Day 49 of the End to End in 2019 was after a rest day (hence the gap) and on the way from Wigan towards Preston. There’s no doubt I notice big differences this year from last year. Many folks have remarked how this walk could not have happened this year and that’s probably true so far. But a walk like LEJOG is always there and can be done many ways. Will I do it again? Who knows.
One of the things about being on a walk for four months in that you miss things (although of course you see others). It’s easy to get in the zone and ignore what’s going on elsewhere. Some stuff takes a long time to process. Yesterday, for example, I had a paper published on line about work I did before I retired. You can read it here: https://sacredtexts.hcommons.org/using-the-remembered-bible/
One day we will look back on this period of lock down and think about it differently. For now we make our way through it as best we can, looking out for the signs of how far we have to go, any alternative routes, and distracting happenings on the way.
I was walking along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 2019 (some folks call this the Liverpool and Leeds Canal), which certainly takes the long route to Leeds (or Liverpool). Originally designed to take in lots of places that wanted goods taken between Leeds and Liverpool that’s not surprising. But actually we often take roundabout routes. It’s not until later that we see this more clearly.
That day ended at the Boatyard Bus Cafe near Adlington: a bus repurposed into a cafe. What will we repurpose un-needed aircraft in to? Many steam engines were broken up when the steam age ended. Will we find aircraft graveyards and will heritage flying become a different thing? Or do we just all expect to be able to get back on a cheap flight to somewhere else anytime soon? I passed two repurposed airfields on the walk: one had been turned into a retail park and the other was used to store whisky.
There are many ways we could go from here. As I think about my paper on remembering the bible I know that my own ministry has not been the sort of path taken by many. Whilst I think I did the right thing, it’s easy to have doubts or feel isolated when others seem to just keep plodding the same route and give no sign of looking up or much indication that they’ll try out the ideas that you report as successfully tested. I can talk about Remembering the Bible (RB) or write about it, but really it’s a thing you do together. I’m a bit tired of the ‘that’s nice dear’ responses of too many folk I encounter.
Most days walking included doubts. Most days not walking do too. Last year’s reflection was on Psalm 139, so good any day:
From Psalm 139
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.All knowing God, who sees what we do in public and in secret,
Help us to face up to our responsibilities as residents of this planet.
It matters what we do with its resources and the rubbish we generate.
Hold us to account.
To which I’d add this year:
It matters what we do in private and in public.
Your kindom is a place of honesty and openness and justice.
It may cost us dearly, but lead us clearly,
that we may follow as nearly as we can.
Grant all a quiet night
JAL: 25.05.2020 in Longdendale.