Thank you, Helen, and Peter and other companion pilgrims. This guest post is fine writing and for me, timely.
We live some miles north of Cheviot having a very similar view to the one Helen knows from childhood, and we brought up our children here. One of them is still with us, working locally.
The coast is special; there was a pod of Orcas the other day off the Farne Islands. The many defensive structures speak of history, wrecks of storms, but famously Cuthbert lived the moments I feel Helen is referencing. His was not a retreat, more a perpetual discovery. I remember on our first visit to Inner Farne, already in early middle age by then with responsibilities, finding myself suddenly content with time, with the extended inner horizon. There are few places I have been where I would have been content not to leave. So, we carry this knowledge, pilgrims if we are so privileged.
Very recently a free-spirit poet, Avril P Priestley dropped off three copies of ‘Pilgrim’, from a limited first printing of her volume of poetry, at a local folklore studio, https://spindriftstories.co.uk ‘stories in the landscape’. I am reading fine poems reaching into experiences we share here. The book is beautifully illustrated, mostly from terrific woodcarvings by Avril’s late husband.
Avril has no internet presence, I guess by her preference. I am looking forward to going along when she turns up to give us the live ‘audio’!
That was beautiful!
Thank you, Helen, and Peter and other companion pilgrims. This guest post is fine writing and for me, timely.
We live some miles north of Cheviot having a very similar view to the one Helen knows from childhood, and we brought up our children here. One of them is still with us, working locally.
The coast is special; there was a pod of Orcas the other day off the Farne Islands. The many defensive structures speak of history, wrecks of storms, but famously Cuthbert lived the moments I feel Helen is referencing. His was not a retreat, more a perpetual discovery. I remember on our first visit to Inner Farne, already in early middle age by then with responsibilities, finding myself suddenly content with time, with the extended inner horizon. There are few places I have been where I would have been content not to leave. So, we carry this knowledge, pilgrims if we are so privileged.
Very recently a free-spirit poet, Avril P Priestley dropped off three copies of ‘Pilgrim’, from a limited first printing of her volume of poetry, at a local folklore studio, https://spindriftstories.co.uk ‘stories in the landscape’. I am reading fine poems reaching into experiences we share here. The book is beautifully illustrated, mostly from terrific woodcarvings by Avril’s late husband.
Avril has no internet presence, I guess by her preference. I am looking forward to going along when she turns up to give us the live ‘audio’!
Luminous, gentle and wise. Thankyou for reflecting the pause and the nameless.
Thanks for your lovely comment Megan.
Very beautiful writing. Echoes so much of my own research on pilgrimage and writing. Thank you Helen.
Thank you Victoria.
Thank you - I'm so happy it made sense to you!
Searching and searching for a lost key - powerful symbology speaking. Loved this, thank you.
It was the frustration that made the connection with writing before I saw the symbology of the lost key - I agree it is a powerful image.