The treachery of Morecambe Bay has been well-documented throughout its history. Volatile, unpredictable and downright dangerous are words often used to describe it by those in the know. A ‘sister’
Category: Celtic Christianity
The Mysterious Road to Tain (4 – End) : a simple manThe Mysterious Road to Tain (4 – End) : a simple man
The young missionary – a peregrini, meaning one on a life-pilgrimage – wore two crosses; but not around his neck nor on his simple, woven robe. The Celtic designs were
The Mysterious Road to Tain (3) : the protectorsThe Mysterious Road to Tain (3) : the protectors
“Saints don’t just disappear!” Bernie was getting a little exasperated with my poor attempt at stringing together a viable theory to account for the cultural disappearance of St Duthac. “There’s
The Mysterious Road to Tain (2) : the Demi-god of RossThe Mysterious Road to Tain (2) : the Demi-god of Ross
“You’d have thought they would have looked after it, better!’ Bernie can be highly critical on these occasions. Mind you, we had trudged all the way around the small town
The Mysterious Road to Tain (1)The Mysterious Road to Tain (1)
“There’s a little known saint with some strange royal connections…” mused Bernie, my wife. “He has a pilgrimage centre near where we’re going today.” she said. “Want to see it?”
“Ain’t this a mess, Sheriff?”“Ain’t this a mess, Sheriff?”
In the film ‘No Country for Old Men’, there’s a famous opening scene at the site of a drugs shoot-out. Everyone’s dead when the local Sheriff and his deputy arrive
Keys of Heaven (10): A Final Resting PlaceKeys of Heaven (10): A Final Resting Place
continued from Part 9 The village of Lastingham, of the southern edge of the North York Moors, was a fitting place to end our weekend – both for its mysterious
Keys of Heaven (7): the path to gentle darknessKeys of Heaven (7): the path to gentle darkness
The tiny fishing village of Staithes is a place of peaceful beauty. It lies part way between Whitby and Saltburn on the North Yorkshire coast. It’s geography is also one
Whitby Weekend: The church at LastinghamWhitby Weekend: The church at Lastingham
It was only a few miles to the final destination of the Silent Eye’s weekend in North Yorkshire. We were heading for St Mary’s church at Lastingham, the final resting
Keys of Heaven (4) – through the bones of the whaleKeys of Heaven (4) – through the bones of the whale
The pale winter sun lies – to our symbolic view – just beyond the East Cliff horizon. Its lowness and lateness in the cold sky speaks of the approach of
Divide and be ConqueredDivide and be Conquered
It’s a funny thing, division – its principles apply to many aspects of our lives. We can cut something up, but its original ‘wholeness’ persists in ways we may never
The Moment that TeachesThe Moment that Teaches
Most people who venture into the mystical encounter it before too long – that momentary sense of the world dropping away and an intense silence taking centre stage. In that
The 13th Moon of St CeddThe 13th Moon of St Cedd
He stopped at the door, knowing they were all inside. Waiting for him, waiting for his ability to listen, to gather, to make pointed the urgings, the reasoning, the demands,
The Way to Dusty Death?The Way to Dusty Death?
We were in Ulverston, Dean and I. We’d just climbed the famous ‘Hoad’ – a tall monument on the top of a tall hill that looks like a lighthouse… but
North-easterly VII: A final graceNorth-easterly VII: A final grace
“…Manifest thy light for my regeneration, and let the breadth, height, fullness and crown of the solar radiance appear, and may the light within shine forth!” Abbe de Villars,
The Stone and the Pilgrim (6) final partThe Stone and the Pilgrim (6) final part
“It is what it is…” I remember the evening Morgana said that to me, many years ago. We were in Glastonbury, doing the first of our year of bi-monthly talks.
Heart and Stone…Heart and Stone…
* Long after the tourists, On their metal way, Have come and gone, From Castle Keep… * Long after the last bits, Of scone have flown, From Pilgrims Inn… *
The Stone and the Pilgrim (5)The Stone and the Pilgrim (5)
We stumbled upon the Preston Pele Tower, fifteen miles south-west of Bamburgh, back in February, 2018. My wife and I had seen a reference to it on a noticeboard in
In the Similitude of a Dream III…In the Similitude of a Dream III…
* … At this his relations were sore amazed; not for that they believed that what he said to them was true, but because they thought that some frenzy distemper
In the Similitude of a Dream II…In the Similitude of a Dream II…
* …In this plight, therefore, he went home and refrained himself as long as he could, that his wife and children should not perceive his distress; but he could not
In the Similitude of a Dream…In the Similitude of a Dream…
* As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where there was a Den, And I laid me down in that place to
The Stone and the Pilgrim (2)The Stone and the Pilgrim (2)
Part 2. Rested, the group of pilgrims gathers beneath the vast presence of Bamburgh Castle. The castle was restored to its present glory by the 19th century munitions entrepreneur and
Castles of the MindCastles of the Mind
Do we have ‘castles of the mind’? Traditionally, ancient castles were built where there was trouble… Do we have the equivalent in our minds and emotions? Have we, over the
Solstice of the Moon: Graven imagesSolstice of the Moon: Graven images
Our last visit of a weekend that seemed to have flown by all too quickly was to a little church on the edge of Aberdeen. The sun finally decided to
Solstice of the Moon: Stone of the MaidenSolstice of the Moon: Stone of the Maiden
Once upon a time… twelve or thirteen hundred years ago… there lived a fair maiden. She was, it is told, the daughter of the Laird of Balquhain. She was betrothed