29 September

today was the feast of one of the pilgrims, Michael, a nice Australian bloke (or cobber?!) and also the day we went to Santa Chiara. Big day for me. We began wit Mass at the tomb, which they only allow on two days a week, always a lovely Mass though I have big reservations about the tomb! After that we had a historical visit and they let us into the railed off transept to see the dossal and also to have prayer ritual in the San Damiano chapel. We think these favours are helped sllong by the fact that each year e carry all the coins collected in various boxes arnd the basilica, and change them into euros which the Italian banks will collect. This year i had nearly €400 worth of sterling. Luckily i am not the only english person here, there is also Sandra from Ladywell and she is taking some. It is not so much the money as the weight..i rustled up the money because John had paid me in euros already. When we collected the box it weighed a ton and Andre struggled along with his bad back. I offed to take a turn but he said it weighed more than I do. If only! Finally we put it in a knapsack and carried a handle each. They should have a nice little consignment when usa and australian dollars are all collected - or whateveer they have in Australia. Michael, our Aussie component checked ghe exchange rate for me and I was dismayed to find a pound is almost down to a euro, £10 is €11.5 all because of Brexit they hasten to tell me on many occasions. Clearly the rest f the world thinks we went mad and hope it is temporary. Sorry about the italics but if I stop for refinements, you wont get this. I had some problems bcasue I had forgotten the password and tried several last night in vain. Finally i went to bed and just now tried agan using, I would have sworn, all the same passwords but it seems to have worked. Now i am afrid to come out.
We are off to San Damiano for Clare in about five minutes and I must go and powder my  nose. More anon with love to one and all.

I heard last night that Andrea Williams had just died, she was a longstanding friend and so lovely. Please pray fr her and her children and grandchildren and all her friends.
ft

23 September

chiesa Nuova and the Rocca
First mornong, we hit the ground running, lots to do from now on. So Morning Prayer at 7.15 on the roof top garden from which we could see the whole of Assisi spread put, and watch the rising sun on the mpuntains opposite. Gradually, as we greeted Assisi in words from several books, the sun spread baxk towards us across the valley. After Morning Prayer we pointed out various key features and what the different towers belonged to and so on. You could see people were really moved to be there, the first time for many of them, and  the hoe of many years. We had a quick breakfast and then down to the Chiesa Nuva, one of Francis' birthplaces, where we had Mass and an excellent homily from Andre about the way children interrupt and interfere with grown up plans, that this is what Francis did to the church and what many of the Church's children have done, to the Church's annoyance!

From there we went down to look at the supposed stanle ans the little chapel of Francescuccio, little Francis, where people still bring babies and small children for healing. Then a coffee break, we three went to the Bar Sensi to have coffee and pan cacciata, the autumn speciality with nuts in, delicious, a kind of spicey bread, part of the pilgrimage for me now. After that we met again and went to the house of Bernard of Quintavalle, still up for sale, nobody can afford it so the family who live there comtinue to do so. Probably the Comune wont let them leave it empty to fall to bits, but dont help sell it either. The pilgrims are full of plans to go to Chiara di Dio tonight, Monchael, a school teacher is organising them in the manner born, and the whole lot are going to eat cena together and then on to the the theatre. I hope it is good and they love it.

They had a break after pranzo and a lecture from Murray on Francis and non-violence, after which we toiled up to the Rocca, quite a climb and a couple of pilgrims are not really nimble enough for it, nt to mention Murray and me!! Once ghe he gave a good historical input and we had a prayer service based around an imagined dialogue between the Sultan and Francis. Then we had time to prayer for different  intentions around violence, war etc etc. After cena, the long day got longer be ause we showed them the Liliana Cavani film about Francis, the one with Helena Bonham Carter. I have lost count how often I have seen it now, but I still see something new in it each time. It was long and did not end until nearly 11pm. Actually they are going to Vhiara di Dio the next noght, Saturday, something has gne wrong here! Sorry. I think i will post ths and then do Saturday separately. Love to all ft

