A&B Walking Pilgrimage - Newsletter 16

THE HOTTEST PLACE UNDER THE SUN

According to the Sun Newspaper for Tuesday 12th July, on the hottest day for 7 years, Evesham in Worcestershire was the hottest place of all with a temperature of’ 90°F. The reports from all the explorers to the Cotswold area have up to now been mud, mud and more mud! Perhaps by the time we come to walk there it will have dried out somewhat. But it could certainly be a bit cooler than it is now as I sit sweating over the typewriter. Once again a record number of walkers have applied to come on the pilgrimage, but although we will have nearly 100 for the second week, we start with only 75 at Lewes. About 60 are intending to walk the whole distance, Mike Simons will be driving the van this year, Terri Roberts is returning to her old job of drink purveyor. Frances Dean will once more lead the catering team, with assistance from Anne Loveder, Alice Morewood-Leyland, Tom Murray, and new pilgrims, Sandra Roddwell and Pauline Le-Gallais. Sarah Lane will be with us again after her successful eye operation, praise God, and will no doubt be washer-up-in-chief! The Evesham pilgrims are going to be well looked after with regard to their healthcare. As well as the ever faithful nursing care of Mary Clifford and Geraldine O’Leary, further assistance has been offered by Nurse Clare do Normanville and Doctor Claire Parsons (neé Brockman) as well as a couple of First Aiders.

IRISH PILGRIMAGE

The Easter pilgrimage to Ireland was a great success. Eleven of us, plus all our luggage, packed into the Ford Transit minibus and set off on Easter Monday. Even. before crossing from Fishguard we took a superb walk along the Pembroke Coast Path. Once in Ireland we managed to visit all the pilgrimage places that we had set out to see. At Glendalough we climbed Lugduff. At Cashel, with Cormac’s Cathedral on St Patrick’s rock we celebrated Mass for Bishop Cormac, We almost climbed Galtymoor Mountain, but the bog and the snow defeated us at the end. In Mayo we climbed Croagh Patrick and celebrated Mass at the top, visited Knock shrine, and walked out to the furthest westerly point of Achill Island. Although Lough Derg was closed and we were unable to do our 48 hour penance we were taken over by boat and able to see all around that beautiful island. In Donegal we climbed the Blue Stack Mountains with their amazing slabs of granite Then a night out in Dublin when we were able to look up pilgrim Christine O’Leary, who is now a novice with the Holy Rosary Sisters and in true pilgrim fashion took us out from the convent to the local! Then back across the Irish Sea while enjoying a splendid meal in the ship’s restaurant on what was left of the funds. After a find night in Snowdonia It was back down the motorways home and farewell, until a reunion in Woodingdean where we once again enjoyed walking together and Anne Harris’s boiled bacon and cabbage!

WALKING THE WEST HIGHLAND WAY

This Easter Cath Grafen and Jim McFarlane walked every step of the West highland Way, joined for a day by Lucy Grafen. They sent some fantastic pictures of the walk beginning alongside Loch Lomond and going North through the Highlands, sometimes above the snowline, for 95 miles to Fort William.

On Saturday 16th July Elisabeth Wakefield was married to Robert Jarrett at St Peter’s Church in Hove. We congratulate them and wish them every happiness.

On Saturday 6th August George Evans and Karen Slauter will be married at Cardinal Newman School Chapel in the Upper Drive, Hove. They invite all their friends to the wedding, but regret that only a limited number have been invited to the reception.

Also getting married in Cardinal Newman School Chapel on Saturday 3rd September is Tania Marenco (Glastonbury Pilgrimage) and Tim Edwards.

It is also reported that Michael Richards and Hilary Watts who met on the Sussex Pilgrimage are now engaged and going to get married in November.

Also now engaged is Raquel Gonzalez (Glastonbury and Canterbury Pilgrimages) to a wonderful Spanish man. No date is set yet for their wedding. Meanwhile Raquel is working as an Auxiliary Nurse in a private nursing home.

Clare Wilson, who walked the Pilgrims Way with us, got married last July (1982) and is now Mrs Robinson.

Maria Holcroft (Glastonbury) is in her second year of training as a State Registered Nurse in Cambridge and her sister, Nicola, is just beginning a similar course in London.

Jean and Mike Simons should by now he safely tucked away in their little country cottage at Ropley,

Ann Pollington led an Easter Monday walk from Uckfield, and they found a plaque in Fletching parish church about Simon de Montfort. He spent the night there in prayer before the battle of Lewes in which he was victorious. Unfortunately it isn’t on our Evesham Pilgrimage route.

Michael McCabe and Susan Martin joined Margaret Archer on the Easter Portsmouth Diocesan Pilgrimage which went from Petersfield to Winchester via Arundel. No Margaret didn’t lose her way: they were tracing the steps of a journey made by Bishop Challoner in 1741.

Thea Bull (neé MacKnight, Holy Year Pilgrimage) is training as a Psychiatric Nurse at Brookwood Hospital, but they are planning to move to West Devon when her training is ever. Her sister Ceri MacKnight (Holy Year Pilgrimage and Pilgrims Way) is studying in Wales at an agricultural college.

Peter and Marilyn Appleby are expecting their first child about 17th August and ask our prayers at about that time on the pilgrimage. Peter has walked on the Pilgrims Way, Walsingham and Glastonbury Pilgrimages

Next year it has been suggested that we might try a pilgrimage further afield, and the Holy Island of Lindisfarne off the Northumberland coast would be a great place to aim for. So in 1984 it may be York, Durham and Lindisfarne. Of course it would be more expensive, involving coach travel in both directions, and would be difficult to plan in the same detail. Maybe our Geordie friends will help us, who are going to be well represented on this years Pilgrimage? And then in 1985, we will have to do something to commemorate the first pilgrimage in 1975. The obvious plan would be to walk around the whole Diocese again, although I think we would need a bit longer then we did then perhaps the inside of three weeks. All matters to be discussed as we tread the miles to Evesham.

Do please send in you news for the next edition, which will be sent out with the details of the autumn reunion, if anyone offers to have us! There should have been details of Youthgather sent out with this letter but nothing has come my way yet. So watch for details on your parish notice board, and we will hope many pilgrims can meet up then. That’s all for now.