Day 72 of the End to End in 2019 was another beautiful green day. Green, the liturgical colour of Ordinary time, is one of my favourite colours (obviously not quite orange) with its many shades and hues. Since Day 1 I’d been walking in the green. It was like a long long ribbon that unrolled across the country as I walked along. Indeed, I made up a song about it that I often used to sing: ‘Unroll the Ribbon of Green’.
When I stood up at fair Land’s End,
a ribbon in my hand,
I gave my heart to God to keep
as I walked through the land:
The ribbon of green, the ribbon of green
unroll the ribbon of green.
I used to make up verses as I went along depending on what I saw that day.
Since returning home, the green ribbon and the many other colours of the landscape have been the inspiration of many of the craft projects I’ve been engrossed in.
(photo: the route of the LEJOG is like a green ribbon)
Walking in 2020 is similar: it’s green all around me. Yesterday on the TPT I was often walking through a shady green tunnel of trees. Thank goodness, because it was very hot. Each little solar panel of leafiness was hard at it through all the sunshine hours.
On a long walk I see few people, not like the photos of Bournemouth beach yesterday. Everywhere there are signs that getting back to normal and new normal are in contradiction. We are too addicted to our consumer lifestyle to give up on holidays abroad and many of the products of an oil based economy at the moment. We want them back as quickly as possible. Much of our economy depends on folks spending money as often and quickly as possible.
On day 72 we visited the Crawick Multiverse, a design by Charles Jencks to reuse some old coal spoil heaps in the Sanquhaar area. It includes some interesting sculpture set in a wide open space. But most of all, I loved the way nature had made it such a diverse green space. The ribbon of green had unrolled to a green meadow, a pool, a theatre and it was a beautiful sight.
From the remembered bible: Think about grass. It may not seem like much….
That’s the problem: we think that grass isn’t much. Grass and all the other green stuff, we take it for granted, instead of marvelling at each amazing cell.
God of cell, leaf and blade,
show us how to think about grass,
to see how each tiny green thing is vital to our shared life,
not expendable and ignorable in our throw away culture.
May we love the green and treasure it,
as the foundation of our life together.
JAL: 25.06.2020 in Longdendale.