Transfer to Assisi

This morning we went to the fourth sanctuary in this Rieti Valley, that of La Foresta, to a place where Francis often came. In fact he came so much that the people used to come out of Rieti to see him and one autumn, they ate all the grapes from the vineyard of the parish priest. He was upset because that was his wine supply for the year. But Francis promised him that he would have as much wine as usual and maybe more if he did not grumble or give out to the people but shared what he had with them. The priest did this and Francis' promise came true. La Foresta is also the place run by the group of young men called Mondo X. Previous readers will know what that is but for the new readers, it is a movement started by one of the friars, now 85 but still very much with his hand on the tiller. His belief was that the Franciscan Rule offered immense potential for healing and gradually over the years it has become a way of life for young people in trouble, whether with drugs, alcohol, sex or whatever, They live a very simple life, growing all their own food as far as possible, and the 'programme' is basically that sharing and fraternity are healing. They have a lot of sharing, and a lot of work and also pray together. When a young person comes, they commit themselves for three years and after that they can either leave to a more ordinary life or if they wish stay as long as they want. The basic philosophy is that as they create beauty outside in their environment, they also create beauty within themselves and that beauty is healing. To the visitor, the place is certainly beautiful and well cared for. As always, we asked if one of them would come and explain their lives to the pilgrims, which they did. It is a good example of Franciscan principles in action today. They also said that the whole place was badly shaken during the earthquake and that they all slept out in the garden for ten days until the quakes topped and the place was considered safe to return to.

So after Mass in the pre-Francis chapel of San Fabiano, and the talk from the young man,  the pilgrims had a quick historical visit and then some time on their own. We returned to the Villa Cabrini for an early lunch and just after 2 we were on the road to Assisi. This journey takes almost two hours perhaps a little longer and by half past four we were unloading all the cases from the coach onto the pavement. Marcello who runs the taxi firm and his son Massimo were waiting and put everything into taxis as you cant take a coach into the city of Assisi, the streets are too narrow. As it was we had to turn back at one point and come into Assisi from a different angle than usual as the bus was five centimetres too high to go under an arch. Usually the bus drives in through the village of Violi and Andre persuaded the bus driver to do so today. However the smart driver saw a notice about the arch. So we turned back and went another way which in fact was much nicer since we went along the valley towards the Porziuncola with some beautiful views of Assisi up on its hill. Personally I thought i t much nicer.

Once the baggage was loaded Murray and I started walking the pilgrims through the town, encouraging the inveterate photo takers and shoppers that they have 15 days to come back! Finally we got all of them to Casa Papa Giovanni and the rooms allocated and luggage off to the right room. Fortunately there seem among our 13 a number of strong ones who are very happy to carry cases and help the less strong. So in no time all was sorted. They then had space until 5 when we all met  and they had an introduction on a practical level, for instance all were given maps and told various bits and pieces of info which I suspect most forget and then have to rediscover from themselves. Hopefully they will remember things like that the house is locked at 10.30!! After that Murray took them on an introductory tour of the city and I joined later, and took them on to S Chiara to pay our respects to the Lady. I was very touched that Sr Fidelis, the extern sister who was on duty in the church, remembered me and greeted me very warmly. I promised to arrange for the two Poor Clares in the group to visit the Protomonastery. Sr Fidleis has reason to remember me because annually she gives us the coins which pilgrims and tourists have put in their candle box, as the banks wont accept the foreign coins. So we exchange them for paper money euros and then talk the pilgrim into carrying the coins home. Fortunately there is a nice FMDM on the pilgrimage so she will help me with the sterling, as last year my case weighed a ton with a big bag of coppers and 10p bits!

Soon after that we had supper, pretty noisy as there is another group here of USA college students. At one of the Catholic schools in USA they do a senior programme in Franciscan studies at the end of which they bring the students to Assisi for a week or so. We have met them in previous years too. They are a very impressive bunch of young people and all the teachers in our own group are impressed by how well behaved they seem to be. But the dining room was full and the noise level high!

