Holy Island, Part 2

Time on the Island

Hello everyone. What a wonderful place Holy Island is. Even with the day tourists, there were times when one could find a quiet place for reflection and creating. Thanks to the daily tides, there were hours each day that the day-trippers avoided. With this in mind, to see Holy Island properly, I do suggest staying on the island for at least a couple of days.

One of the first things I did after coming to the island was walk around to orient myself and to see if much had changed since I was here all those years ago. The only thing that seemed to be different was the abundance of late spring bringing forth an array of colors. The grass; which always seems to be green year-round now was infused with splashes of blues, reds, and yellow. The other difference was the number of people walking around.

On my walk around the small village, I stopped at the museum shop. On one of the shelves were a variety of books, but my eyes were drawn to one in particular titled, “Finding Sanctuary – Monastic Steps for Everyday Life” by, Abbot Christopher Jamison. It was not a large book but I found I wanted to read it right away. So, after purchasing it I walked back to the Manor House Hotel pub and ordered a pot of Earl Gray tea, and began reading.

The words in the book were exactly what I needed to hear because over the last months I have been searching for a way to create a life that was more simplistic with a lot more time to spend with God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. It is very difficult to chisel this out of the hectic daily life in our society. Even for someone like me who has the time, life always fills this space up. My first step to lessening the busyness of life had already been put in place. I had moved an hour and a half away from family, sold my house, and downsized into an apartment. So, this book came at the perfect time for my own spiritual path.

One of the ideas in the book teaches that true fulfillment only comes from within, from God. When we look outside ourselves and try to fill ourselves with earthly treasures we are not fulfilled and we will always continue to crave for more or for something different. Filling ourselves with God is the only way to be satisfied because He created us to return back to Him.

I was thinking about this as I took an evening walk through the village after dinner. All the shops were closed and I was half debating on whether I really needed anything souvenir-wise, especially after reading the words in the book. They were caught in my head. I was batting the thoughts around and window shopping at the same time. It was then that I saw the plaque in a jewelry store window surrounded by dangling earrings, necklaces, and rings. It read, “Who looks outside dreams. Who looks inside awakens”- Carl Jung.

I stood there looking at that quote and knew the meaning had a double side to it. The fact that it was in the window surrounded by jewelry was talking to the shopper to entice them to come inside to buy. However, originally, standing on its’ own, this quote summed up exactly what I had been reading. The fact that I had been considering purchasing some jewelry brought me to a halt. I quickly decided I did not need the jewelry knowing I had enough “stuff”.

So, I turned and walked towards St. Aiden’s Catholic Church. I saw that Mass was held each Sunday at 10:00 AM. Unfortunately, I would leave before Sunday, however, there is also the Church of England Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin which has a beautiful service Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday at 8:00 AM and on Wednesday there is a Communion service at 1:00 PM. Then there is an evening prayer service Monday- Friday at 5:00 PM. On Sunday there are three services; 8:00, 10:45, and Evening prayer at 5:00.

The Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin is the oldest church on the island and stands on the priory built by St. Aiden. Parts of this church date back to the 7th century, hundreds of years before Lindisfarne Priory was closed. It is a beautiful church, all stone inside, with an area dedicated to the life around the island with small wooden boats and lobster traps. Around the outside of the church is a graveyard with very old stones, some covered in lichen, and some graves that are fairly new. The sun had come out as I was walking around looking at the graves and caught some of the bluebells, making the blue vibrant against the stone and green grass. As I pulled my camera out to take a picture, the sun receded and I was not able to take the picture. I walked around the building as the sun popped back out again, so I ran back to try to take the picture, and again, the sun hid behind a cloud. We played this game for about five times before I was finally able to snap the picture before the sun went away again.

I cannot write about Holy Island without telling you about St. Aiden. This saint lived from about 590 AD until August 31, 651. He was known as the “Apostle of Northumbria” and he originally came from Ireland, before sailing first to the western coast of Scotland where he lived on the Isle of Iona as a monk, then to the eastern coast of Northumbria, where he founded Lindisfarne Priory on Holy Island located in the North Sea. He also oversaw the building of several churches and monasteries as well as Lindisfarne Priory. However, Lindisfarne Priory was his main accomplishment; which was a school to teach men how to become ministers.

It was about 635 AD that St Aiden, along with twelve monks, came to Holy Island and during the years following, he became a Bishop of the Northumbria. This was during the conflicts between the pagan tribes of the Anglo-Saxons and the Christianity of the Celts and Romans. So, there was always the threat of war.

St. Aiden was very frugal and on Church Feast Days he would give his portion of food to the poor. He also relished isolation at times for spiritual growth and so the tides around the island, cutting him and school off from the mainland, appealed to him. On this island, he chose young men to come and learn the practical life of a monk and would teach them how to be church leaders.

