Hello everyone again! I am writing this at home, waiting until it is time to leave to catch the coach from Downside Abbey, to Heathrow. We leave at 2 am, arriving at the airport for 5.30 am, so it didn't seem worth going to bed! About half of the group are on the coach, the rest will be meeting us at the airport, or, in the case of our Canadian pilgrims, they will be waiting for us at Tel Aviv.

The pilgrims are;-

Rina (ME!), Fr. Leo, Fr. Dominic, Fr. Jean-Patrice, Phil, John A., Josephine, Zac, Dana, 

Alec, Annabelle, Theresa, Maria, Sergio, Catherine, Alice, Olive, Richard Ma., Simon, Richard Mi., John N., Dayne, Nick, Cecilia, Rupert, Don, Trish, Trudy, Sarah, Bill, Juanita, 

Mickey and Oki 

I hope to get to know all of them better whilst we are away, and pass on some interesting bits and pieces of information to you. It would be good to find out why they are on the pilgrimage, and, at the end, what they have learned. Fr. Leo has already expressed his views;-

“This pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a wonderful opportunity for a broad spectrum of people associated with Downside to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. So many people return with their faith intensified and their understanding of the Gospels enlarged. It is also an opportunity to support by our presence the Christian community in the Holy Land which is rapidly shrinking in adverse circumstances.”

Some of you might not know much about the Abbey. I took a wonderful photograph of it yesterday to share with you. I have to say, it did look better than this "in the flesh" as it were! At least you can see how lush the countryside around it is.

View of Downside Abbey nestling within the village of Stratton-on the Fosse, Somerset, England

You can find out more about the Abbey, its school, and the Benedictine Community that live there, at http://www.downside.co.uk/ There are some great photographs on the website too - better than mine!

I am really amazed, as we have not left yet, and already well over 100 people have read this blog, and from all over the world! Please keep following us, and send the link to others. It is a great feeling to know that you are all a part of our pilgrimage! We will keep you in our prayers.

I feel as if it is the "Night Before Christmas", and so it is, in a way, as we will be in Bethlehem tomorrow evening. I will send out the next post from there, but I have been warned that the internet can be a bit "dodgy". Don't worry, as there will be more news. You may even get a couple of days worth at the same time.

Love

Rina