So that brings that day to an end, more anon! Tomorrow we go the the reputed birthplace of Francis and in the afternoon climb up to the Rocca and have a peace service. Love to one and all and please keep praying. I am remembering everyone everywhere, often in a large sort of way like that but God has you all sorted out OK as do Francis and Clare for sure. Lots of love ft

20 September

This morning we went to Fonte Colombo where Francis wrote the Rule, had his eyes cauterised and lived at various tmes before that very peacefuly in a lovely spot. I a, not dping well at uploading photos, not sure why, but the phone seemed to do better the. The ipad so I began to take photos on the phone but today that doesnt seem to work either. The wifi is nt good, in fact poor except in the conference room but if O go there people chat and nothing gets done. In my room I have to go out into the passage to pick,up a signal and sometimes I can charm it back into my room and sometimes not. At the moment I am in Andre's room and he is preparing his talk for this evening on Franciscans and the Incarnation.

We got to Fonte Colombo in record time and prepared for Mass, then avter thta had the historical visit. This is one of the friaries whh go back to Francis' time, though not the church we see today, chapel really. Because this is such a small group, only fourteen, we didnt divide them as we usually do, half coming to me for a recommitment ceremony and half going to Murray to visit the Magdalen chapel and see the Tau on the wall almost certainly painted by Francis himself. Instead they all came as one which was nicer when possible. I had lit the candles and was waiting until they came, watching a lizard running up a tree branch but I did not have a chamce to find out what he would do when he reached the end as he soon would, because the pilgrims arrived! Because of the steep slope of the land, he would have a long long drop if he dropped. But i guess he has more sense. 

The recommitment is always moving, very simple a short scripture reading, a psalm which we said altogether, then they have a lit candle each from the ones standing on the small stone altar amid the mouse droppings! They read a statement of commitment all together, prepared and in the books, and we give them a card each signed by the three staff. It means, I suppose, as much  as each one invests in it, but nearly always they do invest greatly. You dont come on a pilgrimage like this and then fool around.

Then they had some free time, photgraph time, prayer time, gazing into space time, some beautoful space to gaze into and the sky was a clear as can be, almost every roxk f the mountains opposite could be seen. The temperature last night went down to 11C so a big change from the temperature in Rome. In faxt, it was quite a shock to wake up in the morning and hear a cock crow, some rooks, a distant dog and a cow mooing,instead of two hundred cars and seven hundred motore bikes, all honking and hooting! Out of my window which over looks the front drive, I can see pine trees and grass and hear the permanently cross squirrel in the trees. The little cat Rocchi who was a small kitten last year, seemed to remember me and jumped up on my lap purring like a train. 

All for the moment as it is almost time for the talk. I know I have heard it before but each time I rehear it, I seem to find something else good. Also if the new plan works, I shan't be here for this bit next year. The suggestion is that i come straight into Assisi for just over a week, travelling on 22 September and 2 October. This means I shall be home for the feast of St Francis which will be very good. Next year's programme we have done already so I know what I am doing, which seems to be five or six lectures and four historical visits. I said I dont mind how hard I work during that time. The two men dont want another person to come in to fill the gaps so that is how it will be, assuming it is passed at the annual staff meeting in November,

