To Sénanque, in Provence, in its quiet valley right in the centre of the Luberon. It’s the place made famous by all the photographs of its gardens full of lavender. The Cistercians are still there, singing the sevenfold office every day. It’s a beautiful part of the world and it’d be hugely uplifting to sit in the cool abbey church at the end of a hot and dusty walk and listen to the monks chanting the plainsong after their work in the fields. It’d be the perfect combination of history meeting the present day – they’ve been there since the 12th century – and recalling us to something deeper than our world of iPhones and emails. They’re serious about retreats: they even insist that their guests don’t use a car during their stay to preserve the detachment of their experience, so it’s just as well that we’d be on foot.
Would you make any special stops?
We’d have to stop at Avignon, which isn’t too far away, if only to look at what’s left of the famous bridge of the nursery rhyme, the Pont Saint-Bénézet, and to visit the Palais des Papes – there’s far too much history there to pass it by. There’s history, too, at the Châteauneuf du Pape vineyard, but it’d be a bit of a detour. But where there’s a will, there’s a way…
Who would be your travelling companions?
I suppose the idea is that I leave normal life behind for a bit, so if I can’t take my husband and children then I can easily think of a dozen friends who would be superb companions. Anyone who’d enjoy a long walk in the sunshine, and being away from the world of work for a few days – and who wouldn’t mind going at a slow pace and taking in the scenery and flowers.
Camp under the stars or find a church hall to sleep in?
Camping under the stars always sounds so romantic, until you realise the tent is full of spiders and the air dense with midges. Perhaps we might see if some kind nuns along the way would take us in. We could even stay a couple of nights with them, if they’d have us, and help out with any jobs that needed doing around the convent.
Which books would you take with you?
Novels! I know that I should be doing some spiritual reading as well, but it would be wonderful to be able to unwind at the end of each day with some historical fiction. Perhaps I’d just grab the first five from the top of the ever-growing pile on my desk, and take pot luck. I’d also take Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, to immerse myself in the medieval world of monasteries and manuscripts.
What biblical or religious verse would you ponder as you walked?
I think I’d try and keep focussed on Psalm 122, with its opening line: “I was glad when they said unto me: we will go into the house of the Lord.” It’s the anthem that the coronation began with earlier this year as the King and Queen made their way through Westminster Abbey towards the High Altar. It speaks more broadly of a journey, rather than just an entrance, and it’d remind me that we weren’t just looking forward to the end of the day but heading somewhere in a more long-term and spiritual sense.
What’s your go-to prayer?
Is it too predictable to choose the Ave Maria? It’s a wonderful catch-all prayer that covers the two most important parts of life – now, and the hour of our death. I suppose I’d say it in English or Latin, depending on my mood in the particular moment.
What’s the singalong to keep everyone’s spirits up?
Anything with a good and memorable chorus, so those of us who knew the words could sing the verses and everyone else could just join in. It would have to be a hymn of some kind with a proper metre and a good beat. What about “Immaculate Mary, our hearts are on fire”? We could even write our own verses each evening, and sing them the next day.
You’re allowed one luxury in your bag. What is it?
A box of chocolates for a treat every so often, and to give us all a much-needed boost of sugar. I suspect they wouldn’t last long, though, especially if the weather was hot.
What would you miss about ordinary life?
My family, of course, and walking our Labrador retriever, Tess, on the top of Bredon Hill. But normality would probably return soon enough.
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