, and visited the house where Plath once lived. This is the apartment they moved into after they got married in June 1956. Plath's house is adjacent to Grantchester Grass, and there is also a Red Bull Bar nearby.
The scenery along the coast of Grantchester is very beautiful. There are swans, wild ducks and gurgling water on the Jianhe River, as well as vast grasslands, pastures, cattle and sheep, which are very idyllic. It is said that Alan Turing, a famous British mathematician who graduated from King's College, Cambridge University and the father of artificial intelligence, came up with the idea of artificial intelligence when he was walking on the grass in Grantchester. During the annual graduation dance of Cambridge University, students who revel all night are used to boating to the orchard and enjoying a unique outdoor breakfast, which usually includes champagne and strawberries. This tradition has continued.
Drink tea under the apple tree in the orchard, feel the quiet and poetic time, and recite Brooke's poem: "Look at the waking branches in the moonlight in Grantchester, smell the exciting fragrance, always remember, always remember, the smell of the river, and listen to the sigh of the breeze blowing on the small trees." In the quiet orchard, time seems to have returned to the past. The orchard seems to be filled with the breath of the poet Brooke, which is really intoxicating.
There is also a small museum in the orchard: the Brook Museum. There have been countless world-famous poets, artists and scholars in this small village and orchard ... No matter spring, summer, autumn and winter, there are always many guests. Under the fruit trees, they want a cup of fragrant tea, talk about the past and discuss the present, and sit for an afternoon, reminiscing about historical sites and enjoying the leisure in the countryside.
Up to now, old photos of Brooke and others and orchards can be seen everywhere in the orchard teahouse. Outside the teahouse, there are some yellowed old photos related to Brooke and "Grantchester Group", and there are some green canvas loungers among the fruit trees. On a sunny afternoon in autumn, we came to this paradise again. When I entered the orchard, the first thing I saw was an apple tree. I saw red apples covered with branches. Like other tourists, we spent a few pounds on traditional English black tea and desserts. In the quiet and flowery orchard, it seems to be back to the poetic time of the past. 20 15 10 14 The last time we went to Grantchester, the apples in the orchard were already red.
Writing and Photography of Sun Keqin and Sun Bo
refer to
Sun Keqin, Sun Bo, 20 17, Cambridge time. Beijing: Tsinghua University Publishing House.