323 Durham retreat 2010

It was a good journey.... taxi arrived, as booked, promptly at 5.30 am for the short trip to the City Airport and then onwards with Flybe to Newcastle.  There were only a dozen of us on the flight and just a quarter of that number had cabin baggage ... there was no long wait!
Then I used the Metro to travel into the city - fun to watch the school children getting on and off with their heavy bags and musical instruments.
Next stage was a bus trip through every little village between Newcastle and Durham across the bleak, misty and mysterious moors.  You can't use your bus pass until after 9.30 am over here - so I had to pay the fare - just £4!

We were on a blue bus but this self-explanatory "Yellow Bus" caught my eye in one of the villages!  For part of the journey I fell asleep and woke with a jolt in Durham bus station!  That's why I needed something refreshing to waken me up ... hence the ginger drink in the 365Project photograph for today.  That was in a Thai restaurant where I sampled also a very, very hot Thai Green Curry!
And so to Cranmer Hall ... I've been here before staying in a student room, which was great.  This time I'm in the guest suite!  Little kitchen if I were minded to cook ... great study bedroom where the afternoon passed in untroubled slumber ... and a fantastic bath!

There are just two bedrooms in the unit and I think I'm the only guest at the moment.  So for the next few days I'm going to enjoy being on retreat in my own little private quarters.  All meals are available in the student canteens and tonight's dinner of a lamb casserole was excellent.
Durham Cathedral is just across the road and first thing tomorrow I'll check out the notice boards there to see what services are available in the next few days.  The library at Cranmer Hall is also at my disposal so no doubt there'll be many happy hours spent there too.
What isn't working is my own laptop - for some reason I can't get connected to the internet.  That's actually going to be a good thing ... computer time will be separated from other time!  There's a computer room here with very good, very fast machines and I can come, do the blog, upload the 365Project photograph and then leave it!
So  ... at just after eight o'clock I think a little walk is in order and then a blissfully early night so that not a minute of tomorrow will be wasted!

Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, 
the wills of thy faithful people; 
that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, 
may of thee be plenteously rewarded; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen. 

Book of Common Prayer

Collect One for Christ the King.