神圣之夜：在教堂里露營

by Rachel Dixon

德孟譯

神圣之夜：在教堂里露營

by Rachel Dixon

德孟譯

秋高氣爽，正是露營的好季節(jié)。談到露營，大多數(shù)人的第一印象是各式各樣的帳篷，以及野外環(huán)境；如果純粹為了短暫逃離城市的壓抑，并不想體驗原始生活的艱苦，也有郊外的各式豪華露營房任君選擇。教堂？這個莊嚴肅穆的圣所似乎跟露營風馬牛不相及。但是自從教堂保護信托基金會推出教堂露營活動以后，人們發(fā)現(xiàn)教堂和露營還真是一拍即合的絕妙搭配。不管是不是信徒，在教堂里度過一夜，露營者的絕大部分自由活動都不會受影響。給你一個夜晚，獨享一座美麗的教堂，這樣的體驗是不是格外深刻呢？

It was dark and chilly, and I was lying in a sleeping bag on a narrow camp bed. But I wasn’t in a tent, tipi or yurt—I was in a church. That’s because I wasn’t camping, nor even1)glamping; I was “2)champing”.

OK, it’s a terrible name, but what a brilliant idea! The Churches Conservation Trust looks after 347 churches that are no longer used for regular worship: it repairs and maintains the buildings, and finds new uses for them: circus schools,3)GP surgeries, artists’ workshops. Church camping was the bright idea of Peter Aiers, one of the trust’s regional directors. He says that churches embody hundreds of years of British history, and are beautiful buildings4)to boot, so what better way to appreciate them than spending a night in one? And have it all to yourselves.

四周又黑又冷，我躺在一張窄小的野營床上的一個睡袋里。但我既非身處普通帳篷或印第安圓錐形帳篷中，也不在氈房里——我在教堂里。因為我不是在露營，更加不是在豪華露營，我是在“堂營”。

好吧，雖然名字難聽，但這個主意很贊！教堂保護信托基金會管理著347座不再用于日常禮拜活動的教堂。管理工作包括修葺和維護教堂建筑，以及為教堂尋找新用途：開辦馬戲學校、用作全科家庭醫(yī)生的診所、給藝術家做工作室等。教堂露營是基金會一個區(qū)域主管彼得·艾爾斯想出的機靈點子。他說教堂展現(xiàn)了英國幾百年的歷史，本身又是美麗的建筑，還有什么欣賞方式比在里面住一晚更妙呢？你可以獨享整座教堂。

1) glamping 由glamourous camping合成的生造詞，豪華露營，魅力露營

2) champing 由church camping合成的生造詞，教堂露營

3) GP surgery 普通（全科）醫(yī)師診所（General practitioner surgery）

4) to boot 除此以外，加之

St Mary the Virgin in Fordwich, Kent, where I stayed, is certainly historic. (Champing is also offered at medieval All Saints Church in Aldwincle, Northamptonshire, and in the Georgian interior of St Cyriac & St Julitta at Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire. The trust is hoping to add more.) St Mary’s dates from Norman times; there are 14th-century stained-glass windows, 17th-century wall paintings and 18th-century wooden5)box pews. The church’s most famous object, the Fordwich stone, dates back to about 1100 and once formed part of a saint’s shrine; perhaps St Augustine of Canterbury’s.

A stroll around the churchyard revealed graves from the 1640s, and even older-looking stones whose inscriptions had weathered away over the centuries.

It was a bit overwhelming, especially when the key was handed over—a suitably huge, heavy, ancientlooking chunk of iron—and my friend and I were left alone. We couldn’t raid the6)mini bar, play music or call room service. And, unlike the average hotel, our bedroom was public property: when we neglected to lock the door, a man wandered in with his dog to look around.

我扎營在坐落于肯特郡福威奇鎮(zhèn)的圣瑪麗教堂，其歷史意義不必贅述。（北安普敦郡阿爾德文科村的中世紀諸圣堂、劍橋郡斯沃夫漢姆普瑞爾村的圣希里亞克和朱莉塔教堂都開展了露營項目，后者有著喬治王時代藝術風格的室內裝修?；饡谕_放更多的教堂進行這個項目。）圣瑪麗教堂的歷史可追溯至諾爾曼時期，擁有14世紀的彩色玻璃窗、17世紀的壁畫和18世紀的木結構廂座。教堂內最有名的陳設是福威奇石，曾是一個神龕的一部分，其歷史可追溯至12世紀前后。神龕曾安放某位圣人的遺體，據(jù)說這位圣人有可能是坎特伯雷的大主教圣奧古斯丁。

沿著教堂院落漫步，這里的古老墳墓可追溯至17世紀40年代，有的看起來甚至年代更為久遠，經(jīng)過幾個世紀，墓碑上的銘文已經(jīng)風化了。

我感受到一種震撼人心的神圣力量，尤其是接過教堂鑰匙——與宏偉的大門相稱的巨大、沉重、古色古香的一大塊鐵制品——然后只剩下我和朋友在教堂里時。我們不能翻找小冰箱，不能播放音樂，也不能享受客房服務。而且，不像一般的酒店，我們的臥室是公共財產(chǎn)：當我們忘了鎖門時，一個男人帶著他的狗踱了進來，環(huán)顧四周。

The door safely locked, we explored the church’s nooks and7)crannies. We examined the rare bread shelf, where loaves for the poor were once left. We climbed the 14th-century bell tower (inadvisable: it is pretty8)rickety). We stood in the9)pulpit composing a sermon, examined the magnificent Royal Arms over the chancel arch, and played the organ (badly).

