Do You Longen?...….I do

[gerardcarey]

When that April with his showers soote……...........showers sweet
The drought of March hath piercèd to the root
And bathèd every vein in such liquor………..............rootlet / liquid
Of which virtúe engendered is the flower;

When Zephyrus eke with his sweetè breath….........the West Wind / also
Inspirèd hath in every holt and heath…………...........grove & field
The tender croppès, and the youngè sun…...........…young shoots / Spring sun
Hath in the Ram his halfè course y-run………............in Aries / has run

And smallè fowlès maken melody……………...............small birds
That sleepen all the night with open eye…….............who sleep
(So pricketh them Natúre in their couráges)…..........spurs / spirits
Then longen folk to go on pilgrimáges……...........people long
And palmers for to seeken strangè strands…......pilgrims / shores
To fernè hallows couth in sundry lands……….......distant shrines known

I always take a great and gentle pleasure in the first lines of Geoffrey Chaucer’s 600 yr old ‘Prologue to the Canterbury Tales’. Rather more poignantly this year as I plan to depart SJPDP around September 1st.

AND NOW APRIL’S HERE!
And Geoffrey is correct.
I’m longen bad.

Gerard

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Well said Gerard! [Or should I say Chaucer?] I wish I could respond with a suitable Chaucerian couplet, but am not that clever .....
Now that April's here, I depart in just four weeks on Via de la Plata.
For you my friend, whenever you finally go [to stop your longening]....
Buen Camino!
Stephen.
http://www.calig.co.uk/camino_de_santiago.htm

 

[julie]

Thank you so much Gerard. Oh yes, I longen!

In my innocence I thought that one did the Camino and that was that. Now that I'm older and wiser, I realise that it gets in your blood and the longen is only temporarily sated. Then it beckons again and you start planning the next one.

 

[lovingkindness]

....In my innocence I thought that one did the Camino and that was that. Now that I'm older and wiser, I realise that it gets in your blood and the longen is only temporarily sated. Then it beckons again and you start planning the next one.

…and the next one and the next…..
(March, 2006) ….One day as it snowed I set off from Winchester Cathedral, a cockle shell around my neck and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in my pocket. With frozen feet and happy soul I trudged The North Downs for a couple of weeks trying to decipher 14th century English. I didn’t get far. At journey’s end I took the easy way out. I discarded my now-battered book and succumbed to the medieval sights and smells of ‘The Canterbury Tales’ Visitor Attraction, St Margaret’s Church, Canterbury.

-Lovingkindness

 

[Anniesantiago]

Oh yes! I longen...as did my father and my grandfathers before him.
I thought it was my Portuguese explorer blood... but it seems it's a more common condition :lol:

 

[lovingkindness]

….then a few days later, as work was scarce, I took off to The Cotswolds and walked to Bath and on to Bristol then Glastonbury Tor, what a fascinating place.

Days passed
No Job
So
...with Venerable Bede’s Historia, Volume One in my pack I took off to Wales and scaled the ditch that King Offa had dug to keep the English out [Offa’s Dyke, ano 800, a 285 km strenuous hike from Cheapstow in the south to Prestatyn at the North Sea. c. 600 fence stiles, a few kissing gates, three areas of outstanding natural beauty] …and after which there finally came

a Job
…for about a week….
so…..

 

[gerardcarey]

Well said Gerard! [Or should I say Chaucer?] I wish I could respond with a suitable Chaucerian couplet, but am not that clever .....
And Buen Camino to you my friend. Blindingly obvious from your photo that you are indeed a palmer seeken a fernè hallow in a strangè strand.

Gerard

 

[gerardcarey]

Thank you so much Gerard. Oh yes, I longen!

Hey Julie, I'm a Kiwi living in Brissy and ward4e a forum member from here leaves tomorrow morn for the Camino Frances so I'm a little twitchy.
Regds
Gerard

 

[nellpilgrim]

Appropriately enough April 1st is the anniversary of my first long distance pilgrimage (CF) and that yearning to set off is just as strong now as it was then. I find April is the most beautiful time to journey and as one walks from Spring into early summer one can't help but be both joyful and thankful. Chaucer sums it up perfectly and it was nice to be reminded that one isn't alone in that longing -it seems we are all 'Gods fool's

 

[julie]

Hey Julie, I'm a Kiwi living in Brissy and ward4e a forum member from here leaves tomorrow morn for the Camino Frances so I'm a little twitchy.
Regds
Gerard

Glad you saw the light and moved to Oz I'd like to say the weather's better but after the last couple of summers ...

I bet you're counting the days until September. The yearning to go is always worse when someone you have contact with is heading off.

We have a pilgrim group in Sydney which meets once a month. If you don't have one in Brisbane, why not start one up? Ours is a very informal gathering rather than a structured meeting so we can cater to everyone's needs be it a glass of wine and a chat with other old hands, information for a new pilgrim embarking on the adventure or an understanding ear on the return home. It's great to be able to meet with other pilgrims and to help those who are setting out for the first time.

 

[gerardcarey]

it seems we are all 'Gods fool's

You remind me of the 17th century poet John Dryden's description of Chaucer's eclectic pilgrims and their tales. "Here is God's plenty."