And I'm Off...

Day 1 of the Blackfen Parish Pilgrimage to Lourdes... however, most of it will be spent travelling. We are starting in the best possible way, with Mass at the Lady Altar at 8:30am (well, that is the plan!) and then we'll have tea and coffee before boarding the coach to Heathrow Terminal 5.

I've never been to Terminal 5 - all I know about it is that they completely mucked up the opening and lost lots of luggage. I had originally planned to do a recce beforehand, but I have been so totally exhausted in the past few weeks that I just couldn't face it. I may regret this...

We are expected to land in Toulouse at around 5pm local time - that's 4pm British Summer Time - and will travel to Lourdes by coach, arriving at around 7:30pm. The hotel will have dinner ready for us, and I get to do my Courier bit by distributing all the room keys (no rest for the wicked) during the meal; we've found that it is simpler to do it this way, rather than everyone making a mad dash for the reception desk and the lift, especially as the dining-room staff will have been hanging on for us.

Then, for anyone with the energy, there is the Marian Torchlight Procession. This is such a moving experience: thousands of people walking round, praying the rosary, singing hymns, and raising their candles when the Ave refrain is sung. It is daylight when the Procession starts, and the light gradually fades... and by the time everyone has reached the square in front of the Rosary Basilica, the sky is dark indigo, lit by thousands of candles held up in the air... Mind you, given the timings, we'll probably only make it for the end of the Procession on the first evening.

I will probably finish off with a drink in the hotel bar and a chat with Odette (the night receptionist) before heading off to a very comfortable bed...