All for now, love to one and all
Ft

19 September

Today we went to Poggio Bustone, the place of pardon, also the place where Francis went very early on with a bunch of brothers. The locals thought they were scruffy and disreputable and shunned them. So to break the atmosphere, Francis went u to them and said Buon giorno, buona gente, Good morning good people, and the ice began to break. Today on his feast a friar goes round the village knocking on all their doors and saying Buon  giorno buona gente! When we arrived for Mass we found a French Mass already in progress, but the nice guardian, who I remember from last year, said they would not be long. this turned out to be true and we began Mass. This is the sanctuary where Francis finally found a sense of having been forgiven by God and the friars make it a centre of forgiveness, schools bring children here for first confessions too. So those of the pilgrimage who wanted had the chance of confession. Andre' began by speaking about his niece who had had twins, and towards the end of her pregnancy, she was so big she felt there was no room in her for anything else! Sin is like that, he said, it fills us up till there is less and less room for Christ. So everyone went to confession!! After that there was some prayer space, the energetic ones, about eleven of them, climbed the mountain up to the top where there is a chapel and a cave where Francis used to stay with Brother Elias. once there they rang a bell as the tradition requires! Then they came down very pleased with themselves! I sat on a bench and thought some thoughts and wrote a bit more on this essay on solitude I am supposed to be wRiting for this book Andre is producing. I keep writing little bits but when I get home I shall have to see how to cobble them together!

Then back into the bus and back to the Cabrini Centre for pranzo. Andre' had a guest, the 5times great niece of Fr Pamphilo who was the Italian friar sent to USA in the late 1800s to minister to the Italian immigrants. Pamphilo or perhaps Pamfilo then went on to be the founder  of the Province, and of St Bonaventure's University in Washington and of two religious congregations, two because he founded one then the bishop of another diocese wanted the sisters but their own bishop would not let them leave so Pamphilo founded another lot. Great man! With the help of zMargaret Crney when she was President of the University,  they wanted to bring his body to USA but it could not be found. This is because in Italy they put the bodies in the grave or, more likely as in this case, into a sort of little house, then after some years, when the shelf fills up, they shovel the bones to the back and put the new body in front. All very well but who knows now which bones are whose? However the latest is that they are thinking of a way, possbly through DNA testing. He had seven siblings all of whom had seven or eight children, so there are millions of descendants from whom to get DNA. Pamfilo's niece, called Laura, is about late 40s, lovely girl. As I have never seen the city of Rieti, she took me in during siesta time, very noble of her. She showed me the city which is small, the cathedral and the old part, very picturesque. I have some pics which I will upload but have to go downstairs to get good wifi so will do it tomorrow. We were just passing the church door of the Poor Clares when the portiere epened it so we said hullo, and she turned out to be a very friendly and chatty Sicilian.  She was very pleased to meet another PC especially from England where she thought everyone was a Protestant! We had a great chat, she told me the monastery is built on the foundations of the house of Angelo Trancredi, a former knight who joined Francis and that they still have a room which goes back to that time. The monastery was founded on 1230s, within the life-time of Clare. It housed 34 when she entered and now they are eight and all old. Every day they run what she called Mensa Santa Chiara, the table of St Clare, with the help of local lay people, and feed over 100poor people every day. Laura,  my guide, told me that their abbess, who was younger, got worn out and left and transferred to the monastery of Camerino. As it happened, i had spent some time recently translating a letter from the sisters in Camerino appealing for help because their monastery is 3/4 destroyed in the earthquake, including the church. I have also done a letter from Fernando in Rome to cover the sisters' letter and sayng that there are five or six Poor Clare monasteries damaged n the earthquake. Even Cortona told me they had felt the shocks though had no damage. You wonder what will happen to all these monasteries, even more so when less than 50 yards up the road I found another Poor Clare monastery but did not introduce myself and nobody was around. in fact the place looks deserted, i hate to think what it is like inside. So sad. Then Laura took me home, having thoroughly practised my Italian and somewhat tired!
More anon, love to one and all ft