A few years after St. Aiden’s death, around 715, the Lindisfarne Gospels were written by the monks at the priory. This laborious process took about ten years and they wrote them on vellum, made from about one hundred and fifty calf skins. They used quills made of reeds and the colors came from both local sources and the Mediterranean. These gospels are elaborate Celtic designs that decorate around the written gospels. These gospels, I believe, are what captured the attention of so many people and what began to draw many pilgrims to Holy Island.

There is a museum on the island that explains in wonderful detail all of this, including the history of the priory. Then of course you have the ruins of the priory themselves. Standing like a magnificent skeleton on green grass with the North Sea as a backdrop. I spent the last full morning of my time on the island exploring these ruins, playing with taking pictures of the changing shadows on the stones, and going through the museum.

You cannot talk about a priory or monastery without talking about the beer, wine, or liquor that they made. Part of their daily life, the monks at Lindisfarne Priory made mead. Mead is a liquor traditionally made from honey. It is also one of the oldest alcoholic beverages in the world, dating to the Roman period. The production of Lindisfarne Mead came to the island with the monks during St. Aiden’s time. Next to the priory ruins is a building dedicated to the tasting and selling of Lindisfarne Mead. Today there are many varieties, but this particular brand claims that the foundation of their mead dates back to the same recipe as that of the monks that lived at the priory.

On a romantic note, in the 5th century AD in Britain, mead was drunk by newlyweds after one full moon of marriage to celebrate the sweetness of romance. Because of this, and because mead is made from honey, the term “honeymoon” came about. I learned this actually years ago in Cornwall, but it seems appropriate to add it here. Back then I liked mead, but now I find it too sweet.

After playing with shadows and sunlight, going through the museum and the shop selling mead, I was hungry. I decided to go to the Crown and Anchor Pub, across the street from where I was staying at the Manor House Hotel. I ordered the local crab sandwich like I had the first time I came to the island and some “lightly salted crisps”. “Crisps” in Britain are the same as our “potato chips” in America. The sandwich was, like last time, delicious.

I had a plan already for the afternoon. I had been itching to use my colored pencils and sketch a scene of the island. I had not had the time or the creative urge yet to do any sketching since the trip began. So, going back to my room I made some hot tea with sugar and milk and poured it into my insulated coffee mug. Then I gathered my art supplies with my tea, and a poncho that I use for a ground cover, and headed towards the beach near the Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin. On the way I stopped at a small café and picked up a flapjack; which is a very traditional oatmeal bar that originated in Scotland. It is made using cold porridge (oatmeal), sugar, butter, and syrup, then baked. It was no surprise they had them here on Holy Island since the island is only about a twenty-five-minute drive away from the Scottish border.

It was quite chilly with the wind off the ocean, so I found myself a wooden bench in the shelter of a rock wall and began my sketch. I like varying colors and so I sketched the colors of the hills with the traditional white farm houses dotted around the island. I could also see St. Cuthbert’s Island in front of me, just offshore. Flat with no trees and just a white cross marking it as a holy place. No one seemed to go there and there was not even one building I could see. I hoped I might see a seal; which is common to see on the coast of the island, but I did not.

Three hours passed before I knew it and it had grown even more chilly. I realized I was shivering. So, gathering my art supplies I headed back to the hotel for dinner. I had 7:00 PM reservations every night in the restaurant of the hotel and I had requested the window overlooking the statue of St Aiden and the ruins. I had baked glazed salmon with celeriac remoulade and lemon and dill croutons, herb-stuffed, rolled belly pork served with fondant potatoes, buttered kale, and chicken and sage topped with a shard of crackling, and for dessert, treacle pudding with warm custard sauce. It was amazing.

The next morning, I had a taxi booked for 10:15 AM to take me back to the train station. I woke up early and headed down to breakfast. Already there were a couple of tables filled with families and so I chose one up against the back wall where I could still look out and see the ruins of the priory. I love this restaurant. It was the same restaurant I ate in last night but this morning they had a small gas fireplace going and along one wall a selection of yogurt, fresh fruit, and a variety of bread. Inside an old British telephone booth, they had cups for the coffee and individual boxes of cereal. I poured some coffee and went back to my table where the waitress took my order for a “cooked breakfast”, as they call it. I chose a bowl of porridge.

After breakfast, I took a taxi to the train station. I arrived an hour early because of the timing of the tide and so decided to have some tea and a scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam. I know these delicious scones, and delicious clotted cream should be enjoyed in the afternoon, but they were there in the display cabinet and so I had one. I must say, they are just as good in the morning as in the afternoon!
I took the train to Edinburgh Waverly Station. The next afternoon my son, Ryan, would be joining me for a week in Scotland. I will tell you about our time in this beautiful area of Great Britain in my next letter. God Bless- Jody