Natural World

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Inner Journey

The lion and the rabbit ~ like a lamb to the slaughter The lion and the rabbit ~ like a lamb to the slaughter

This morning I read an excellent post http://merlinspielen.com/2013/02/20/count-down-26-days-left/ which got me thinking.  Why do I write what I write?

I realised that for me it is, and has been for many years, an important part of coping with my journey through life.  Like everyone I have had ups and downs, good experiences and bad.  Probably the worst time of my life was when I was only 5 years old in the early 1950s.  After a serious illness and a long spell in hospital I was considered too weak to go home, so was sent to a convalescent home miles away from the city in which I lived.  It was in the depths of the countryside during the worst case of Myxomatosis this country has ever seen.  There were dead rabbits everywhere with their eyes bulging.  A terrifying sight for a 5 year old on our daily compulsory constitutional walks in the forest.  In those days it was not considered a good idea for parents to visit their children in case it distressed them, so I was effectively abandoned for months on end to what I considered to be hell on earth.

I am sure the staff were only doing their jobs; but some were quite sadistic and the cruel discipline and force feeding I endured there will stay with me forever, and is still the stuff of my nightmares.  I had to develop an alternative, inner life in order to stay sane and survive.  So I became adept at switching my feelings off and pretending to be somewhere else as I went through those long winter months.    When I eventually was taken home I discovered that my mother had a new baby, my adored grandmother had died, and I was a totally different person to the child I had been before my illness and convalescence.  I felt as if I didn’t fit in to the family any longer, and I have felt pretty much like a fish out of water ever since.

As an adult I started going on pilgrimages to find healing and peace, which I did.  But I also found a great deal more.  I found acceptance from the people I met, and I learned how to find deep joy in the simplest of things.  This has been my salvation and is the reason I call my blog “heavenhappens”.   It really does!  I look for the sacred in the everyday things around me and I find it; I wonder at the variety and beauty in all the different parts of the world; I look for and believe in, the essential goodness at the heart of most people.  Then I write poems, stories, haiku, or make drawings or collages about it.  They give my life meaning and purpose now that I am retired, and bring me a great deal of pleasure.

This is the closest I have ever got to explaining myself to the world and I don’t think it will happen again so thank you merlinspielen for the opportunity!

Just today I have been given the opportunity to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, if I am meant to go I will be there in May this year.  Maybe I will write another post about some of the places I have been on Pilgrimage but for now I will finish with some photos which to me show that heavenhappens x

Poppies in my garden
Daffodils in the College grounds at Glos Uni
Hailes Abbey Ruins
Sheep in the ground of Hailes Abbey
Sheep in the grounds of Hailes Abbey
Sunflower in my garden
My daffodil plot and Easter flowers
Spring water gushing at Compton Abdale in the Cotswolds
Bird house made by my daughter
Lake in barcelona
Bakewell in Yorkshire
Autumn trees outside my home
A birds eye view of Lourdes
Our Lady of the Snows
My favourite flowers, vase and small stones
Gloucester Cathedral
Icon of Madonna and child from the chapel at Taize
Angel of the North
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Sugar stars

Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300 photographed by ...

Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300 photographed by Hubble telescope (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sparkling stars spiral

In glittering galaxies

Bleak blackness beyond

astronomy

Sugar sprinkled stars 

On a blue velvet background

Heaven  happens here

stars being born

Last week I went with some WI friends to a talk entitled “A Universe of Stars”.  Dr Paul Olver FGS FRAS gave a fascinating talk with slides and photographs as snowflakes fluttered down outside Bromsberrow’s beautiful village hall.  Being one of the many people who cannot comprehend the size and scale of the universe and all that is in it, I found the talk very educational and enlightening.