17 September Tagliacozzo

today we all. Piled into the us again, the same grumpy driver doing everything he could to redeem himslef. He took us by a new and much better route onto the autostrada and off we went towards Tagliacozzo,malmost two hours' drive. We drove up into the Alban Hills, covered with trees and with bare rock  coming through dramatically. Tagliacozzo is a small hill top village in what is now the ski resort area (or will be when it snows) but is also the resting place of the body of Thomas of Celano. francis' first biographer. When we arrived, finally but after a good ride, we walked up the narrow cobbled streets through the small piazza and on up to the 13 th century friary at the top of the hill. There the guardian greeted us, as friendly as he had been inprevious years and, truly or not, gave every impression of remembering we three which is always nice. After a quick look round we had the two lectures, on the sources for Francis and the sources for Clare and there was a very lively discussion at the end which was also nice. We had Mass in the church wirh the body of Thomas of Celano lying in his  iche in the wall. he too seems mostly incirrupt in that the face, hands and feet yousee are his actual ones. His feet, turned up at the bottom of the glass case, looked rather flattened, more like flippers and his face was a dark greyish brown colour. We wondered what he thought of his grey conventual habit, it is a convential church! Andre gave the homily about thr power of words and then of The Word, and we prayed for all writers which was nice.

Then we progressed to the Hotel Mariana for the lunch of the year. We had a mere four courses with several side sihes ending with a pale of choice desserts each, a profoterole, fresh with real cream, a small pot of ice cream, and a sort of white tiramisu but when we asked him what it was called he said it was not tiramisu but a speciality unique to his house and, we suspect, his mother since although pretty ancient, she is clearly the queen of the kitchen! We were all overfull, just what I ahe come determined to avoid, and took some scarmoza home as a soggy bag. Scarmoza is a delicious dih of cheese which would not be difficult to do, it is not unlike the hot cheese we used to have in Arundel, but thr slices are thin, dipped in flour and the fried in olive oil until the have browned a bit,

Finally really fulll ans cheered by the fact that one of them got locked in the loo but was fianlly rescued, we piled sleepily int the bus. The driver had had the same lunch and was not at all grumpy. He said he made what sounds like a  ery nice onion chutney that he called marmalade, and tomorrow he is going to give me the mrecipe. Encouraged  y this he then said he had made a specail liqueur and if we brough glasses, we could try it. So tomorrow we will climb in the bus armed with 16 bicchierini and see what happens!!!

So now i am more or less up to date. Tomorrow is a lexture on prayer,mwalk to St Peter's for the Sunday audience, bqck for pranzo and off to Rieti in the coach. So my toothbrush is packed and this is more or less up to date. Andre had two cousins up from the south and here for supper last night, so he invited Murraya nd myself to sit with them ober supper as they speak nnenglish, though the older one Marissa, says she reads it but is baxd at speaking. So i have invited her for a crash course in Hollington! We shall see! Love to all ft

16 September with large groups on either side singing loudly in some unknown to gue! However this year, we made our way straight to John XXIII as soonas everyone was through security and had walked throug their second holy door

I got, up an hour early by mistake so thought I would continue with this and try to catch myself up before we leave Rome.

On 16 September, we had the great St Peter's day. This always involves an early start as they like to have the Masses finished before theyoen the doors to pilgrims and worse. So we had Mass scheduled for the tomb of John XXIII though until it happens, you never know if it will happen. But this year it did. The last coupld of years we have been bundled into an underground and airless chapel but this year we were in luck. So as soon as everyone had been through security and walked through their second holy door in two days, we all made our way to the tomb of John XXIII for Mass at 8.00. There was the usual crowd but the pilgrims were very adroit at seizing a seat on the two benches as soon as one became free. Then we saw Murray vested in red making his way from the far off sacristy preceded by a minute server who cant have been more then ten and who had Murray firmly under control! We had a lovely Mass and a beautiful homily from Murray about thenincarnation and how it is happening all the time in us, ending with a poem from Simeon the New Theologian,who died in 10something about how the reality of the incarnation is such that when I look at my hand, i am looking at Christ's hand and that this is truth not fantasy which has the power to transform the way we see ourselves.

After Mass ther was a break because tour style visits cant start until 9.00. Although all this organising is a biit of a nuisance, you can se ehow they are trying to make this central church available to all and still keep it as a place of prayer even though some thousands pass through it every day. No small task.

