Holiday Snaps...

Just a brief selection to be going on with...

On arrival, we were told that there had been a lot more rain than usual in Lourdes, and that the Gave was running a metre higher than normal (and indeed, had overflowed at its lowest point), so I took a photo or two...

I couldn't find the exact corresponding shots from previous years, but this is a photo from 2007... check out the arch under the bridge, and the white struts...

Then there is the French sense of humour, which places a saint at each end of the ramps up to the Crypt Chapel: on the left, nearest to the St. Joseph's Gate, we have St. Remy...

... while, on the right, nearest the Gave River (and the Grotto) we have St. Martin!

This makes me chuckle every time I see them.

This photo, taken from the river wall just opposite the water taps shows the building work being carried out on the outside of the St. Michael's Chapel... we had our Masses in the St. Gabriel Chapel this year, which is the counterpart to St. Michael's Chapel, and is on the opposite side of the Crypt Chapel.

Finally, I couldn't resist a shot of the webcam camera...

I'll post more photos in the next day or so, but now I have to go to bed...

Back To Reality...

This morning, I awoke to find myself aching in places I didn't know existed: the effect of all those Lourdes hills.

I made my way to church and gave some Lourdes water and cards to various people. We then had Mass, Exposition for a Holy Hour and Benediction (our normal Saturday routine) followed by a Latin lesson for the altar servers, given by Fr. Tim. Wendy, the mother of two of the servers, kindly provided bacon and sausage sandwiches.

After this, I went to buy milk and a few other necessities, and came back to find Sylvester looking aggrieved. I curled up on the sofa with him beside me, and settled down to read a "new" Bernard Cornwell book - one of the Alfred the Great series. I enjoyed his Grail Quest and Sharpe books, but I'm not quite sure about this one.

The inevitable happened, and I soon dropped off to sleep. I woke up briefly, realised that I had only fifteen minutes left in which to collect my jacket from the dry cleaners, and rushed out. On returning, I sat back down on the sofa, picked up the book, and...

... woke up at about 9:30pm. Oops.

I uploaded all my photos from the phone - about 120, which is fairly restrained for me. I had been advised by Fr. Tim to reduce the size of my photos used on the blog, or else I'd run out of photo space, and although I'd do it for the occasional photo (along with punching up the contrast and correcting lighting levels) it took so long that I usually didn't bother. Jonathan mentioned that my blog took far too long to upload onto his phone, and, guessing that picture size might be a factor in this, I explored the options on Photoshop Elements 6.0. I discovered a "multiple files" option, and hoped that this would allow me to convert a whole bunch of photos to web-friendly settings without too much time and effort on my part. I'd be interested to know if things speed up...

Home, Sweet Home...

I've finally arrived back home and unpacked. I loaded the washing machine, and made a fuss of the cat. I also edited a few of the posts I submitted via email, as the layout was all wrong...

The morning passed as planned... I managed to get a few things sorted, went to the Grotto to pray for specific intentions, arranged for a few Masses to be said, lit some candles, and renewed my subscription to the Lourdes Magazine. I also paid the photographer for the group photos.

Mass was very emotional for me, as I prepared to say goodbye to Lourdes for another year. At the end of Mass, I went off for a quick lunch at the Brasserie Brancardiers, which had the advantage of being two minutes away from the hotel.

I returned to the hotel in time to load my bag onto the coach, and said goodbye to the proprietress of the hotel. Sylvie was very kind, and indicated that we were very welcome indeed to return again next year. Yes, I have booked the hotel already. The location is second to none and the staff are wonderful... and the fact that even the dining room waitresses and the chambermaids are pretty much the same each year shows that they must be a very special outfit...

The DVD was duly loaded, but the angle of the screen meant that the contrast had a few "issues" that neither Fr. Tim nor myself could resolve... so the picture was rather unclear. The sound was good though... and anyway, we'd had the pictures (without sound) on the journey up!

