Kindness

The scallop shells haven’t yet resonated with people we’ve met. Even in St Martha’s Church on its hill outside Guildford, a pilgrim church in its own right and one for people journeying between Winchester and Canterbury, our scallops caused no comment despite the pilgrim with his scallop shell in their stained glass window.

But the spirit of kindness and care towards walkers has not lacked. Ruddy-faced elderly golfers stop to point out the way and friends take in our washing and lend us items we’ve forgotten.

At Denbie’s Wine Estate outside Dorking, the New Zealander manager of the accommodation not only took our clothes to be washed and dried and gave us a lift in the rain to the pub – but, star of all hospitality, offered to clean our very muddy boots! We limited our acceptance to using his utility room to clean them ourselves.

Many spin-dryers and airing cupboards have been proffered, and Mrs Johnson in Winchester took on two loads of washing and made over her son’s bedroom for us when we begged to stay an extra night.

In Winchester Cathedral, Elizabeth, a volunteer guide, has just spent a leisurely and fascinating two hours showing us round, with a conversation that touched on many religions and philosophies, as well as David and she debating what the stones of the Cathedral revealed. Elizabeth “wished it was her place to bless our journey” and her colleagues came up with a lovely entry in our Pilgrim record.

Now, there’s a message from our tenants, who are French, saying their mother would love to welcome us into her home near to Le Puy later in the year. Such kindnesses overcome all the wind and lashing rain that is around us at this tail-end of our second week.