With fewer than 300 inhabitants, Fordwich is the smallest town in England. Its tiny town hall was built during the reign of Henry VIII and is believed to be the oldest still in use. It contains fascinating objects such as a10)ducking stool, for use on “scolds” and “gossips” in the 15th century. Fordwich is a sleepy place today, a town in name only, but it has a bittersweet air of faded grandeur. It was an important port until the11)Stour12)silted up; stone from Caen in Normandy, which was used to rebuild Canterbury cathedral in 1067, was unloaded at Fordwich.

We had dinner at the Fordwich Arms, one of the town’s two pubs. The long-serving landlord13)regaled us with tales of Fordwich past as we ate potted shrimp and pork belly in the cosy bar. We would be back for breakfast (the trust had arranged for the pub to open specially to serve us a full English in the 14)panelled dining room).

穩(wěn)穩(wěn)當當?shù)劓i上門后，我們探索了教堂的每個角落和每道裂痕。我們察看了罕見的面包架，架上曾放著派送給窮困者的面包。我們攀登了14世紀的鐘樓（不建議：鐘樓有點搖搖欲墜）。我們站在講道壇上創(chuàng)作布道辭，察看圣壇拱頂上華麗的皇家紋章，還彈了風琴（彈得很難聽）。

福威奇的居民不到300人，是英格蘭最小的鎮(zhèn)。小小的議政廳建于亨利八世統(tǒng)治時期，被認為是仍在使用中的最古老的議政廳。這里有一些引人注目的陳設，例如浸水椅刑具，在15世紀時被用于懲罰“謾罵他人者”和“散布謠言者”。如今的福威奇只在名義上還是一個鎮(zhèn)，冷冷清清的，昔日的輝煌如今已消逝，只剩下一種憂樂參半的氣息。在斯陶爾河淤塞之前，福威奇是重要的港口。公元1067年，石頭從法國下諾曼底大區(qū)卡昂市運送過來，在此卸船，用來重建坎特伯雷大教堂。

福威奇鎮(zhèn)上有兩家酒吧，其中一家名叫福威奇紋章，我們在那吃了晚餐。經(jīng)營酒吧多年的老板盛情款待我們。在這個舒適的酒吧里，我們一邊享用罐燜小蝦和五花肉，一邊聽老板把小鎮(zhèn)的傳說娓娓道來。第二天我們將回來這兒吃早餐（基金會安排了這家酒吧在早上營業(yè)，特別為我們準備全英式早餐，在鑲板裝修的餐廳里享用）。

5) box pew 廂座

6) mini bar （酒店客房內提供收費零食和飲料的）小冰箱

7) cranny ['kr?n?] n. 裂縫，小孔

8) rickety ['r?k?t?] adj. 搖搖晃晃的，連接處不牢固的

9) pulpit ['p?lp?t] n. （教堂的）講壇，布道壇

10) ducking stool 浸水椅，一種古老的刑具，將犯罪者縛于椅上，淹入水中

11) Stour 斯陶爾河，英格蘭東部河流，發(fā)源于劍橋郡，流經(jīng)坎特伯雷市，注入北海

12) silt up 淤泥充塞

13) regale [r?'ge?l] v. 盛宴招待，款待

Then it was time for bed. I had expected it to be15)spooky—just the two of us, walking through a graveyard in the dead of night to a dark,16)draughty old church. Nothing could have been further from the truth; it was simply quiet and peaceful. We lit lots of candles to17)illuminate our box pew “bedroom” and piled duvets and pillows on top of our18)spartan beds.

Champing isn’t19)billed as a luxurious or romantic experience—the churches are still20)consecrated spaces, though guests are free to21)get up to whatever their consciences allow—but it was undeniably a special place to spend the night.

I had packed lots of layers, just in case, and had a great night’s sleep. We woke to jewel-like light22)fltering through the stained-glass windows and the morning calls of birds in the tree-shaded churchyard. It was the frst time in years that I’d been in a church on a Sunday morning. With no strict checkout time, we lingered,23)loth to leave our sanctuary. But the lure of a proper toilet in the pub (we just had a camping loo in a tent outside the church’s north door) got us moving.