Andre gave his usual excellent presentstion which takes over an hour. We hire headphones so he speaks into a small microphone, there were dozens of such groups going round in dozens of languages and all on a sllightly different wave length of  radio so we dont hear each other. Very clever.

Almost as soon as we had entered St Peter's, the rain poured down in gallons, but by the time we came out, it had stopped, good timinng going on somewhere! After Mass, Murray appeared ina smart white T Shirt with the year of Mercy logo on. He said he had got soaked and dripped all overe the marble floor of the sacristy and had to buy a new shirt! The sisters who run the sacristy all  came to his rescue and toook his shirt to dry during Mass. He then went back to Tra Noi. The pilgrims had time on their own in the basilica and then pranzo out on their own. I went with Michael, pne of the pilgrims, to he hom sort put the SIM on his phone as  well as dping the same for myself and also to put money onAndre's phone. I did this first then Michael the Australian pilgrim took all te wind out of our sails by going up to the clever ypung Chinese  lad at the counter and addressing him in fluent
Mandarin! So I left him to it as he was clmearly ok! The clever lad could not do my phone as it was a different server, Wind not Tm. So I took a taxi to another shop, waited half and hour only to be told they did nt do Wind either. So i began dolefully to walk to the next one, almosta mile up the hill in heavy traffic when, much to  my relief, it began to rain so I decided to go home. On the way I went into a panneteria and bought two fresh panini, some cheese and olves with chilli in which the woman kindly made into two big baps for my lunch. This cost me 3 euros, about £2.50, and included two pars and some grapes and I had a lovely lunch Listening to  music and relaxing.
It was a free afternoon, i did some trabslati for CTC about the earthquake in Italy, some of the Poor Clares have had massive damage and are in dire financial straits as they have not yet paid for the last lot of repairs from the previous earthquake,i also spent some time reading up about Margaret of Cortona as we are going to her shrine instead of the capuchin place at Le Celle where the parking has become so difficult. I am sure somethi else happene but it eludes me utterly.mso sorry. Love to one and all ft

This is the view from my first room, looking into the Pamphili Gardens. The green in the foreground is where the parakeets seem to hang out. There are very few birds here, as in former years, though lots of grey and black European crows and the racketty parakeets and seagulls - home from home!

15 September San Francesco a Ripa and St John Lateran

Dear All
We have had a full few days and it is already hard to remember them. I keep hoping to get into a regular pattern but so far have not managed it.
Three days ago we have our first full day with a morning visit to San Francesco a Ripa which is the only church in Rome dedicated to St Francis. it is  built on the land of Francis' great friend and supporter, the Lady Giacoba dei Settesoli, and as we drove there past the huge Circus Maximus we saw the tower which is all that remains of the great Settesoli palazzo. arriving at the church we had Mass celebrated by !Murray, homily from ft on the cloud of witnesses that go with us, and historical visit by Andre. Then back into the bus to return to Tra Noi for  Pranzo. As usual we asked the bus driver to return past the Gianicolum where the view of the whole of Rome is so spectacular. However he did not want to for some reason so he said he did not know the way. This is the equivalent of a London taxi driver not knowing where Buckingham Palace is! It did not get him very far since Andre said firmly that it did not matter bevause he knew the way well. Anyhow we went and the view was as spectacular as one could wish but the driver got his own back by saying he was not allowed to stop and let us off. this is possiblh true but has never been a problem before! Anyway we drove around and this little confrontation was lost one the pilgrims fortunately. But as we had this driver for the next three days, it did not bode well. In fact after pranzo when the bus came to take us to St John Lateran, there was a different driver and a general air of pouring oil around!

