Heathrow in Another Light

Heathrow is globally known as one of the busiest, largest airports in the world.  Indeed, watching the airplanes land is like watching traffic in South Florida; it is a never ending, regular stream of traffic.  And such big traffic, too!  I came to Heathrow to see the students off back home, and it was a sad sundering  of the fellowship. It was bittersweet to see such emotion at parting.  Nick Smith noted, in his blog Nautodidact.wordpress.com that it is more like meiosis that just splitting apart because each one takes a bit of the other in the separation.  That is a sweet, if sticky, metaphor. These partings seem more like the eddies of a river where we swirl around together and then are swept onwards.

So after saying goodbye, I went to the Heathrow Ibis Hotel.  I love Ibis hotels because they offer nice little cubbies as rooms.  I find the small size comfortable and comforting.  From there I had the afternoon so I went to see what was in Heathrow aside from the behemothic airport, around which the entire area revolves.  I found Cranford Country Park!  Oh my heavenly starts, but who would know that there was a huge meadow, some orchards, forest paths, and hedges full of larks and thrushes.  

If you sit on a park bench in the right place, you can watch the jets flow into the airport. In between the planes, you can hear the birds singing.  There is also a medieval church, St. Dunstan's. I spent a good half hour reading the poignant gravestones ranging from 1800 to 2006. 

It was a delightful two hour walk in the woods.  In Heathrow!