We arrived half an hour early at Toulouse, but they didn't have a specialised Groups' check-in, and so we waited the 30 minutes until the desks opened. However, they did open an extra desk (I mentioned the number of children again...) and we were able to proceed without any further delays. The flight made excellent time...

And then we arrived back at Terminal 5. Ugh. I do not like this terminal. You have to walk back and forth for ages and ages, as it all seems to be laid out in one long, straight line... and everything is at the furthest point.

Our coach was delayed by traffic problems, and there didn't seem to be any way of contacting the driver, or working out where our coach might be expected. Eventually Fr. Tim discovered that the coach would be at the furthest stand from the exit, and we trudged wearily onwards.

The journey back to Blackfen was an absolute doddle, taking just over an hour. Jonathan, Fr. Charles, Fr. Tim and me then popped in to the club for a swift drink (I was back on the coca cola, for which my liver is, no doubt, eternally grateful) and a brief post-mortem on what needed to be improved for next year.

My services as Pilgrimage Organiser and courier appear to have been retained for another year... though after a few comments about "Sylvester Vindaloo" and "Sylvester fricasse," I am sorely tempted to arrange for accommodation to be transferred to the vicinity of the Pic du Jer (lots of building work, and miles from the Grotto) and Masses to be scheduled in the whitewashed garage (the St. Patrick's Chapel in the Hemicycle) ... I have already indicated that a plate of smoked salmon would form an acceptable apology as far as Sylvester was concerned...

"Sylvester Vindaloo" indeed!

The End...

Today is the last day of our pilgrimage, and, like the first day, it will be mostly spent travelling.

We start off with Mass at 10:30am in the St. Gabriel Chapel, so getting ready in the morning won't be too much of a rush. After Mass we will have about an hour to do some last-minute shopping and praying, and then we'll take the coach to Toulouse airport.

I suppose it will be good to see Sylvester again...

Blonde Jokes In Lourdes

What do you do if a blonde throws a pin at you?

Run like mad because she's holding the grenade...

Not Quite As Planned...

We had hoped to celebrate a Solemn High Mass at the Parish Church this morning, but various events conspired against us.

First of all, one member of the group never made it to Lourdes due to a bout of food poisoning two days before our departure. This was pretty bad luck for him, but also for us, as he was going to lead the chanting of the Mass propers.

Luckily, Leutgeb was also one of the group, and by switching to the Rossini propers, Jacinta and I were able to join her in singing them.We had the Missa de Angelis and Credo III, as most of the children were familiar with these. The acoustics in the Crypt were spine-tinglingly good, and I think we acquitted ourselves well.

The second misfortune to befall us was that Fr. George Byers (a chaplain here for the past two years) was suddenly lumbered with a chaplains' meeting, and so was unable to assist... Solemn High Mass became a Missa Cantata, with Fr. Tim celebrating and Fr. Charles intoning the epistle. The servers did really well, and Mass was superb.

Fr. George joined some of us for a very enjoyable lunch at a local restaurant - I was able to indulge in my favourite dish (roast duck breast.)We had the Rosary at the Grotto and I was able to encourage the children to sit at the front. Fr. Tim blessed the children at the end, and I managed to wave at the camera before and after.

I now need a nap... More later!

Another Day To Remember...

I took this photo last year, outside the parish church - you can see that the crowds were pretty horrendous.

I shall take some more photos today, as this is where we will be celebrating our Mass - Fr. Tim, Fr. Charles, and Fr. George Byers will all be present, and, since we have a couple of musicians to chant the Mass, our Senior MC and several servers, it seemed only natural to try and organise a Solemn High Mass.

Fr. George will be leaving Lourdes shortly to return to America, so it was kind of him to make the arrangements with the parish here in Lourdes when he is so busy (the Lourdes Sanctuaires are separate from the parish church, so I couldn't book this through the Service Planification.)

We will be going to the Grotto for the Rosary and blessing of children at 3:30pm. I shall try and wave at the camera after it has finished - about 4pm - but you might catch a glimpse of our group if you watch carefully, as the camera tends to pan around during the actual recitation of Rosary.