St John Lateran was as impressive as ever, and much more enjoyable now we dont try to have Mass there! So we had a peacful historical visit but before that was the door! Prior to leaving Tra Noi we had a short ritual based on going through a holy door, with a scripture reading and a short reflection, then when we got there, we gathered outside the door and said three short prayers and then, in silence, walked through the door. The huge doorway of St John Latern was decorated with flowers (artificialI am sorry to say but very colourful) with the inevitable armed guard discreetly nearby. But as I walked through the door, I was overwhelmed, to  my total surprise, by a sense of doing something momentous and important and full of grace. So you never know! Then we took them round the interiror, as big as one and a half football pitches, and saw the tomb of Innocent III as well as Leo XIII? Ther was time then to look around and take more photos of the amazing floor, like the one at the head of this blog. After supper i think some of the energetic went down to St Peter's again which is not all that far and people dont want to miss a thing though you cant get in at that hour. This is not because it is shut since it is open but the queue to get in is all the way round the piazza and takes ages to wend its way through security. We had also had the group photo taken at St John Lateran this year because, owing to security, you cant easily get a group out of St Peter's for a photo and back in again.
I think I will post this and then tell you about St Peter's and Tagliacozzo separately. i am getting messages that this system is working OK for most people, I,hope that is true and not a fantasy.
Love to one and all, i remember you all in almost everywhere!

Dearest All, I have just spent half an hour writing up our doings for the last two days, then pressed the wrong button and lost the lot! Ah well, as they say, what a pity!

Just briefly to bring you up to date. On 12th we had a bisy day and went up to Assisi to collect pilgrims

 Handbooks from the office there, to shop for the Christmas Pranzo in Rieti, to contact Sr Ectorina at the Cabrini Centre in Rieti and confirm dates, numbers, times of arrival etc etc etc. All done.

On the way back we stopped at the Springs of Clitunno near Assisi, at my request. I had been before but they are so beautiful and tranquil, water gushing n many small springs from beneath the rock of Subasio into a wide shallow lake which is always clear because the water is always n the move, gently but un mistakably. I am very interested in the long tradition of healing n that area. San Damiano was a lace of healing which is why the chapel was dedicated to St Damiano, and before that, in pre Christian times, to Cosmas and Damian, the two Roman gods of healing. There are also other springs higher  the flank f the mountain near San Damiano which have been healing springs again from Roman times. So the tradition which connects Clare with healing has a long root.

Yesterday we did very little. Andre is still n jet lag, he reckons a day for every hour's change of time which is a useful rule of thumb.murray, who is lactose intolerant, ate an ice cream and forgot to take his pill because we were having so  much fun, had had stomach cramps all the previous night. I am in my usual crude good health but felt tatty in sympathy. Also the pilgrims were due the next morning. At that stage, nobody wants them to come but by the time we have been at the airport for a bit, the excitement begins to build and the sense of starting a work, which simply grows as they turn up one  by one.  This was all the more so as everyone had their luggage and all seemed younger than sometimes with no health issues except one lady who turned up pushed in a wheel chair. to say we were struck dumb is a mild account! Pilgrimage is called the prayer of the foot, so how do you do that in a wheelchair and, even louder, how were we going t do it for someone in a wheelchair. However, i had a few words with her and so did Murray and it seemed she is more mobile than appeared. Anyway she walked spunkily to the far end of the airport and managed the coach with no fuss, and found her room, came to dinner, all normal. Sighs of relief from the staff thinking of some of the places and all the steps!!! Now everyone is having some riposo and we hope they turn up for the first session at 5.00pm. I must go down to the shops and sort out  y Italian phone as some other staff person must have used it and gobbled up all the credit and also let the SIM not working. Charming. I know there was a guilty Other as the messages included one from the server saying Welcome to France' and another saying 'welcome to USA'! I know they were not me! 