When I was a little girl my father used to take me for night time walks and tell me all that he knew about constellations but I never really understood any of it!  Now I can honestly say thanks to Dr Olver I do ~ well I understand a lot more anyway: Black Holes, White Dwarfs, Galaxies, Supernova, Dying Stars, Nebula, Light Years, Constellations, Big Bang Theory ~ these things now make (some) sense to me.  If the sky had been clear we would have gone outside with Dr Olver’s range of telescopes, but although it was cloudy we were not deprived, as he had brought along a range of photos taken from the Hubble Space telescope which were absolutely astounding.  With all the new digital photography and space technology it is almost possible to take photographs at the edge of the universe where our wonderful world began.

Some of the galaxies looked like sugar spilled on a dark linen tablecloth and they set me off writing haiku.

My camera does not do justice to what we saw but I have added a few photos that I took to give you a taste of the evening.

Asteroid ~ very topical!
Comet
Craters formed when space debris struck
Polar region
Another Spiral in Space
Nebula
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Rescue

“Photo by courtesy of Shirley Betts, www.castoncameraclub.co.uk “ “Photo by courtesy of Shirley Betts, http://www.castoncameraclub.co.uk “

Written for the Haiku Heights prompt word “Rescue”

High tide rushes in

trapping cows in the mudflats

Call in the coastguard

The cows got stuck in the mud The cows got stuck in the mud

Stuck in sinking sand

In danger of drowning, cows

unable to move

We watched this drama unfold on a day at the seaside and I just had to write a little account of it for the grandchildren.  I used to write little stories down for them with photos to encourage them to read.  Now they write stories of their own and are fluent readers at 7 and 9 years old.

Ben and Rosie’s adventure at the seaside

In the Easter holidays Ben and Rosie came to stay at the caravan in Burnham on Sea with grandma and grandad.  The weather was bad and it rained a lot but they still went to play on the beach.

Rosie built a sandcastle with her bucket.  Ben dug 99 holes with his spade.  Grandma caught a shrimp.  Grandad looked for crabs.  We were having fun.  Then Ben saw a little boat and he said, “That boat is sinking grandad”.

Grandad said, “I found a crab but it is dead”.

Again Ben said, “That boat is sinking grandad”.

Grandma and grandad looked but they could not see the boat.

Just then a small rescue hovercraft came along and Ben saw it.  Then a big rescue hovercraft came along and Ben saw it.  They were both orange and black.  The big one was called Light of Elizabeth and the small one was called Spirit of Lelaina. The small hovercraft started to make a loud noise and a cloud of smoke came out of it.  Then it stopped moving.

Ben said, “The rescue boat is sinking grandad”.

This was getting very exciting so grandma said, “If we hurry along the beach we will see what happens”.

Ben let Rosie ride on his orange two wheeled bike, because she could not run very fast.  But the bike was too big and Rosie could not work the pedals, so grandma pushed her along on it.  Ben and grandad walked quickly along the sand, up the steps, over the slipway and down onto the other beach.  Then we all stood at the edge of the water and watched the big hovercraft, the little hovercraft, and the white fishing boat that was sinking.  It was very exciting!

The black rubber skirt around the bottom of the little orange hovercraft had torn.

The belt that drives the big fan on the little orange hovercraft had snapped.

The engine on little orange hovercraft had flooded.

The little orange hovercraft could not move!

First the big hovercraft rescued the little white fishing boat and helped the fishermen get their boat onto a trailer.  Then a 4 wheel drive car towed the trailer and boat safely away.

Then the big rescue hovercraft went to help the little hovercraft.  They put on a new fan belt and tried to start the engine but it would not work because the engine was flooded.  So they tied a long rope to the little hovercraft and pulled it slowly to the beach.  Then all the rescue men pushed and pulled until the little hovercraft was put on a trailer.  Another 4 wheel drive car came to tow the little orange hovercraft away to be repaired.  Ben and Rosie were sorry to see the little hovercraft so damaged and covered in mud.

At last the big orange rescue hovercraft was ready to get out of the water and go back to its home next to the coastguard station in Burnham.  It sailed right to the edge of the beach and the men and a little white dog climbed out.  They tried to get the hovercraft onto its trailer.  They pushed and pulled but it would not move.  Ben said, “The men need help grandad”.  So grandad took hold of the hovercraft and pushed with all his might.  The men pushed, grandad pushed and the little white rescue dog barked.  Then the big orange hovercraft slowly moved onto the back of the trailer.  The men were so pleased that they all cheered and patted each other on the back.  The little white dog was so pleased that he jumped up and down wagging his tail.  Ben, Rosie and grandma were very pleased, and proud of grandad for helping to save the big orange rescue hovercraft.