The Blessed Sacrament Procession will start at 5pm - last year my knee and ankle were playing up, so I sat down to watch Our Lord pass by, fully intending to go back to the hotel to rest once the Procession had passed. However, I found myself being drawn to the underground Basilica, and managed to stay for Benediction.

The final night here in Lourdes will end once again with the Torchlight Procession...

An Evening With The Children...

When I returned from the non-event of the Pic du Jer, I had a short nap to recharge the batteries. After dinner, the children had a session with Fr. Tim and myself, while the mums and grandparents had a bit of a break.

Fr. Tim started off by praying the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, with a brief explanation of and reflection on each Mystery. Then a brief discussion about angels followed.

I had prepared a few different worksheets, and Fr. Tim selected one where the children had to identify photos of different places in Lourdes. I'd included a couple of wordsearches I'd made, and the group was keen to have a go. Fr. Tim also decided to try one, but, not being of the generation which had to do lots of these at school, his technique left something to be desired... 

Several of the children were indignant to discover that he was copying their answers! The session finished at 10pm amid much laughter, and I was delighted that some of the other sheets were (voluntarily) taken away as homework!

More tomorrow.

First Major Hiccough...!

Luckily I was the only one affected!

The brochure advertising the Pic du Jer funicular railway said that the attraction was fully wheelchair accessible. I thought that meant slopes or a lift... It didn't.

When the cable car arrived at the top of the mountain, I realised that I had to step down from the car onto some very steep, narrow steps... and the bannister was too far away for me to reach... It also looked over a sheer drop.

Meanwhile, a lady in a wheelchair was being loaded onto a stairlift. I asked if it was possible to use it, but was told that it was only for wheelchairs.

There was absolutely no way I could manage the steep stairs and so I just had to stay put until the car returned to the ground.

Not the most pleasant of experiences! On the plus side, at least I got to ride the "Petit Train" around Lourdes...

A (Relatively) Lazy Day...

Day 3 of the Pilgrimage will be pretty relaxed. We will start with Mass at 9am in the St. Gabriel Chapel, and then make our way down to the front of the Rosary Basilica for our official Group Photo. I loathe this part of it, but haven't yet been able to squirm my way out of it. Luckily, there are no online versions available...

The morning is pretty much fee for people to do whatever they want, and then, in the afternoon, there's an excursion to the Pic du Jer, a cable-car ride up the mountain overlooking Lourdes. I might skip this. I'm terrified of heights, and while I'm ok on solid ground, balconies and airplanes, I am not too certain how I feel about cable-cars. I have heard that the cars occasionally get stuck, and sod's law being what it is...

In the evening, after dinner, Fr. Tim is going to run a class for the children - I've prepared a short worksheet - and we may go across the Gave to the Prairie. This bit is fairly fluid, no hard-and-fast arrangements - but it gives the parents a bit of a break if they want it. 

Wet, Wet, Wet...

My second day in Lourdes started exactly as planned - I woke up in plenty of time for breakfast, and brought the group down to the Domaine where the tour guide was due to meet us.

Knowing how hilly the town is, I had decided to skip the tour of Bernadette's home, church and so on... Once the group had left with the guide, I wandered around the Domaine.

First I booked a slot with the official photographer. I went to the grotto and said a prayer, had a drink of the water, and then went in to the Rosary Basilica. I sat down to pray my Office in an inconspicuous spot, and then went around taking some photos.

I was pretty tired by this time, so I returned to the hotel for a half-hour power nap... after which I went to lunch... Unfortunately, service in the restaurant I chose was rather slow, which made me five minutes late for my appointment with the Grotto webcam...

The baths were next - and it was freezing... I did remember to pray for all my fellow bloggers - through chattering teeth! I didn't have any children with me and so I had to join the main queue... And the whole process took two hours, which meant that I only just squeaked into Mass on time.

Fr. Tim took the group to the High Stations as planned - I went with Fr. Charles for a leisurely coffee.