It is extremely hot here and the cicadas are blasting away like car alarms making it sound hot as well. However your true Romans have got their jackets on because it is September and there might be a draft! All for now, watch this space ft

 Day One. After a good flight, more or less on time and not at all bumpy, I arrived in Rome where I was met by Fr Murray and F Andre. We set off back to the centre of Rome, stopping a the autgrill for a snack on the way. It ws 1.30 by then and my spoon or two of Muesli was a distant memory. Easyjet do not pamper you with meals and anything y u have you need to buy. Desperate, I had a mug of coffee which was, foretunately, quite nice since it cost me 2.20 sterling. I cant find the pound sign!
Shown my room which is on the seventh floor, a sort of very mini penthouse suite, I peeled my anti thrombosis stockings off with great difficulty and had a shower. The temperature must have been in the upper eighties and very soon there was a massive crack of thunder which rumbled on for nearly 15 minutes before the rain began. There are two parakeets nearby making their unmistakeable call and almost invisible in the tips of the acacia tree outside. The room has a splendid view onto, of all the surprises in central Rome, a field! It might be a park, more likely and if there is a chance I will try to find my way to it alond a road I can see round the back.. Also if I can solve te technology, I will try to send a picture of the view.
i gatherJohn Cella ofm is in town tonight and we are going to join him for supper. John is the director of the Franciscan Pilgrimage Programme so in a real sense, our boss! He does the hiring and firing too! However he can always be counted on for a good and generous meal, so that will be nice. I shall be starving by then, muesli and salad having vanished over the horizon!
tomorrow we shall work at the papers, medical snags, bookings etc etc, have our own post mortem on last year and get everything as ready as possible. The next day will probably be shoppng for the Christmas pranzo and going to Assisi to collect things like the pilgrim´s handbook which is distributed at the start of the pilgrimage here in Rome. Tuesday is a rest day and Wednesday the pilgrims arrive and the show starts.
I am typng this on the portable keyboard which we once bought for something else, but which was so light that I brough it along as a possibility. It is working a treat and in fact it is easier to type on this than on the iPad itself, though the latter can be done of course. Very high tec ' it connects magically by blue tooth which is so mysterious it might as well be magic!
Love to one and all
Ft

Two days later
That first day we were all very tired, Andre had flown overnight from the States and had no sleep, I had had an early starttoo and felt tired enough to lie down after dinner and fell asleep, not waking until about 5.oo, juat in time to get ready to be taken out by the boss. We went to his favourite place, the restaurant by the sea, but by the time we got there it was almost dusk and threatening rain so we sat inside and considered the menu ' all fish and sea food. They offered  plate of assorted fish caught that day which is what I chose and was given a plate with about ten fish on, mostly small, six inches or so,all beautifully coooked, fried actually, and crunchy. I am afraid I did not eat the heads though probbably could have done. Murray had turbot, the first time he said, and a huge fish came, white and beautiful. John and Andre had mussels and spaghetti, a great Italian favourite, and Nancy had salmon. Naturally everyone tried evrything except that I kept off the shellfish, remembering how sick I was after the same dish in Greccio two years ago. Sad as they are delicious.
Afterwards we were cheerfully full and had a lemon sorbet to wash it all down, just right, cool and sharp. The afternoon thunderstorm had not cooled things off much and it was extremely hot in spite of the sea breezes. Then we made our way back having helped John spend the programme´s money in that friendly way. The next mornng Murray and I took him to the airport, leaving at 7 and avoiding the worst of teh rush hour. As a resut of this early start we were back by 8.30 and without getting lost  though we did take one wrong turning but managed to extricate oruselves without having t seek help of any sort. The traffic in Rome is incredible and very noisy and on the whole most people ignore the rules of the road.
The rest of that day was spen going through the lists, checking eveyrthing and making a few planse, sharing out the work etc etc ' all the usual stuff. Tomorrow, Ruesday, will be full as well and ten a rest day before the prilgrims attive on Wednesday, but I will make this another letter as i want to try out the blog and see how I amgoing to do it and whetehr anything arrievs at yoru end. If it is not a nuisance, I would be reassured by a short email saying OK or something )or not! Love to one and all
Ft

I think this trial run is going to work.  Selected souls are going to let me know if this arrives but if you and i have not planned it, then you can ignore this and simply know that the system is working!