The rescue men told us they had just rescued a herd of cows that had wandered out of their field and into the River Parrett which flows into the Severn Estuary!  The poor cows were frightened and got stuck in the mud.  That is why the rescue men were covered in mud.

Everyone went home for tea very wet and very muddy ~ but very happy.

The cows were safe.

The little white fishing boat was safe.

The little white dog was safe.

The rescue men were safe.

The little orange hovercraft was safe.

The big orange hovercraft was safe.

Ben can tell his friends at school about it.  Rosie can tell her friends at nursery about it.  And grandma can tell the story to Ben and Rosie over and over again ~ and the story will get better and better!

The End x

The caravan
Ben and Rosie and the little white boat
The little hovercraft
rescue over
The big hovercraft
Rescue hovercraft 2
Grandad helping
Safely home
Rescue at sea
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Picture Perfect Painswick

I went to Painswick yesterday to eat carrot cake and to see the snowdrops at the Rococo gardens ~ failed on both counts but had a great time enjoying spectacular scenery in wonderful company.  Painswick is quite high up in the Cotswolds so the snow is much deeper there and lasts far longer than down in the town.  But we had a lovely time, so here for my friends are my impressions in picture and haiku.  Apologies for the poor quality of the photos, I forgot my camera and had to use my phone!  ~

Ice daggers dangle

from ancient lead gutters on

St Mary’s lych gate

St Mary's Lych gate

St Mary’s Lych gate

Snow covered Yew trees

in picture perfect Painswick

Christmas card village

St Mary's Churchyard

St Mary’s Churchyard

Sun sets on Painswick’s

 honeyed stone cottages, and

cold Cotswold churchyard

 

Rococo gardens at Painswick

Rococo gardens at Painswick

White winter woodland,

following in the footprints

of the fallow deer

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Strictly Come Dancing ~ Live Show

Went to Birmingham at the weekend for the live performance of my favourite TV Show ~ Strictly Come Dancing.  The tickets were an inspired and very thoughtful Christmas present from my children.  The show was at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.  The whole day was wonderful.  The NIA is set in the most beautiful part of Birmingham, Brindley Place, where the canals meet.  The setting is always beautiful with trees , water and lighting, but on Sunday it was amazing as the whole scene was set off beautifully by an iced covering of crisp white snow.

Once inside the arena, the performance was truly spectacular.  The costumes, choreography and lighting were breathtaking.  The professional dancers were fabulous and the celebrity contestants were superb.  My favourite of course was the Olympic Gymnast ~ silver medal winner ~ Louis Smith.  he really should be the next James Bond as he has looks, style, physique and boy can he dance!

Judging time at Strictly Live Show

Judging time at Strictly Live Show

Inside the NIA

Inside the NIA

Amazing lighting

Amazing lighting

Before the show

Before the show

IMG_0041

Snow covered fir trees

Snow covered fir trees

IMG_0038 IMG_0036 IMG_0034 IMG_0033 IMG_0032 IMG_0031 IMG_0030 IMG_0027 IMG_0025 IMG_0024 IMG_0019

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No School Day

angel of the north in snow

It snowed overnight and the roads are a fright,

So the schools are all closed ~ on a Friday!

Mums and dads can’t drive, their cars slip and slide

So its family fun on a school day.

Dogs in bright jackets are leaping for joy

Taken out for a walk, on a school day.

Babies and toddlers peep out of their prams

They’re going to the park, on a school day.

Tiny tots muffled in mittens and hats,

Squeal in delight, on a school day.

Giggling girls, hugging their friends,

Slide down the hill, on a school day.

Teen terrors in hoodies become little boys

Throwing snowballs at girls, on a school day.

