Assumption Day

A very enjoyable evening last night at the Old Creamery - a welcome addition to eateries in the area. It was surprisingly sophisticated, unpretentious and delicious - surprising because it's so far from anywhere. When we emerged the skies were crystal clear and full of stars.

A couple of days ago I had a rather odd email via my website asking if I knew whether there was to be a mass at the holy well today. I didn't but thought there might be. Today is of course (!) Assumption Day when the BVM ascended into Heaven - publically celebrated in many Catholic countries, quietly noted over here. I had to of course go and investigate. This is a wonderful site - high up in the hills over-looking Bantry Bay but very secret and remote, involving a yomp across fields, a mass rock and a holy well at the end. The paths had been cleared, the silver gates were open, the cattle shooed - I ventured down the steps. What an amazing sight. The whole hillside was decorated with vases of pink and purple hydrangeas, a crisp white cloth lay on the mass rock which was covered in lilies and candles, the many religious statues spruced up and arranged. The water in the well was fresh and clear. I wondered if the rounds had been done as was once traditional - you walked a set path around the site reciting 15 decades of the rosary, putting a pebble into the well each time you passed. No sign of any pebbles in the well which was clear and cold, but the path was well trodden.

As you know, I find things like this completely compelling, not because I am remotely religious, it's more to do with continuation and connection, something that's been going on for hundreds if not thousands of years, way before Christianity I suspect.

More about the it here and here .

And this is for Scribbler, she knows why.