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Day 57: Saint Maurice to Sembrancher (30 km) From ‘La Via Dolorosa’ to ‘Walking on Sunshine’.
Don’t leave me this wayI can’t surviveI can’t stay aliveWithout your love, no baby Don’t Leave Me This Way – song by The Communards (Album – La Via Dolorosa) I’ve always had an eclectic love of music which ranges from Gregorian chant, classical, jazz and English folk music to Ska (The Specials) and Punk (The…
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Day 58: Sembrancher to Bourg-Saint-Pierre (20 km) As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning
How clear, how lovely bright,How beautiful to sightThose beams of morning play;How heaven laughs out with gleeWhere, like a bird set free,Up from the eastern seaSoars the delightful day. A.E.Housman – How clear, how lovely bright. When I got up this morning I was still undecided on how far I would walk. Ideally I’d finish…
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Final reflections on my walk
I will weep when you are weeping;when you laugh I’ll laugh with you;I will share your joy and sorrow,till we’ve seen this journey through. Hymn – The Servant Song (Brother, Let Me Be Your Servant) I must confess that I’ve become slightly addicted to blogging. In fact one of the most enjoyable aspects of the…
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Providence and a Pilgrim’s Harvest Welcome Home
It’s amazing don’t you know?He visits in the place of a loved one,That sadly had to go.He comes to show they miss you,Just as you do them,And they too, long for that day,That you shall meet again.They’re by your side forever more,And that will remain so,So they send a little robin,As a way to let…
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Pilgrim Encounters – The Kindness of Strangers
Pilgrimage had shown me what was radical about the wandering life, as on the road all tokens of status were left behind. Guy Stagg – The Crossway One of the huge pleasures of going on a pilgrimage is the opportunity it gives you to meet people whose paths you wouldn’t otherwise cross. I returned from…
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Time to ‘Get Serious’ about Sigeric, 10th century Renaissance Man.
“They have sent me to you, the hardy sea-men—they bid you be informed that you must quickly sendrings in exchange for protection, and it would be betterfor you to buy off with tribute this storm of spears,otherwise we should deal in such a hard battle.” The Battle of Maldon – Anglo-Saxon Poem Sigeric ‘The Serious’,…
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The Apothecary’s Tale – Blisters, Boots and Becket’s Blood.
With us ther was a DOCTOUR OF PHISYK, In al this world ne was ther noon him lyk To speke of phisik and of surgerye; For he was grounded in astronomye. Geoffrey Chaucer – The Physician’s Tale One of the principal concerns of a modern day pilgrim is probably the avoidance of blisters. Having just…
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Last Post – Lest We Forget
In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row,That mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below. In Flanders Fields – John McCrae On Armistice Day it seems appropriate to file a ‘Last Post’ for my travel blog until my walk to Rome resumes…
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Murder in the Cathedral – Close Encounters with Thomas Becket on the Via Francigena.
What miserable drones and traitors have I nurtured and promoted in my household who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric! The Life of St Thomas – Edward Grim On the evening of 29th December 1170. Shortly after Becket had finished celebrating Vespers, four knights burst into Canterbury Cathedral…
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Meditations on pilgrimage, monasteries and the Christian concept of charity
My pilgrimage to Rome will give me the opportunity to sample the monastic way of life in much the same way as pilgrims travelling along the Via Francigena would have done staying in hospices run by religious orders along the route. I’ll be stepping out of my ‘comfort zone’ and will be, to some large…
Welcome to my blog! I’m Jonathan, a 60 year old Brit who is passionate about long distance walking.
In May 2024 I’m setting off from Land’s End to walk 1,200 miles, the length of Britain, to John O’Groats.
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Pilgrim's Progress - Long Distance Walks in Europe and the UK 