Steep slopes draw the daring on sledges and boards,

They hurtle downhill, on a school day.

I sit at the window and, like falling snow,

My thoughts pile up into drifts.

My smiles turn to tears at the sights and sounds

Of my school days, as the frozen scene shifts.

Of ink wells and blotters, of wafers and milk,

Of chalk boards and outside loos;

Of walking to school by the RiverTyne,

Of castles, and coalmines and ships.

And then there are people, who wave as they pass,

Loved aunties and cousins and friends

A sister and brother no longer in touch

A mother and father I mourned.

There are icicles hanging near a frozen stream,

The snow covered branches are bending

The field is a snow frosted wonderland

Its beauty my broken heart mending.

Dawning of a new frosty day
Frozen branches in Benhall Woods
Snow Art
My snow covered garden
View from my front window
Not many cars parked today
Sledgers in Benhall
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Small stone ~sparkling studmarks!

Took my little dog, Dayna, for her walk today to our favourite spot ~ the football pitch.  Dayna loves it as not many people go there in the week and I love it as she can run about safely without a lead. I promise I do not let her make a mess there!  Anyway it was icy cold today and the snowflakes were fluttering down.  I was mesmerised by the beauty of the potholes and stud marks which had filled with water and were frozen into little diamond divots.  So of course I had to write a haiku:

Glittering goalposts

Iced sparkling diamond divots

Frozen field of dreams

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Fractured families ~ Haiku

These haiku are written for this week’s prompt at haiku Heights which is the word “Death”

Woodpecker on gravestone

Woodpecker on gravestone

The Boy

Fragile and different

Defeated by the bullies

He jumped to his death

The girl

Remnants of ribbons

And fading flowers weep, where she

Fell to her death

The father

The death of his son

Drove him to despair.  Destroyed,

His life he ended.

The cemetery

Lawned garden of grief

Compassion carved into stone

Too late to show love

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Small Stones 8 ~ bare branches

Yew No. 40
Life has formed you, twisted you,
Smoothed you, soothed you
Jagged, dark, and fragile you stand.
Where is your soul?
In the branches you gave life to,
The gnarled core split open to the world,
Or the smooth, worn bark that covers your pain.
You have lived, three hundred years and more
You have grown and changed.
You are beautiful still.
Roots of the ancient Yew Tree at painswick

Roots of the ancient Yew Tree at painswick

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Small stones 7 ~ snowdrops and hellebores

Spring was in the air today.  The hellebores flowers are just about open in my garden and the snowdrops are already out at the Rococo gardens.  I love this time of year.

Our local newspaper (Gloucestershire Echo) today reported that,

SNOWDROPS have started to bloom at a garden in Painswick following a mild start to the new year.

With temperatures hovering around the 10C mark so far this January, dozens of the white flowers have emerged earlier than expected at Rococo Garden.

  1. ​blooming: Snowdrops on the hidden slopes of the Rococo Gardens, Painswick. Inset, Paul Hervey-Brookes.
  1. blooming: Snowdrops on the hidden slopes of the Rococo Gardens, Painswick.

Paul Hervey-Brookes, garden adviser at Rococo, said: “They usually start to bloom around the second week of January and the last to flower finish by the end of March.

“But because it has been mild this year so far, they have been tricked into thinking it is later in January than it is, and they have started to come out.”

Temperatures are predicted to plummet in Gloucestershire this week, but Paul says the snowdrops will survive.

He said: “The cold weather will not kill them, it will just stop their bloom, and then they will continue when it starts to get milder.”

Forecasters are predicting a progressive drop in temperature as the week goes on, with a night time low of -1C possible by Thursday.

There should be a let up for areas affected by flooding, as no heavy rain is predicted.

