Pilgrims events in London - dates for your diary

[JohnnieWalker]

There are a number of events on the weekend of 22/23 November which may be of interest:

On 22 November at the Confraternity of St James Office (http://www.csj.org.uk) there is an office Open Day 10.30-3pm

At 3.30pm on the 22nd also at the CSJ Office there is the annual Storrs lecture: Criticising and defending pilgrimage in the early Middle Ages to be given by Prof Dame Jinty Nelson.

The following day - Sunday 23 November there is a Service of Thanksgiving to mark the close of the 25th Anniversary year of the CSJ this will be held in St Mary's Church, Clapham at 2pm: http://www.stmarys-clapham.org.uk/

The Organist of Santiago Cathedral who plays every day for the Pilgrims' Mass is coming to London to play for the Service and the CSJ choir will sing. The Service will include the Hymn to the Apostol which is sung when the Botafumeiro flies - you have to come along to see if there will be holy smoke in London too!

As well as hearing Joaquin the organist of the Cathedral this is an unprecedented opportunity for everyone to meet - in person - our host - IVAR REKE who will also be there.

Following the Service there is an anniversary lunch - to be booked in advance - details to be found on the CSJ website.

 

[ivar]

Yes I will be there!

... and I am looking forward to it.

Saludos,
Ivar

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Just a reminder to all who may be interested. This event is now only 2 weeks away!

Hasta pronto.

John

 

[andy.d]

I'll be there - I'm afraid only for the first half hour or so on Saturday as I have another meeting - but it will be good to meet anyone else,

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

annual Storrs lecture: Criticising and defending pilgrimage in the early Middle Ages to be given by Prof Dame Jinty Nelson.

As you know, John, I can't make it as I'm indisposed -suffering a forced diet of vino rosso and Italian cuisine, with generous helpings of philosophy. Would it be possible for those who cannot attend to obtain a copy of the lecture please? It sounds very interesting.

Regards to all at CSJ. My September Bulletin arrived today, and thanks for the write up about my Worcester-Santiago walk on the Members' Page. I'll write an article about that during my Christmas break and send it in.

I will keep the events of next weekend in my prayers at the shrine of St Paul just across the road from the Pontifical Beda seminary here, at St Paul's Outside the Walls. The basilica has become a very busy pilgrimage destination this year, as it is the year of St Paul.

Gareth

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Regards duly passed on. We'll think about you on Sunday afternoon as the Hymn to the Apostol which accompanies the Botafumeiro in Santiago Cathedral is sung!

The Storrs lectures are published by ther CSJ - happy reading.

 

[lckgj]

Thanks to the CSJ and John for organising this event, it was great to meet some forum members in the flesh at last! The service, especially the music, was wonderful. There were some lovely touches including the yellow flechas leading to the church, and our re-creation of the botufumiero! The meal was fabulous too, a very sociable event. I didn't anticipate we would actually be eating pulpo!
So just to prove we exist outside cyberspace, here is the evidence...
L-R, Marion, Me, Johnnie, Ivar and Maria
Many of you will have had contact with Marion through her great work at the CSJ office. Johnnie Walker has held many of our (cyber) hands along the camino ingles, and now the camino portugues, thanks to his very welcome updates of the CSJ guides. Ivar needs no introduction but Maria, his lovely wife, deserves a special mention for tolerating the amount of time Ivar must spend running this site which is invaluable to us all. (You really deserve those shoes, Maria!)
There was some talk of Ivar organising a pilgrim get together in Santiago next year and now I have put it in writing he will have to follow through....
Great to meet you all!
Laura

 

[ivar]

It was nice meeting you as well Laura!!

... and a big thank you to John and Marion for organizing a nice mass and "Open Day" (on Saturday). It was also nice to meet William and Howard and the other pilgrims that stopped by the CSJ office on Saturday.


Maria and I came back to Santiago with smiles on our faces after a very nice weekend.... and yes, Maria came back with some nice blue shoes! It should also be said that John had invited the organist at the Cathedral in Santiago to play at Sundays mass. Our own JonnieWalker is a great organizer and do great things for the CSJ.


During our Lunch (at a Galician restaurant) Laura came up with the idea that I might try to set up a "forum-meet-up" some time next year in Santiago. I have been thinking about the same idea, so let me think about it some more and see if I can set something up... it is not possible to find a date that will fit for everyone that would like to come, but it might be worth a try and see how many can make it. More on this later.

Saludos,
Ivar

 

[Bridget and Peter]

Lovely to see the pictures - we were disappointed not to be able to get to London for the weekend, or just the service, but with bridesmaid dress trying on, new baby due at any moment etc , we couldn't manage it.

Even so, with this forum, it feels like we are all connected and friends, right across the world!