TRAVERSE 169
TRAVEL - ENGLAND
MEGAN GOVERNI
FOLLY OF A FAT KING
Far too many times my partner had bored me to an almost lifeless existence telling stories of long-gone monarchs , castles that seemed destined for the wrecking ball , and a history of the United Kingdom that was anything but . The further north we ventured the more the ruins appeared , it seemed that the once famous “ Whelan The Wrecker ” had been on a world tour of England . It took a while , but it was starting to make some sort of sense .
As a twenty something Australian backpacker I did what every other youthful , self-proclaimed , Aussie world traveller did . I left home and took root in the United Kingdom . It was a life of terrible guesthouses and low paid jobs that didn ’ t really matter as we only needed the money for cheap booze and too many cigarettes .
It was an exotic life . The food was similar to home , the culture was similar to home , the language was similar to home . The only difference being it seemed half the country was in ruins . Terribly large stone buildings either half completed or in a state of collapse . Surely someone should spend some time nocking them down or have real attempt at restoration . I was young , I was naïve . What twenty something world traveller isn ’ t ?
Once staying the night in a lodge said to have once belonged to Henry VIII , I felt I knew a bit about history . King Henry was , after all , quite famous , he had too many wives , loved the high life , and was almost always portrayed as being a candidate for a weight loss program . See , I knew the history , I didn ’ t need the ‘ oracle ’ boring me to death .
It mattered little what I needed , the ‘ oracle ’, my partners self-applied title , was going to give me a living history lesson . He also has three other ‘ official ’ titles : Laird , Lord ,
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