Up on Cunswick and Scout Scar as ever. The little bird in the picture landed close but by the time I had got the camera setting on it had moved off and was not going to sit for a close-up. I never found the perfect picture of the range of flowers I was looking for but this was good enough. Beautiful weather and hot for walking but we should never complain about good weather in Cumbria, just savour the memory for the rest of the year. Just trying to work out what the arrival of ‘Freedom’ Day means for church services, in fact very little. Still masks and social distancing, which most people want to keep with considering the rise in the Delta Variant infection. But less wiping down of the benches which will be a relief. On Saturday night when everyone stood up it sounded like a massive velcro pull. Two baptisms on Saturday afternoon which is a very positive and as a sign of getting back to normal. I now share the house with two Formula One fans, I never understand how people can enjoy watching it, but I am aware of how exciting the race was to afficionados, and how brilliant Lewis Hamilton is for one, and how he cheated in the eyes of the other. More importantly today is the feast of the Lancashire martyrs from Preston, Garstang and the Fylde. Each has a very individual story, but the common factor among them is their bravery and their faith and their link to places very close to us. On Saturday it is the feast of the Cumbrian martyrs, John Boste among them.
Kendal Catholic Priest 