Monday 13th October 2014
A happy band of pilgrims left Saint Aidan’s, not exactly on time as one of our number was held up in heavy traffic – an incident for which he will no doubt be teased copiously through the week!
We travelled on our comfortable coach to Saint Laurence’s, Long Eaton and then Saint Cyprian’s, Nottingham. All pilgrims then being assembled, our priests said Mass for us. The good folk of Saint Cyprian’s had kindly laid on hot drinks and biscuits, most gratefully and speedily consumed, after which we resumed our onward journey to York. Our excellent driver delivered us to the Hotel Ibis at around 2 p.m., right on schedule, where the staff had prepared an envelope for each room with occupants’ names on and keys within – a very efficient system which meant we were all settled in our accommodation in very short order.
Our time was then free to find some late lunch and generally wander about and explore the ancient and historic city of York. For some, this was a new and exciting place, for others, a chance to revisit old haunts and places of interest.
By prior arrangement, our hotel was good enough to provide us with a room for Evening Prayer, after which we repaired to 2 adjoining bedrooms for pre-dinner drinks and nibbles. This was a spirited, some might say noisy, gathering, further enlivened by the presence of the Bishop of Beverley, who lives a few hundred yards from the hotel. Bishop Glyn was his usual delightful self and generously contributed several bottles of wine, which of course made him even more popular than he already was.
We then went for dinner, choices for which had been selected en route. The atmosphere was extremely cheerful, with everyone mixing well, happily meeting new people and catching up with old friends. Some stayed in the comfortable bar area for a while; others exhausted from the rigours of the journey and preparations for the pilgrimage generally, retired earlier.
We travelled on our comfortable coach to Saint Laurence’s, Long Eaton and then Saint Cyprian’s, Nottingham. All pilgrims then being assembled, our priests said Mass for us. The good folk of Saint Cyprian’s had kindly laid on hot drinks and biscuits, most gratefully and speedily consumed, after which we resumed our onward journey to York. Our excellent driver delivered us to the Hotel Ibis at around 2 p.m., right on schedule, where the staff had prepared an envelope for each room with occupants’ names on and keys within – a very efficient system which meant we were all settled in our accommodation in very short order.
Our time was then free to find some late lunch and generally wander about and explore the ancient and historic city of York. For some, this was a new and exciting place, for others, a chance to revisit old haunts and places of interest.
By prior arrangement, our hotel was good enough to provide us with a room for Evening Prayer, after which we repaired to 2 adjoining bedrooms for pre-dinner drinks and nibbles. This was a spirited, some might say noisy, gathering, further enlivened by the presence of the Bishop of Beverley, who lives a few hundred yards from the hotel. Bishop Glyn was his usual delightful self and generously contributed several bottles of wine, which of course made him even more popular than he already was.
We then went for dinner, choices for which had been selected en route. The atmosphere was extremely cheerful, with everyone mixing well, happily meeting new people and catching up with old friends. Some stayed in the comfortable bar area for a while; others exhausted from the rigours of the journey and preparations for the pilgrimage generally, retired earlier.
