The Jules's Bits
Walking Pilgrimage page.
Way back in1980 when I was in my last year as a teenager, a man by the name of Patrick Reeve tried to persuade me to go on a religious walking pilgrimage from Arundel in Sussex to Buckfast Abbey in Devon (a distance of some 240 miles). He said it would involve walking an average of 18 miles a day, sleeping on hard floors in village/school halls and stopping in pubs for lunch and churches to pray on the way. He did also say that there were normally two rest days.....(ah! I thought, so God does exist then !!).
The pilgrimage at that time was organised by Bill Haynes who started it all in 1975 with a walk round the diocese of a Arundel & Brighton (Correct me if I am wrong someone!)
I of course said to Patrick "you must be joking" and told him "where to get off" in no uncertain terms.
What I didn't reckon on happening was my Mother more or less ordering me to go, telling me that it would do me good and she would pay to get me out of the house for two weeks.
I have been a friend of Patrick's, made hundreds more and a "pilgrim" ever since !! I'm still questioning my Mother's reasons for getting rid of me but suffice to say that I whilst I no longer walk on the annual Pilgrimage (my last full walk was in 1998 from Plymouth to Marazion) I do occasionally put in appearances at re unions including the last one at Redhill.
Below then, is a selection of photo's from that first Pilgrimage that I took part in in 1980 together with a couple of photos taken at this years re-union in Redhill. The photo's are courtesy of Aidan Simons who is Webmaster of the pilgrimage website If you click on the first photo it will take you to Aidan's pilgrims website or click on This link here here
The picture aside shows the
aforementioned Patrick Reeve sitting in a chair that him &
Ant Evans (Standing) for some inexplicable reason decided to
carry from Midhurst to the Pub lunch spot (about 8 or 9 miles).
The chair was given the name Blodwen and duly left to rot in a
place nine miles from where it was found rotting before!!
Now this photo was taken (I think) Buckfast itself and shows from left to right Patrick Reeve, George Evans, Me (yes that is me in that silly hat!)
Aidan Simons and Peter Dare.
Spot the beer belly!! Well some things
haven't changed in 21 years (except that awful hairstyle Jules!!!!)
After a walk round Sussex in 1981 and a shorter walk to greet the Pope at Wembley in 1982 Buckfast was again the chosen destination for the summer of 1982 and I have discovered a few photos of that pilgrimage that I took and a selection of these are displayed below. The quality is not brilliant but they do give you the general idea!!
Ok so we bring things up to date now with the re union in Redhill.
A brisk
walking pace gathers speed as the pub at Mogador beckons (note
the belly is still there!!............
..........and a picture of me next to a "weightist" road sign on Reigate Hill...........
At last the delightful pub at Mogador where I demolished a rather nice lunch and a pint or three!
Whilst this page shows the light hearted side, the Pilgrimage itself does carry a more serious message about humanity, spirituality and our journey through life. This page only gives a tiny snippet of what the pigrimage is like and I would recommend that you visit Aidan Simon's Pilgrimage website which gives all the gen including where it is going this year. Click on the link below to go to Aidan's site. I will be opening a small site devoted to my experiences on the pilgrimage in the future but for now I hope you have enjoyed this page on the Jules's bits website
update 09/11/2001
Aidan Simons has just sent me this photo of me playing the guitar at mass in Chichester on the last Pilgrimage I went on in 1999 (this time as the all important van driver carrying everyone's luggage).
Link to the A&B Walking Pilgrimage website
Incidentally If there are any pilgrims out there who have any amusing past photo's of the A&B pilgrimage I would be happy to include them on this site and on the future site mentioned above.