Practical pilgrim session

So earlier today (actually yesterday now) we went to a session organised by the Confraternity of St James here in London. As I mentioned in a previous post, neither Jackie nor I do the God thing. We're not what you'd call evangelical atheists - personally I find the antics of Richard Dawkins rather tedious - but at the same time we tend to avoid organised religion, its followers in groups of more than 2 and its agents. So it was with a little anxiety that we pitched up to the meeting - an anxiety only heightened by having to cross south of the river!

Fortunately, considering the meeting was held on church property, belief in himself was barely mentioned. Instead the emphasis in the first session was more on the spiritual nature of dragging yourself and 10kg of kit across Northern Spain. There was then a q&a session with a panel of experienced caminoists, before the gathering split into groups more relevant to the Camino they are intent on doing.

After a short break, there was then a presentation by Elaine Hopkins on how doing the Camino had affected her life. After this highlight we left as there was talk of blessing clamshells.

All in all worth the trip to the Badlands across the river. Got some solid practical advice from people who had done lots of Caminos, and picked up the csj guide to accommodation on the Camino Frances.