Having arrived early I decided that the sacrament of reconciliation might be apt for me. Having joined the relatively short queue for the two confessional boxes it was amazing to find that the wait was almost 45 minutes.
I recalled whilst waiting being in the same queue may years before when one of the priests announced that the passing of time, now meant that only those with 'mortal' sins should remain. The queue immediately evaporated at which I inwardly laughed.
After holy mass we decided on Bills for lunch. Happily there was a Bills in the shopping centre opposite Westminster Cathedral. We each had hambugers and drinks which were all very enjoyable.
Much of the converstaion of course centred on the many journeys to Lourdes we had made mainly with the HCPT over the years eg HCPT Group 35. We also decided that traveling together one more time as we had done in 2018 would if possible be worthwhile. Lourdes. Bernie mentioned flying there but my preference was to take the train; London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord thence Gare Montparnasse to Lourdes although when travelling previously many SNCF trains were strike-bound;
The journey home by train from Gare de Lourdes we assumed would be uneventful as Sunday was a SNCF non-strike day. However upon arriving at the station notification was given that the TGV to Paris had been cancelled. There was a chance of finding a train to Paris from Dax so we took a local train to Dax. Over coffee there while we waited many people French and others mentioned Mrs Thatcher's union fights which they hoped President Macron would emulate.
A most enjoyable reunion.
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