Day six of the End to End began in Truro at the Cathedral. Truro was the first city I visited on the walk, and had been a point of the two previous walks by Bob (20030 and Hannah (2012). Indeed most of day 6, I was on the same route as taken by Hannah. At lunchtime I reached the village of Probus, named after an early British saint.
The Probus fish and chip shop had been a welcome sight on Hannah’s walk in 2012, as it had been a rainy day and we’d stopped for the essential food stuff, of course. The shop owner had generously given a £20 donation for Oxfam (Hannah was supporting Oxfam on her walk). In 2019, the bad news was that the fish and chip shop was not open on a Sunday. We went into the pub, the Hawkins Arms, and had ham and eggs and chips instead.
This year there are fewer options. Pubs, cafes and restaurants are closed due to COVID19 and the small village where we live in Derbyshire, though rarely noisy, is much quieter. No fish and chip supper on Fridays for quite some time. We all hope they will open again in due course and we can show our appreciation of the service they give. The national fish and chip shop awards are an annual way of doing just that.
On Tuesday of Holy Week my memory goes back to Jesus in Jerusalem, a crowded city full of pilgrims. He spent a lot of time in the temple; worshipping, praying, taking it all in. He noticed others who were there. A widow put two small coins in the offering plate. Some were scornful, it wasn’t much. Jesus noted that it was all she had to live on.
I wonder who remembered this story and how it got in the gospel? Was it someone who was embarrassed about their mean observation of the widow and never forgot Jesus’ remarks? Was it the widow herself or someone from her family? Who passed the stories on?
To me they are amongst the saints. Remembering and retelling stories that reflect the ways of the kindom are important to our lives in community, just like the shops and cafes and so on give a village its life as places to meet and greet each other. I think of all the fish and chip shops we went in on the End to End from Newlyn to Kilmarnock via Shap and I hope to be able once more, to vote with my feet for the best of the best.
From the remembered gospel
Jesus said: ‘It was all she had to live on…’
For those taking food to their neighbours
or delivering bread and milk with the post;
For those packing food for delivery
by supermarkets or small shops;
For those working with food banks
and fair share charities;
For those working for global food justice
at a time when we are absorbed with our own concerns;
For those planting and growing more food,
and caring for animals, or in food production;
For those feeding folks in care homes and hospitals;
For everyone involved in our daily bread:
It is because of you that we can live on.
Thank you.
JAL: 07.04.2020