Snowdrops at Painswick Rococo Garden
I happened to be at Painswick when the sun was shining, the views long, the trees magnificently silhouetted against a blue sky. I like trees better in winter than summer. The form becomes the chief point of them, not just the mass of green that is all we see in summer. And because the situation of the Painswick garden is so extraordinary, you get long views both across and down, snowdrops clothing the steep banks below the renovated Eagle House, snowdrops, many of them fat doubles, thick on the grassy bank that leads up to the viewpoint above the maze, snowdrops down by the fish pond and the square, rather dark plunge pool where surely only the most muscular of Victorians would have wanted to plunge. A bonus at Painswick was the best bank of winter-flowering cyclamen I’ve ever seen, pink and magenta Cyclamen coum seeding itself through the grass with an abandon I could only envy.

The Independent 2008

synchronised swimming
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Small Stones 5 ~ Stanley’s first smile

I can’t believe how quickly my grandson, Stanley is developing. he is 5 weeks old today and he is already smiling! I went for a long walk with him, Jenny his mummy and my little dog, Dayna today. It was wonderful as the weather is dry and mild again. The fields all around Gloucestershire are still waterlogged though with lots of flooding near the rivers. But for me there was only one thing that mattered today ~ Stanley’s smile.

No gold nor jewels
Could be as precious to me
As Stanley’s first smile

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Small Stones 3 ~ My Mindful Meal

P1080686Winter vegetables

And rhubarb from the garden

Make nourishing meal

I am starting 2013 by clearing space for beauty and joining the Mindful Writing Challenge entitled Small Stones.  A small stone is a short piece of writing (prose or poetry) that precisely captures a fully-engaged (mindful) moment. The process of finding small stones is as important as the finished product – searching for them will encourage you to keep your eyes (and ears, nose, mouth, fingers, feelings and mind) open.

Why don’t you go out and buy yourself a gorgeous notebook, start writing your small stones, and you’ll be in the river too.

ilovesmallstones

ilovesmallstones

Small stone number 4

Small stone number 4

Small Stones 2 ~ Pigeon patrol

pigeon1Plump pigeons patrol

Seeking seeds dropped by sparrows

Beneath bare pear tree

 I am starting 2013 by clearing space for beauty and joining the Mindful Writing Challenge entitled Small Stones.  A small stone is a short piece of writing (prose or poetry) that precisely captures a fully-engaged (mindful) moment. The process of finding small stones is as important as the finished product – searching for them will encourage you to keep your eyes (and ears, nose, mouth, fingers, feelings and mind) open.

Why don’t you go out and buy yourself a gorgeous notebook, start writing your small stones, and you’ll be in the river too.

Mindful Writing Challenge

ilovesmallstones

ilovesmallstones

Small Stones 1 ~ Robin

Robin

I am starting 2013 by clearing space for beauty and joining the Mindful Writing Challenge entitled Small Stones.  A small stone is a short piece of writing (prose or poetry) that precisely captures a fully-engaged (mindful) moment. The process of finding small stones is as important as the finished product – searching for them will encourage you to keep your eyes (and ears, nose, mouth, fingers, feelings and mind) open.

Why don’t you go out and buy yourself a gorgeous notebook, start writing your small stones, and you’ll be in the river too.

Mindful Writing Challenge

ilovesmallstones

Fledged in Fuschia

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New Year’s Day 2013

The Christmas holiday is over and my children have all gone home to their various exciting lives.  On New Year’s day we drove to the airport in Bristol and as I was sad to see them all go, so we decided to have a day at the seaside.  This always cheers me up and blows the cobwebs away.  Burnham on Sea may not be exotic but I love it!  It has miles of sand and is almost deserted out of season, so that is where we headed.  My little dog, Dayna, seemed totally confused at first so I imagine she has never seen the sea before.  However in no time at all she was having fun chasing the waves and shaking the sand off her tiny legs.  As the wind blew her tail and ears waved in the air.  Instant laughter and a dreaded day reworked into a blessing.

