Horse Race Night, 25th March
This year our horse race night took a slightly different “track” as we “jumped” onto maggot racing as well.
There were 6 horse races to place our £1 bets on, with two giant dice to throw, the first chose the horse, the second the speed each progressed. Each race was sponsored and each horse “bought”.
The maggots, actually meal worms and larger than expected, seemed surprisingly quite happy to move obligingly along their track as long as everyone took care to stand behind them so they didn’t get distracted!
We enjoyed ploughmans and ice creams (obviously not together) at half time and an amazing £994.80 was raised for our Church funds, making this one of our most successful evenings.
I managed to keep up my usual, and by now expected, standard of not betting on any of the winners - horse or maggot!
Walsingham Pilgrimage, 14th-16th April
Our Lucketts coach, with driver Nick, collected us at St George’s at 8.15am and picked up the remaining Pilgrims at St John’s Rowlands Castle at 8.40am.
We had a short stop for coffee at South Mimms Services and our main lunchtime break at Newmarket.
Arriving at Walsingham about 4pm, after our “1st visit” to the Holy House we collected our keys and settled into our allocated rooms.
For the Waterlooville pilgrims there was a Eucharist at 5.15pm held in the Barn Chapel before supper in the Refectory.
APCM & Parish Lunch, Sunday 23rd April
Following the Annual Parochial Church Meeting about fifty of us gathered in the Church Hall for lunch.
This year there was a starter of pate and French toast, bread sticks and dips followed by large jacket potatoes, beef or veg chilli or bolognese, served with butter, coleslaw and cheese. For dessert we had cheesecake, fruit salad and cream.
There was a table quiz themed on St George whose Patronal Festival was today.
£312.20 was raised for church funds.
At 3.15pm there was Evensong back in the church.
St George’s Summer Fete
The weather was kind this year, we had various stalls, and entertainment from the Cascades Ladies Barbershop Chorus. Takings on the day were £1,615.84.
After Shrine Prayers in the Holy House and Compline in the Shrine Church some headed to the Norton Room for a nightcap while others, including me, went off to bed – it had been a long day.
Saturday morning after (hopefully) a good night’s rest and a cooked breakfast – they feed us well at Walsingham – there were Stations of the Cross or Stations of the Resurrection, both around the beautiful Shrine Gardens, before we walked or “coached” to the Catholic Shrine and back in time for lunch.
In the afternoon some of us took the coach to Cromer where we wandered happily until it was time to return to the Shrine.
At 6pm all the pilgrims staying that weekend gathered in the Shrine Church for the Mass of Our Lady of Walsingham.
After supper one of my favourite services with the outdoor candlelit procession which was followed by Benediction and Healing Ministries.
Our group had organised a quiz later on for those who wished, or the Norton Room was open, or for some of us it was bedtime!
Sunday morning there was an option of a Eucharist in the Barn Chapel or a walk to St Mary’s Church to join in their service. After lunch we loaded our cases onto the coach before the final services; the Sprinkling at the Well, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament, Benediction and Last Visit to the Holy House.
And then a quick “loo visit” onto the coach and set off for home. Or so we thought – however Nick discovered the coach’s battery was flat so we had to wait for the breakdown man who spent ages struggling to get the battery casing off, finally levering it off with a large screwdriver. With jump leads he got the coach started but then was a problem with the door.
We began to wonder if stripping our beds that morning had been a trifle premature! Finally we left – three hours late and two more “last minute loo visits” later, leaving Walsingham at 7pm. We needed a 45 minutes break for Nick at South Mimms Services and arrived back at Waterlooville after midnight.
This year we managed what was possibly a Pilgrimage record of no less than four accidents for the Shrine Accident Book, with one trip to the local hospital. Hopefully they will allow us to come back again next year!