The weather took a turn for the worse, but we all went along to the Torchlight Procession - though after walking for a short while, I decided to "cheat" and went to sit down at the side (the constant stop-start motion is hard going on my knee and ankle!) the advantage of this, however, was that I could take some good photos.

Then it was back to the hotel for a few drinks before bed.

Tomorrow is a more gentle affair - but please pray that the weather improves...

Hope They Warm Up The Water...

Day 2 of the Pilgrimage. This year I have done my best to make sure we don't start too early, because of the time needed to get young children up, washed, dressed and fed. I have to admit that I needed prompting for this: not having any children of my own means that the mechanics escape me... by the time I encounter them at school, they've done all that stuff!

So, we will start off with the official tour of Lourdes: In the Footsteps of Bernadette. Last year was the Jubilee year, and there was a special "Jubilee Way" with stickers (and a Plenary Indulgence) to collect. The places connected with St. Bernadette's life were extremely crowded, and I'm hoping that things will be a lot more relaxed this time round. That will take all morning, and I expect that people will want to go for lunch in the town (we always stay half-board, which allows more freedom with regard to lunch arrangements, as well as keeping costs down.)

The Baths open in the afternoon at 2:30pm, but, as I don't have any children with me, I will need to get there some time beforehand to make sure I get in. Priority is given to the sick, the disabled, and parents with young children, so they don't need to queue for long periods.

I shall try and remember to wave at the video camera at 1:50pm (local time) if you want to try and catch me on a screen dump... go on, I challenge you.

Mass will be quite late: 4pm in the St. Gabriel Chapel. This chapel is to the left of the Crypt, next to the road going up the Espélugues Hill. I tried to arrange Mass in the St. Michael Chapel, but there is building work going on there, so it wasn't available.

After Mass, we will have the Stations of the Cross... the start of the High Stations is just a bit further up from the Chapel (how about that for planning!) while anyone unable to tackle the hill (like myself) will be able to make their way down to the Lower Stations, over on the other side of the River Gave.

The Torchlight Procession will finish off the day once more: I plan to take a few photos to use for another You Tube video slideshow.

The Best-Laid Plans...

My last post was one I scheduled, and it describes what I'd planned to do...

Unfortunately, plans sometimes (ok, often) come unstuck...

The journey to Terminal 5 was much easier than expected, which meant that we arrived an hour earlier than our check-in time. Luckily for us, on our arrival at the Groups' check-in desk, someone had an attack of the smarts and realised that it was in her interests to check us in as quickly as possible, after which we would become "somebody else's problem" - 12 children in a group have this effect on people...

For the first time ever, I was subjected to a frisk search... to say that it was thorough was an understatement - one doesn't normally get that close to a person without an introduction..!

We hit pretty bad turbulence - the captain kept coming on the intercom to apologise, saying that he'd never experienced anything like it. Not the most reassuring of statements...!

Traffic out of Toulouse was a nightmare... the weather then took a turn for the worse, and it poured down with rain... suddenly there was a loud bang on the coach roof - I assumed we'd hit a low tree or something. This was rapidly followed by more bangs, as suddenly we were caught in a storm of hailstones.The hailstones were the size of golfballs. There was a small bridge across the road, and we saw that traffic under it had come to a complete standstill - no-one was prepared to drive out and get hit by hail. We were fortunate that it was a brief shower, but we saw a car which had had its rear windscreen smashed... and several cars had lots of small indents in the roofs where the hail had impacted with the sheet metal.The hotel staff had dinner waiting for us when we finally arrived, and it was great to meet them again. They really are a lovely bunch, and it was kind of them to stay late to cook and serve the meal - not all
hotels are so obliging.

I was able to distribute keys during the meal, but I was just too tired to go down for the end of the Torchlight Procession. I've now unpacked, and have checked tomorrow's programme... so I think it's time for sleep.

More tomorrow!

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... 

Feeling Guilty...

The other day, Delia (a regular commenter on this blog, though not a blogger herself) asked me how Sylvester was doing. I was a little distracted at the time, and told her he was fine...