然后到了就寢時間。我預想這會是挺陰森詭異的——只有我們兩個人，在夜深人靜時走過墓地前往黑漆漆、穿堂風呼嘯的老教堂。事實上卻是靜謐又祥和，其他什么事也沒發(fā)生。我們點燃了很多蠟燭，照亮我們的廂座“臥室”，把羽絨被和枕頭高高地堆在我們樸素的床上。

教堂露營并沒有被標榜為奢華或者浪漫的體驗——教堂仍然是神圣的地方，盡管客人們可以做在自己的良心上過得去的任何事情——但作為留宿之地，無可否認教堂還是很特別的。

我?guī)Я撕芏嗉路?，以備不時之需。這一夜睡得非常好。我們醒來的清晨，陽光從彩色玻璃窗濾進來，如珠寶般閃耀，鳥兒在綠樹成蔭的教堂院落里鳴叫,喚人早起。這是我多年來首次在教堂度過禮拜天的清晨。退房時間沒有嚴格的規(guī)定，我們久久留連，不愿離開這圣所。但由于受到酒吧里像樣洗手間的吸引（我們僅在教堂北門外的帳篷里有一個臨時廁所），我們還是動身了。

Fordwich is on a scenic stretch of the Stour—St Augustine travelled along it in 597 on his way to become the first24)Archbishop of Canterbury—so we opted for a canoe trip. The five-mile paddle to Grove Ferry took us through Stodmarsh nature reserve and our guide, Andrew Magnell from Canoe Wild, pointed out25)herons and26)marsh harriers, and signs of beavers and woodpeckers.

27)Paddling a two-person canoe with a less-than-able seaman was something of a lesson in Christian values of forgiveness and so the Grove Pantry Pub & Inn, right on the riverbank, was a welcome sight.

Fordwich is a couple of miles from Canterbury and a short drive from the north Kent coast—we went to Whitstable—so there is plenty to do beyond the parish. At ￡60 a head, it is certainly not as cheap as camping. But considering that you have sole use of a historic building, which has witnessed important events in people’s lives for hundreds of years, it is a bargain. More than that, it is a privilege.

福威奇地處斯陶爾河風景區(qū)內——公元597年，圣奧古斯丁沿著斯陶爾河前去就任坎特伯雷首任大主教——所以我們選擇了坐游艇游覽。我們劃著小艇前往五英里外的格魯夫渡口，途中經(jīng)過了斯托得沼澤國家自然保護區(qū)，我們的向導安德魯·芒內爾來自“野外輕舟”劃艇出租和培訓中心，他給我們指出哪些是蒼鷺和沼澤鷂，以及海貍和啄木鳥出沒的蹤跡。

和一個蹩腳的船夫一起劃著一條雙人艇，這旅程像一堂關于寬容的基督教道德倫理課，我和朋友都學著原諒對方的失誤，因而很欣喜終于看見河堤上的格魯夫貯藏室酒吧旅館。

福威奇距離坎特伯雷幾英里，從肯特郡北海岸出發(fā)只需很短的車程——我們去了惠特斯特布爾鎮(zhèn)——在教區(qū)之外，因而可以進行很多活動。每個人要花60英鎊，這當然沒有普通露營那么便宜。但考慮到你能專享一處見證了幾個世紀人們生活變遷的古建筑，這就太劃算了。不止是劃算，簡直就是特別優(yōu)待。

14) panel ['p?n(?)l] v. 鑲嵌上（板）

15) spooky ['spu?k?] adj. 毛骨悚然的，使人想到鬼的

16) draughty ['drB?ft?] adj. 通風良好的

17) illuminate [?'lu?m?ne?t] v. 照明，照亮

18) spartan ['spB?t(?)n] adj. 簡單的，樸素的

19) bill as 用招貼宣布

20) consecrate ['k?ns?kre?t] v. 把…奉為神圣

21) get up to <口> 干（壞事、蠢事）

22) flter ['f?lt?(r)] v. 過濾，透過

23) loth [l?θ] adj. 不愿意的，勉強的

24) archbishop [B?t?'b???p] n. 大主教

25) heron ['her?n] n. 蒼鷺

26) marsh harrier 白頭鷂，沼澤鷂

27) paddle ['p?dl] v. 用槳劃小資料

Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve

英國斯托得沼澤國家自然保護區(qū)

英國斯托得沼澤國家自然保護區(qū)位于英國肯特郡斯陶爾河谷地，是英格蘭35個最著名的自然保護區(qū)之一。雖是“自然保護區(qū)”，其形成原因卻是人為采礦而沉陷被淹，并不太“自然”。該區(qū)地形多樣，有大面積的開闊水域、漫水沙坑、廣闊的葦叢河灘、赤楊林地、卡爾群落（以赤楊和柳樹為主的潮濕林地）和淹水草甸，成為了野生動物的重要棲息地，吸引了眾多的瀕危鳥類，以及水獺、水鼠等哺乳動物。