I sat in the train. We passed Peterborough Cathedral, Durham Cathedral, York Minster. I stared glumly out of the window. What was I doing - and why?
I felt a bit better when the sun came out and I saw Holy Isle of Lindisfarne - don't always see that on this journey.
Leaving the train at Waverley, I lost my nerve and took a taxi. The bus was a step too far!
I asked the driver to let me of at Holy Corner so I could approach on foot, and,looking back, decide if it was safe to enter.
Now I began to rehearse the instructions which I'd memorised on the train: up the close between. . .through the gate on the left . . .
And yes there it was, leading into a tidy little courtyard with plant pots. This would be a nice place to sit in summer. But this is not summer - its December. . . it will be very cold.
The key turned quite easily when I found the right door. Up the stone steps with a little twist, along the corridor past the other flats . . . ah, the key for the flat door takes a bit more manouvring and manipulating.
I blew out - and couldn't see my breath so it's not that cold I thought.
Next challenge - turn on the water, outside the flat, in a cupboard full of ladders and cobwebs, turn and turn and turn . . . and hissss, Phew! That's on then,
Into the kitchen, below the sink, ah yes there's the gas lever. An immediate hiss this time and the match lit the gas ring.
After that it was a matter or negotiating the little tables and rugs all over the place, of keeping track of where I'd put the torch and wearing my hat in bed.
And why? well an unoccupied flat gave me the same feeling as an untrained child, or an unweeded garden or field. Something needs to be done to make them productive. Otherwise what do we mean when we pray 'Thy kingdom come.'
I felt very at home in that little flat with no electricity - and was somewhat overwhelmed by the luxurious normality of the next place I stayed.
