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BB2623 : Get Me To The Church On Time
Wednesday
15th July 2026
I could hear Tony humming
down the phone.
I thought I recognised the tune.
Then he burst into song, “Get me to the Church on time”.
“No, Tony,” I told him, “You’ll have to get yourself
there.”
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The Church
in question was St John’s
at Helsington, overlooking the Lyth Valley.
The required “time” was noon, which, as regular readers will recall, is
when Tony likes to eat.
And the reason
he would have to get himself there was because Robert, Stuart and I were
starting from a different place; Stuart’s home in Underbarrow to be precise.
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It was with
some trepidation that I had drawn up a list of timings for the significant
points of the day. Pick up Robert at
10:00. Start walking from Stuart’s at
10:15 and arrive at the church to meet Tony at noon. I was confident of the first two times but
the third was more of a challenge.
Realistically, given that the distance was only about 3 miles, we should
arrive well before but I built in a margin for contingencies. It’s a good job I did.
I wanted to
see Henry’s Castle. We had been there before
but this time would be different. I had read
that the dilapidated old barn has been renovated.
To quote
from the explanatory board, its original purpose has been lost to time. It is named after Henry Willison, a local
farmer who played there as a child. It
doesn’t say when. The “Castle” is marked
on the 1836 Corn Rent map but it is thought to be medieval in origin. It certainly stands out now with its vivid, lime-washed
whiteness.
Our route
from here to the church involved washing lines.....
.....
then paths that, like last week, were well marked
on the ground but a jungle to pass through and each of us has the scars to
prove it. Consequently, progress to and
above Brigsteer were rather slower than anticipated. The final climb to the church was in open field
but even that was not without challenge.
As we
reached the viewpoint, I was surprised to see that the
time was nearing noon.
I was also surprised to see a familiar car
proceeding along the approach lane to the church. What an amazing feat of synchronisation that we had
all gotten to the church exactly on time.
It’s a pity there was no-one to ring the bell in recognition.
The key question
now was where to have lunch? The sun was
beating down but we knew of one place that would be cool and with seating. We thought the Good Lord wouldn’t mind as
long as we left him a decent contribution.
Money, not food, which we did.
This church
is not the prettiest outside nor is it the largest inside. I know because I had to stand out there for
the duration of a funeral, along with 70 other people. It was quite frustrating as the regular bursts
of laughter from inside proved that it was a very good eulogy but we couldn’t
hear a word. Stuart confirmed its
quality as he had arrived earlier and was in the audience. Sorry, “congregation”.
Inside is remarkable. Surrounding the east
window is the huge mural painted just
after the 1st World War by Marion de Saumarez. It depicts kneeling angels in prayer
against a desolate backdrop of Westmorland mountains, a river, and the sea. I have never
seen anything like it anywhere.
Robert
discovered its manner of construction.
It was painted in oils on one huge piece of canvas, mounted on battens
to keep it off the wall. Close
examination reveals some small, pencil marked squares as a guide for the
painter. Robert also
discovered the artist’s signature, tucked away behind at the bottom right-hand
corner.
We
set off for our next destination- the bird hide on Park Moss.
Leaving the hide were
two people who told us of the sights they had
seen: herons and several other birds whose names I can’t remember.
They must have been
frightened off. All we saw were some common ducks and
sparrows. Perhaps we don’t have the
patience to wait long enough. Tony was
getting anxious, humming the same tune, then burst into song “Get me to the Pub
on time”.
It wasn’t a
navigational challenge. Straight along
the path through the wood, then through the surprisingly long, old village to Leven’s
Hare & Hounds. Tony was happy. We got him to the pub on time.
Don,
Wednesday 15th July 2026
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