Monday 19 November 2007

Durham


Fr Tim has been to Durham. Lucky him. I was a member of Cathsoc there and spent three very happy years going to Mass at St Cuthbert's with the occasional trip to the Dun Cow - good stotties.

The very hard working PP Fr John James was also the Catholic Chaplain to the university and spent a great deal of time visiting students.

Cathsoc had a big programme of social events from toasties after Mass to various trips about the place, Lindisfarne being my favourite.

A couple of years after I graduated we had a Cathsoc reunion in a YHA barn near Barnard Castle. Twas chilly out (like -10C), but the folks who produced meals for 30 were there (don't know who they were, but the food was always fab,) and a fun time was had by all.

The NE has an amazing Catholic History - Bede, Cuthbert et al. St Cuthbert and Bede are both buried in the Cathedral, though they did 'loose' StC's body til the early 1800s (whoops) and to think monks were carrying it around Northumbria to escape the Vikings for a couple of centuries after his death.

Read Bill Bryson, now Chancellor of the university, he likes the city a lot.

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