As I was writing this weekend, I did some research for the kitchen where Lia and Sowe live. I wanted it to be as realistic as possible, so I modeled if after a real abbey kitchen. I’ve been using Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset, England, as a source of inspiration. I found many pictures of the abbey on the internet, and the Abbot’s Kitchen is really the only main structure that is still standing. It’s a beautiful structure.
I searched for images of what it looked like on the inside, and only found a few, but they were not very detailed. So, I looked up the abbey on the web, found the e-mail of the custodians, and sent a note asking if there were any images of the inside available. When I arrived at work this morning, I had a reply from the Deputy Custodian, who graciously supplied me with several high resolution images of the interior. I think it is just wonderful how the internet makes the world smaller and allows us to connect with different people. Visit the abbey website – it is a gorgeous website, and the location is hauntingly beautiful. It certainly captures the concept of Idumea in my mind.