Manchester
Categories: holidays
Date: 18 December 2007 07:47:40
Photos from a weekend up in Manchester here. After kindly being picked up from the railway station by Michael and Saint Chad from the Ship, there was a short while of rest before the Shipmeet began. [Not all the bottles there are alcoholic!] It was truly a wonderful evening, and wonderful to meet many, many people with whom my only interaction had been virtual. The enjoyability [is that a word?] of the evening set the tone for the rest of the weekend.
Manchester is a very pleasant city indeed. A number of churches, together with the Cathedral were visited. Michael proved to be a very apt tourist guide, and a great fellow to wander around town with. Many interesting things to see as well such as the many historic buildings, and more modern structures such as the ferris wheel and a pub/restaurant area that looks like it's night even during the day.
Manchester is also where I first started to feel very "Christmassy". The decorations; the Christmas markets in front of the Town Hall (left) and around town; the giant Santa (illuminated at night) at the front of the town hall...
It reminded me of my experiences in 2002 of winter in Dublin and, particularly, Hamburg: the early evenings, the cold weather, the markets, the decorations... Very different to the summer Christmases of Oz. We have long days and, try as they might to have fake snow and snowmen and other Northern-Hemisphere-type-decorations, it does not fully work: there is something about Christmas in winter -- I'm not sure exactly what -- but there is something about it that made me, at least, go "Aaahhhhh..."
After a tour of central Manchester, on Saturday afternoon we headed across the Welsh border to Holywell, and to St Winifred's Well. [You can read about St Winifred and her well here.] It was, like my visit to St Seiriol's Well, rather moving: and perhaps a bit moreso as I had two people with me to tell me about her life and about the shrine. The section where you could enter the water was closed -- it appeared for repairs: probably just as well considering we could see our own breath! I, and Michael and St Chad, pumped up holy water to take back with us, after a short service of prayer was said at St Winifred's shrine. I will have a post after my travelogue about visiting holy sites as it is a topic I want to explore through my ramblings further.
It was then off to Chester for Evensong at Chester Cathedral and a visit to the shrine in the Cathedral of Saint Werburgh. Chester's Town Hall was also in Christmas-mode, with Christmas Markets below.
Sunday it was a visit to Michael's parish [St Elizabeth with St Werburgh] in Birkenhead. It was truly a blessed experience. The church is in the basement of the priest's home, and is is truly a beautiful church. The people were also beautiful: a very welcoming group. Only several days after my visit, the Wonderworking Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God visited the parish. Please remember the parish of St Elizabeth with St Werburgh in your prayers: and particularly as they look for a new church home as they have outgrown the basement.
Michael and I had a bit of time for a quick visit of Liverpool on our way back [we had to run through the streets for the bus back to Manchester] visit to Liverpool Cathedral [so very vast inside!], the bombed church of St Luke and a wander down some Liverpool streets. A lunch and some more wandering around Manchester, followed by another wonderful Evensong service at the parish of St Ann, which has, as well as stained glass, some painted glass windows.
It was truly one of the best weekends I have had for a long time. Those I met at the meet were wonderful, and Michael and St Chad were hosts beyond compare. I do hope to get back to Manchester one day.