TEAM DONHEAD
- HCPT GROUP 729
INAUGURAL
PILGRIMAGE EASTER WEEK 2012
Team Donhead Group 729 was formed with the aim of serving the nine family groups
in the London Beaumont Region. HCPT HQ and London Beaumont Region gave their blessing to the new group in January 2012.
For this trial run we restricted group numbers to seven comprising
Father Francis, the group chaplain, Leo and George two former Donhead boys (now
Wimbledon College students) Bernadette, formerly from Baghdad whose nephew and
nieces travelled with Group 35 in the 1980s, during the first Iraq War, Rachel and Paul
Ives who are very experienced helpers and yours truly as Group Leader.
Father Francis age 29 from Nigeria has never been on a ferry or
cross channel ferry before and his excitement at the experience on the travel
out was plain. This continued with his first trip to a chip shop at Calais,
first party on a chartered pilgrimage
overnight train, first sight of
Lourdes and first picnic at the foot hills of the snow covered mountains of
Gavarnie.
Doubts about whether Team Donhead would be of real assistance to HCPT
family groups or whether we would have a fulfilling pilgrimage, were soon
dispelled as upon arriving at the Hotel
Alba after the overnight train down to Lourdes, while we were having breakfast,
the Deputy Group Leader of a family group told me that her Group Leader and one
or two other of her helpers had been unable to travel and that her group urgently needed night watchman assistance with sitting in the corridor
outside their children’s rooms between 12 midnight and 6:00 am. On the first night, two of the
older Group 729 helpers took to this night duty with
enthusiasm. Staying awake for the whole night following the limited sleep
afforded by the Couchette train travel the night before, proved quite challenging.
For the second night the two old Donhead boys took up the baton and during
those small hours were even able to revise for their forthcoming ‘A’ Level
Exams. The next morning the two boys crashed out
to sleep; the Deputy Leader sang
out their praises and gratitude for their help with that overnight duty – a quasi
all night vigil - and we all prayed for
success with their A levels.
Father Francis was a source of inspiration to everyone and his presence
enabled us to invite others to share Mass with HCPT Group 729 including a mass
of thanksgiving and farewell at Donhead, attended by pilgrims from both HCPT
Groups 35 and 729 together with parents and siblings who had come to meet child
pilgrims, at the end of the long journey
back to Wimbledon from Lourdes.
George and Leo were appointed as umpires during the London Beaumont
Regional Sports Day which because of heavy rain, took place in the conference
hall at the Hotel Alba. More mundane but
still important work, included loading and unloading luggage onto the chartered
train, fetching and carrying and being available generally to support and
assist.
Seven people conveniently fit around one dining table, can attend mass
around a small altar, as well as travel together
in one train compartment (though a
second was taken over for spare couchettes at night) and generally converse, argue laugh pray, sing have fun and guide each
other as one small undivided group. The
experiences reported by the youngest in the group (age 16) through to the
oldest (age 66) were predominantly those of wonder and awe. The pilgrimage was uniquely wonderful so HCPT
Group 729 is likely to see its second year which I hope will be as good as the
first.
Jerry Hawthorne Leader HCPT Group 729 Easter
2012
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