Pilgrimage or Morris Tour?






































Pilgrimage of Morris Tour ? 

A good question! In the end, I thought the best answer was,"Yes !" And, when I began to treat it like a pilgrimage something changed.
Travelling down to Kent from Norfolk, we speculated about Thomas a Becket true martyr or something else? Silly fool, he bit the hand that fed him! That is the King's hand! What did he expect!
Unlike Oscar Romero of El Salvador, gunned down in his own cathedral church for supporting the poor, Becket was trying to extend the rights of the Church. Not quite the same thing. And, of course, extending the rights of the Church was to the Pope's advantage. So, of course, he made Thomas a saint! 

Who gained from Becket's martyrdom ?  Who still gains?
















It has even been suggested, on the basis of heraldry, that Canterbury Cathedral are offing pay day loans to cover the entrance fee!





Later, dancing at the White Horse at Chilham, we were able to contrast and compare the welcome pilgrims receive at Canterbury and Chilham

On the subject of Turbulent Priests,  John Ball took centre stage. Imprisoned in Maidstone, Ball was releasaed during the Peasants' Revolt in 1381 before preaching his, famous, Blackheath sermon, "When Adam delved and Eve span who was then a gentleman?"   In a music session in the pub, we sang, Sydney Carter's, "Sing John Ball ."  




https://youtu.be/vwNYRTykPq4

Who’ll be the lady, who will be the lord 


When we are ruled by the love of one another 

Who’ll be the lady, who will be the lord 

In the life that is coming in the morning 




Chorus 

Sing, John Ball and tell it to them all 

Long live the day that is dawning 

And I'll crow like a cock, I'll carol like a lark 
For the life that is coming in the morning 




Eve is the lady, Adam is the lord 

When we are ruled by the love of one another 

Eve is the lady, Adam is the lord 

In the life that is coming in the morning 
Chorus… 




All shall be ruled by fellowship I say 

All shall be ruled by the love of one another 

All shall be ruled by fellowship I say 

In the life that is coming in the morning 
Chorus… 




Labour and spin for fellowship I say 

Labour and spin for the love of one another 

Labour and spin for fellowship I say 

And the life that is coming in the morning 
Chorus…2x 

           1381 that sermon was preached and it is still echoing today!

Monday and two more Sydney Carter songs come to mind

"Said Jesus to Mary "
















And, unsurprisingly  Lord of the Dance


















After which, the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway prompted thoughts of predestination





















Finally, on the way home what a joy it was to meet pilgrims from St. Michael's Wood End on their way back from Walsingham.




Chaucers Pilgrims met at the Tabbard. We met at the Barton Mills MacDonald's!


Pilgrimage of Morris Tour ? Yes!

There were thoughtful conversations on the way; it was a time apart and an opportunity to get a fresh perspective on life; and, this is the clincher for me:  coincidences, synchronous happenings and providence conspired to give the journey spiritual meaning and deepen understanding. For me it was the Pilgrimage of the Turbulent Priest. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First Day of the Rest of My Life

Image
 I have not posted much of late. I have been struggling. Between completing the pioneering work on a possible Withburga Way between Holkham and Dereham in the summer of 2022 and today my health has gone downhill in alarming way. I'll never walk the route in a couple of days, nor yet in 3.  I'll never walk it.  The rapid onset Pulmonary Fibrosis has left me struggling for breath putting my boots on let alone walking.  Yesterday, I went to St. Benet's Abbey , ate my picnic lunch in the car park and set myself the challenge of walking from the car park to the Abbey ruins. It is 0.35 miles and uphill all the way from from the Gate House to the old rugged cross that marks the site of the high altar at the summit. The hill looked quite daunting -  "Who can ascend the hill of the Lord?" I sang under by breath. Stopping often to catch my breath, slowly one foot in front of the other, I got closer to the summit. There before the cross, wind in my hair, it felt as i...
Read more

North Elmham

Image
I’d come to North Elmham pursuing a mystery. Did the Bishops of Elmham from Bedwinus in the 7th century to Herfast in the 11th have their cathedral in Norfolk or  Suffolk?  North or South Elmham? I’d followed a circular walk I’d found in the  Norfolk Health Heritage and Conservations Walks  leaflet (You can get hold of one from Norfolk County Council or on-line at www.countrysideaccess.norfolk.gov.uk .)  It took me through parkland,  along quiet lanes and ended up at the parish church  (Well worth a visit in its own right!) My final destination was indicated by a brown tourist sign. Uncompromisingly it asserts “Saxon Cathedral”! But when you get to the ruins and read English Heritage’s helpful interpretation boards there’s no certainty at all.  What you see are earthworks and  ruins of a castle built by Henry Despencer,  the fighting Bishop of Norwich. He was famous for putting down the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381. A man not witho...
Read more

York Minster Pilgrimage

Image
The statue is of Constantine lolling in a chair, just outside York Minster’s south door. On the other side of a pedistrianised roadway one of the great columns of the Roman Garrison’s Principia building has been re-errected. As I stood and surveyed the scene I was very close to the place where in 306 CE the IX Legion proclaimed Constantine Emperor, the successor to his father Constantius. Before Constantine died in 337 CE he had converted to Christianity and the privileges and status that had once belonged to those who promoted the cult of the Divine Emperor fell to well placed churchmen. Some thought the privilege, power and status too much and retreated into the cleansing austerity of the desert. Other’s relished in it, climbing the dizzy heights of hierarchy and enthusiastically taking over Imperial Rome’s loveof monumental buildings pouring endless resources into the building, beautifying and maintenance of Christain basilicas. I am inclined to say, “This is where,...
Read more