FROM time to time the writers of Thought for the Week find themselves in unusual places as they put pen to paper. 

I find myself in beautiful Bruges in Belgium with nine others from Cirencester Parish Church.

We are staying at a Benedictine Abbey, having some time for peace and quiet, relaxation, study and trying to make sense of Flemish.

This ancient city has connections with Cirencester, as the wool from our sheep was sent to Bruges to be woven into fine cloth.

There is another UK group at the Abbey.

They are from near Eastbourne and are regulars here.

Both groups are here specifically to coincide with a very big event in Bruges today, Ascension Day.

It is the day that Bruges celebrates having some of the ‘holy blood’ of Christ in a special phial, kept in the basilica here.

There is a massive procession around the city and about 120,000 visitors mark this wonderful pageant-come-procession.

It is in itself a World Heritage-listed event.

Principal scenes from the Bible are depicted showing the history of our salvation from Creation through to the Resurrection.

With 23 British people at the Abbey we dominate the guest list.

I was ordering a beer at the Abbey cafeteria, and said to the assistant that she had been invaded by British people.

Unprovoked, she immediately launched into a passionate diatribe saying that she thinks Europe needs the British to remain in the European Union.

I thanked her for my very good Belgian beer, in my Scottish accent, and of course agreed with her.

In June we will know the outcome of the Referendum.

For the present I am very happy to be in Belgium for this very special feast of the ‘Heilige Blood’ on Ascension Day.

FATHER LEONARD DOOLAN
Cirencester Parish Church