New Year's Day on Burnham Beach in Somerset

New Year’s Day on Burnham Beach in Somerset

Soaring and screeching

Seagulls over sinking sand

On Somerset shore

So much fun on a deserted beach

So much fun on a deserted beach

Storm in a rockpool

weaving waves into whirlpools

Miniature maelstrom

First taste of the sea for Dayna

First taste of the sea for Dayna

On a New Year’s day

Windy beaches are deserted

To Dayna’s delight

 

I am starting 2013 by clearing space for beauty and joining the Mindful Writing Challenge entitled Small Stones.  A small stone is a short piece of writing (prose or poetry) that precisely captures a fully-engaged (mindful) moment. The process of finding small stones is as important as the finished product – searching for them will encourage you to keep your eyes (and ears, nose, mouth, fingers, feelings and mind) open.

Why don’t you go out and buy yourself a gorgeous notebook, start writing your small stones, and you’ll be in the river too.

Small stone number 4
ilovesmallstones
New Year’s Day on Burnham Beach in Somerset
A windswept Dayna
Paw prints in the sand
First taste of the sea for Dayna
Ears and tail waving in sea breeze
Windswept Dachsund
Tide has gone out
Tide’s just gone out
So much fun on a deserted beach
Man and his dog x
New Years day 2013 at Burnham on Sea
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New baby

Inspired by haiku heights prompt “New”

Clutching my finger

Stanley captures my heart with

Love overwhelming.

Stanley's hand

Stanley’s hand

Hunger satisfied.

Swaddled in safety he sleeps,

Surrounded by love

Swaddled in safety

Swaddled in safety

Little innocent

In loving arms enfolded

His life in her hands

Loving arms

Loving arms

The word ‘new’ conjures up all sorts of memories for me.

I was born in Newcastle/Gateshead in the North of England.  It is a wonderful city with 2000 years of history behind it, and I still think of it as home.  Famous in the past for coal mining and ship building, glass making and steel works, it is now more famous as a city of culture, shopping and tourism.  It also has some of the best beaches in the UK nearby and the beautiful Northumberland National Park on the doorstep.

North Sea at Whitley bay

North Sea at Whitley bay

The area around the Quayside and the River Tyne has been transformed in recent years into a contemporary scene that buzzes with activity, in the Baltic Art gallery (which used to be a flour mill), and the Sage which is a breathtaking venue for world class music events.  Then of course there are the famous bridges!  The ‘new’ bridge was built to celebrate this millennium.  It is known locally as the “Winking Eye” because of the way it opens to let ships through.  The cycle path and footpath on the bridge literally opens like an eyelid.  It is a most spectacular bridge which is a superb backdrop for all sorts of events such as the Tall Ships race.  The City Council never run out of ideas for decorating or lighting the bridge to make it even more of an attraction.

Millennium Bridge Illuminated

Millennium Bridge Illuminated

Behind the new bridge is a much older one known as the Tyne Bridge, which was opened on 10th October 1928 by King George V.  My late mum was 3 years old then and she remembered sitting on her uncle’s shoulders watching this event.  This bridge carried the Great North Road (A1) from the South of England to Scotland.  It also carried buses – and trams when I was a child!  Many ships have passed under this bridge over the years.

Tyne Bridge Opening 1928

Tyne Bridge Opening 1928

The name ‘Newcastle’ was adopted in Norman times when Robert Curthose, the eldest son of William the Conqueror, built a castle on the site of the old Roman Fort of Pons Aelius.  The original castle was built of earth and timber.  But in 1172, in the reign of King Henry 11 the castle was rebuilt in stone.  Near the river, the original castle keep still stands as well as narrow medieval streets and 14th century staircases.

Blackgate

Blackgate

The Blackgate was photographed by David Simpson

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Snow

sunset over snowy mountain in Chile

The prompt for this week at haiku heights is the word ‘snow’.  This set me off thinking of the many places I have been where there is always snow on the mountain tops, the “Everlasting Snows”.  I think of the North West Explorer trip I did many years ago visiting Seattle, Vancouver and the wonderful national parks in USA and Canada.  I will never forget the breathtaking views we saw as we drove along the route through the glaciers to Banff and beyond.

