Today we visited friends near Dorking in Surrey. The landscape out there is magnificent – forested rolling hills. Our hosts – an Englishman and his US Puerto Recon wife – have been friends of my wife ever since they worked together as Social Workers in west London some years back. We headed down the M25 late morning, arriving at their remote flat around lunchtime, and hour and a quarter after our departure. The greenbelt around the Capital is really amazing – amidst the cityscape you would never imagine that such beauty was so easily within reach – our Chiltern Hills and these Surrey Downs. Late afternoon our friends drove us up to Leith Hill, upon which sits an 18th century folly noted to be the highest point in southeast England. On clear days it apparently offers views as far as St. Paul’s Cathedral in London to the north and the English Channel to the south, but the sky was overcast and grey today so we could only see as far as the next hill. Still, the landscape was lovely. And the peace – that’s another thing; but for the call of pheasants, there was utter peace, alhamdulilah. The signs of Allah surround us. His creation truly is awe-inspiring, if only we would reflect.
Last modified: 14 May 2006
