why the silence?

honor with some of her dedication presents

as you may have noticed the blog has been a little quiet over the last few weeks and for good reason, all will become clearer during the next few paragraphs of waffle and ramblings which we hope you will enjoy reading.

the start of our round trip, which included times of silence, retreat and generally walking lightly, begin in Bristol where we joined our family to celebrate the life of our dear granddaughter, Honor Wren, at her dedication. it was so wonderful to be able to spend time giving thanks for this precious life and looking to our Father God to guide her steps and the steps of those close to her during the early and formative part of her time her on earth.

our journey across the seas!

after our night stay in Bristol we made the short jump over the wide river Severn into the eighth country on our six month trip, that country being Wales, we English have a love hate relationship with our nearest (nearest to London, the seat of power for the United Kingdom) neighbour, anyways we paid the £6.50 toll to venture over the bridge and entered wild Wales without being pelted with sticks and stones which was a blessing.

busy beaches

our first stop was to find the tiny port in the walled town of Tenby which transports various items to the tiny island of Caldey which sits about three miles off the southern Pembrokeshire coast. after finding the right place we ventured through an ancient gateway down the sandy beach to a movable pier which acts as a daily access point to join around 20 other people who were also going to be spending a week following the rhythm and rule of the Cistercian monks who have a recently (like within the last 100 years) built monastery on an island that has been considered holy since celtic times.

evening sun setting over the light house

we had a real sense of adventure and separateness as we made the 20 minute journey across the clear blue sea, which was full of huge Jellyfish, to the island that we would call home for a week. on leaving Tenby we said goodbye to the modern day trappings of convenience stores, coffee shops, restaurants, minute by minute mobile technology and the noise that can crowd in during our day to day lives and we both took a vow of silence which we tried to adhere to during the length of our stay.

evening sunset over pembrokeshire

upon our arrival we were greeted by brother Titus, an ex racing driver who felt the call to leave the world of speed which had claimed the lives of two of his friends who had become formula one world champions for the Lotus F1 team (the great scot Jim Clarke and the first, and thankfully only, posthumous world champion Jochen Rindt) to a life of peace and stillness on the beautiful Caldey island.

silent space

we had booked into the St Philomean's guesthouse which is run by the monks between April and October each year, however as we made the short walk up from the harbour to the accommodation we became aware that there were going to be too many heads for the amount of beds in the main house. after a couple of hours of shuffling around we were offered a charming chalet which was fitted out with two single beds, a tiny sitting room and fully equipped kitchen which was ultimately redundant due to our meals being catered for at the guesthouse, however the peace and space away from everyone that this offered us was a true blessing and one which we thank God for as His hand of provision to us extended once again.

the monastery 

the whole feel of the place was very open and we could participate in as much or as little of the daily rhythm of prayer and services which take place six times a day in the chapel attached to the huge monastery which is home to only a couple of dozen monks, many of whom are quite fail and elderly. we do wonder how much longer the place will continue without some new blood feeling the call to the solitude that this life would offer.

can you spot maz walking along the deserted beach?

I (Tim) found it easier to follow our desired silent retreat as Maz couldn't resist engaging with the others who we joined for meals around a noisy dinner table, although she was very restrained and kept her conversation to the pleasantries of the day, that's not to say that I blanked people but I didn't feel the need to speak out my thanks for passing the butter or opening a door for me, hand signals seemed to suffice.

our chalet next to the monastery 

our days were varied but always included times of solitude of which we found ourselves reading, walking and generally feeling blessed to be able to take some much needed quiet time to settle ourselves before God to seek His face over our next steps. 

I found a delightful little cave set into the cliffs overlooking the Gower peninsular which enabled me to truly get away from the world and each evening after Compline we took a stroll up towards the lighthouse and then towards the west of the island where we managed to watch the sun go down over a wide range of skies. we did also take loads of photos, each blade of grass, stone in a wall or building, creature or bird seemed to offer ample opportunities and we were able to slow down and see God's amazing creation in all it's glory by just being intentional about our steps and how we trod.

artistic shot of the monastery

we know all this seems a little airy fairy but we would really encourage you to visit such a 'thin place' (basically a thin place or thin space is somewhere where it seems easier to engage with our spiritual side, this could be based upon all the prayers that have been sent up from the place for hundreds if not thousands of years) and slow down at least once in your lives.

God seemed happy with our slowness and managed to change the tidies on the day we were due to leave, this meant that the little ferries couldn't launch from the beach in Tenby so we had to spend an extra day and night on the island. this came with the added blessing as the visitors who normally come on day trips to see the monks and stunning scenery were unable to join us, therefore we were able to enjoy the whole island to ourselves!

fruit trees surround our home

on the Saturday morning we had to get up early to catch the only guaranteed boat which would take us back to the mainland and the busyness of daily life, that said we made sure that our coming down was as not as bumpy as it could have been as we had booked a cute gypsy caravan, which was not even big enough to swing a cat in, on a farm a couple of miles outside of Tenby.

no electricity in our tiny dwelling

the caravan was a new build replica but had all the hallmarks of an original, i.e small and dark with a bed taking up one end, a little wood burner and doors opening onto a fully stocked walled garden which hosted a wide range of summer flowers as well as a large greenhouse which we made use of during the chiller evenings and some dreary days. once again reading, walking (to the nearby Pembrokeshire coast), and chatting together was the name of the game and we are happy to say that we fulfilled that task with aplomb.

maz chilling outside our gypsy caravan

William, his mum and the others that live on the site made us feel very welcome but gave us enough space to did enjoy further peace and solitude. we did engage with the gang on Thursday evening where we joined them on their weekly 'gin and tonic' evening which went down rather well and was a tonic from our week of vegetarian dishes and teetotal living with the monks!

an evening of gin and tonic with new friends

we did venture into Tenby on a couple of occasions, enjoying a meal of freshly caught mackerel and a pint or two of locally brewed beer. thankfully contact with the outside world was kept to a minimum but we were mindful of both our daugher-in-law Claire and Maz' Mum who were both very unwell during our time away. in fact Maz is off visiting her Mum as I write this post and we pray that the chemotherapy and further operations will have cured her cancer and that Claire will know the hand of healing on her life.

clouds above ffald-y-brenin

once again the week seemed to rush away with us but it was with excited anticipation that we made our final stop on this section of our adventure at the stunningly beautiful Ffald-y-brenin, a retreat centre set in the Pembroke National Park just an hour north west of Tenby. prior to our visit we had read the book 'the grace outpouring' which reflects the Spirit of the place and the work that God is doing at this wonderfully converted farm which serves to be a blessing to those who visit.

we ended our time in wales with a visit to the cathedral

 city of St Davids, as you may be aware this is little more than a town but the cathedral boasts the tomb of the welsh patron saint and thus makes it a city. (we only posted that to show off a couple of photos taken at this beautiful place)

red house outside the cathedral walls

our long journey back to Buckinghamshire was made all the easier as we stopped off to see Chris, Claire and their children for a couple of hours before spending the evening chatting with our great friend and mentor Mal, thanks to him for keeping us focused during this sabbatical time, which is coming ever so quickly to an end.

the cathedral at st davids

what's next? well watch this space.... and in the mean time we will continue to update the blog with news of meetings and further electronic communication which will hopefully provide some much needed clarity for the journey forward and what we will remember from this special time in Wales is to take things slowly, make the most of each and every moment, have fun, smile and talk only if you really do have something worthwhile to say!

p.s we've updated our reading list if you are interested, see side panel