Well, he's not fine now. He's figured out that something is up, and he is not happy about it. As a result, he's been following me from room to room, demanding attention. I haven't so much as touched my suitcase, so that isn't the thing that's tipped him off.

Anyway, here are a couple of photos of him trying to make me feel guilty...

Here We Go Again...

Gloucestershire Royal Hospital have sent a member of staff home because she refused to take off her crucifix.

They claim that it's because of health and safety issues, namely that it could harbour infection or it could be grabbed by a patient.

This is somewhat confusing. 

Helen Slatter is a phlebologist, which means she takes blood samples from patients. When you get that close to patients, they can grab anything... or even poke you in the eye, should the fancy take them... maybe Mrs. Slatter should wear a helmet? Oh, and did you know that phlebologists carry needles... lots of them... nasty sharp things... they can be grabbed too...

The hospital authorities told Mrs. Slatter that she could carry the crucifix in a pocket rather than under her uniform as at present... because obviously this makes a difference to the amount of infective material it can harbour... ummm...

Colour me stupid, but I don't quite get the scientific argument there...

Something doesn't quite add up...

As a matter of interest, you'd think that the BBC could rustle up a picture of a crucifix to illustrate their story, wouldn't you?

Now... What Have I Forgotten...?

Tomorrow sees the start of our Parish Pilgrimage to Lourdes. I'm still feeling quite tired and washed out, so I haven't been as excited as usual: however, I know that it will be a wonderful time (it always is) and the excitement will probably hit me some time in the night, when I'll be unable to sleep for fear of being late.

I always have a fear of being late... and it is very well-founded, as I could probably sleep through the Parousia. I have a large, old-fashioned, wind-up, bell alarm clock, a small, beeping, travel alarm clock, a radio alarm clock (which is set to beep, as I wouldn't wake up with just the radio) and three alarms on my mobile phone. I generally find that I've slept through a few of them without noticing, or (and this is the scary part) switched them off in my sleep.

There's no point saying that I should put them across the other side of my bedroom... I've tried that, and I just ignore them as they're not close enough to be annoying.

I might ask one of my friends to phone... just to make absolutely certain!

Meanwhile, I am racking my brains to see if there is anything I have forgotten. I have my own travel insurance, EHIC, passport and holiday money. I've asked my neighbour to feed Sylvester (she is a real cat-lover, and will wait with Sylvester while he eats his food, and will also spend time with him in the evening) and have arranged for my landlord to come and plaster up the holes left by the electrician...

I haven't packed yet - partly because I don't want to tip off Sylvester too soon, but also because I'm trying to take only what is absolutely necessary... and much of it will be necessary in the morning!

I have printed out notices for the hotel noticeboard, detailing each day's activities along with the next day's events, and then any last-minute changes can be made clear. They look quite good - we have a "corporate logo" which is eye-catching! The same logo appeared on the letters I sent everyone and on the programme, and the parish flag has the same picture of Our Lady on it. I've also produced matching luggage tags, so that our bags are easy to identify... one year, an elderly monsignor from another group picked up one of our bags by mistake!

In previous years I've done little cards with the Booking Reference printed on it, but we'll be checking in as a group this time, and we all have the same number, so I haven't done it... I might live to regret that!

I will be in the Grotto waving at the webcam on Tuesday at 1:50pm* and on Thursday at about 4pm (after the Rosary and blessing of children has finished) - obviously I'll be at the Grotto more frequently than that, but those are the two definite spot-the-mulier-fortis moments!

Wendy (one of the other pilgrims) offered to produce hymn sheets/booklets, Jonathan promised to get the Mass texts printed off for everyone, and we're taking the red Missal booklets from church (they won't be used in the parish during the week) as Mass will be in the usus antiquior. Servers will be responsible for their own cassocks and cottas... yes, I think that is pretty much everything...

Famous last words...

*All times are local - France is currently an hour ahead of the UK on BST, which makes it GMT + 2 hrs (I think that's how it works!)