I also remember the trip to the top of the Caucasus mountains at Krasnapolyana in Russia which I have written about before.  This beautiful place will be the setting for many of the events of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

I remember the very first time I went to Russia.  I arrived in Moscow in the evening having left the UK on a crisp Autumn morning.  The first thing I did in Moscow was go for a walk to Red Square.  As I turned into the square it started to snow gently and there I was at last, totally captivated by the sight of the magnificent multi coloured onion domes on St Basil’s cathedral.  Red Square has been the scene of some dreadful ~ and some impressive events ~ over the course of its history, but I defy anyone to see it without being instantly awed by the sheer magnificence of the whole square and its buildings, especially in the snow!

St Basil's in Red Square in the snow

St Basil’s in Red Square in the snow

Soft flakes fall gently

On sumptuous St Basil’s

White snow on Red Square

Another place with “Everlasting Snows” is the Pyrenees.  These mountains are steeped in history.  For century after century pedlars and merchants, crusaders and warriors, troubadours, shepherds and pilgrims have trekked across these mountains.   The village of Gavarnie was known as “the last village in France” in the Middle Ages on the old pilgrim route to the tomb of St. James at Santiago de Compostela.  It is a great centre for winter sports as well as summer walking now.  I have often travelled to Lourdes with groups or with friends and I have always taken a trip up the mountains to Gavarnie.  I have written about it in a previous post.  The route to Gavarnie from Lourdes takes in the Lavedan Valley, Argeles Gazost, St. Savin de Lavedan, the Chateau of Miremont, the Valley of Luz, Pic du Midi and Luz.   These are all fascinating places in their own right and St Savin is a must see village and church which seems unchanged by time.  The Cirque de Gavarnie is the most famous place in the Pyrenees, with 1,400 metres (4,400 feet) and is home to the highest waterfall in Europe.  Near Gavarnie there is an amazing statue of Our Lady of the Snows.  We often stopped to say mass there with the VIPs in our group, using a spare wheelchair as an altar!  (In Lourdes the sick, disabled or terminally ill are the VIPs.)

Our Lady of the Snows

Our Lady of the Snows

Mass in Gavarnie

A wheelchair for an altar

Snow capped sacristy

Souce of River gave at Gavarnie

Source of River gave at Gavarnie

River Gave is born

In the Everlasting Snows

Of Haute Pyrenees

Tour guides will tell you that the statue was erected by airmen after the Second World War in gratitude for making their escape across the mountains from occupied France into Northern Spain.  However, this statue was visited and blessed by Pope Pius 12th when he came to Lourdes in 1935, so I guess it might have been erected by grateful resistance fighters in earlier times.   There are many mountain passes in the Pyrenees, known as Le Chemin de la Liberte, which were secret escape routes during WW11 and one of them does pass the spot where Our lady of the Snows statue stands.  This route was taken by hundreds of Frenchmen and Jews fleeing from the Germans as well as RAF and American airmen who had either crash landed or parachuted to safety after being shot down over occupied Europe.  There was a chain of local people who hid, fed and clothed these men, at great personal risk, until the time was right for them to make their escape under cover of darkness over the mountains.  Official statistics tell us that between the years 1940 and 1944, there were 33,000 successful escapes by Frenchmen along the entire length of the Pyrenean chain.  It seems strange that we can now picnic there in the summer sun admiring the snow-capped mountains!

English: Cirque de Gavarnie gripped by frozen ...

English: Cirque de Gavarnie gripped by frozen snow in the Pyrenees (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Trudging through spring snows

Escaping occupation

‘Cross the Pyrenees

Pyrenees by the River Gave

Pyrenees by the River Gave

Trek through history

On high Pyrenees, scene of

trade and tragedy

Last but not least, I think of Stratton Mountain in Vermont near where my daughter lives and her husband works.  We won’t be seeing him this Christmas as he will be on the mountain as usual preparing the next generation of winter Olympians.  So I dedicate this series of haiku to him as he lives for the snow!  Jointly they run the superb ski camps known as US Elite Camps.

Stratton Mountain

Stratton Mountain

Bobsleigh, Downhill, Pipe,

Ski-jump, Slalom, Speed and Luge,

Snow capped Olympics.

slalom

Scary snow

Scary snow