UK 2026 Diary, Days 6-7
In which we visit friends in Birmingham and Shrewsbury, and head to Durham
Greetings, my dear readers, from Durham! This diary entry will give an account of Days 6 and 7 of this trip to the UK. That is, I will describe Sunday (yesterday) and Monday (today). I will admit that as I am writing this, I am a bit tired with a weary body, for reasons which will become clear as I go on. Part of me wants to just lie down in the hotel bed and zone out! But I am dedicated to keeping a full diary this time round, after failing to do so on the most recent trips to the UK. With the grace of God, and the wind of the Holy Spirit at my back, I do hope I can achieve my goal. (But I might fall asleep and finish this later, and, really, you won’t know the difference, would you?)
The shorter account begins on Sunday. Twyla did finish her workshop course, and did so very well. The purpose of the final meeting was to teach how to properly sand the gesso-ed boards to a perfect smoothness, ready to receive paint. As the boards of her and her fellow student were not dried yet, they practiced on boards Dylan had previously prepared and which had dried long enough to sand. Twyla had gotten to it, and she said it all went very well. When I arrived, I was again invited to tea with the group as well as birthday celebration of her fellow student, who was turning 70. His wife had brought a pork pie as the “birthday cake”; we sang “Happy Birthday” and dug in. It was a little community of hope, the six of us.
After that, we headed to Birmingham, about a hour away, to the house of Magdalen and Paul Smith. Magdalen is Martin and Monica Thornton’s daughter, and she and I have known each other since 2013; in fact I have known her husband Paul that long as well. They hosted a lovely tea for us, and we caught up, shared stories, and simply enjoyed each other’s company. When that we complete, we headed to Shrewsbury, to meet up with Aidan Hart and his wife Sarah, along with Mark Ari Fisher, who is an iconographer apprenticing with Aidan. We met at a Thai restaurant, and had a lovely time talking about personal stuff, as well as Anglican and Orthodox Church stuff, and, you know, the state of international politics. Twas a three-hour affair! After that, Twyla and I drive home to konk out.
Monday we got up early to check out of our hotel in Telford and drive to Durham. It was a four-hour drive, but mostly on the motor way (British for “expressway). We got to Durham, checked into our hotel, and headed to Durham Cathedral. The Cathedral is pictured above. We had a very holy time, seeing the shrines of the Venerable S. Bede and S. Cuthbert and venerating these amazing and foundational Saints. We climbed the tower (325 steps!), and beheld the glory of God within the cathedral space. Then we had a tour of nearby Durham Castle, which was followed by a walk along the River Wear, and dinner at a burger place. Then back to the hotel where I write now. A great day!
That’s the summary. The long description of day 6-7, with more photographs, follows below. If you are not a paid subscriber, consider becoming one, because doing so supports my public ministry of Akenside Institute. Click the button below:
God bless you all!
DAY 6—SUNDAY
After a stop at a cafe first thing in the morning with Twyla, I drove her to her workshop in Telford, and dropped her off a little before 9 am. I might add here that both Twyla and I were a little baffled, and put off, as to why the workshop was scheduled for Sunday morning rather than Sunday afternoon. Because it was in the morning, and because when they would end was unpredictable, I was not able to attend Sunday Liturgy. And I did not like that, yet what could I do?—it was out of my control. We figured her workshop would end right about in the middle of the Liturgy, and up and leaving would, for me, be a wholly inappropriate and even disrespectful act. So, reluctantly, I went to a cafe to write up my Day 5 diary.
I mentioned above how the workshop ended. So off we were on the motor way to Birmingham, about an hour’s drive. It was no trouble finding her house. When she and her husband Paul opened the door, they offered a lovely and warm reception for us. We had last seen Magdalen in September 2024, our last time in the UK, when she had come to our lodging in Walcot Hall, Shropshire, for lunch and to hand off her father Martin’s effects. I detailed that lunch in this diary entry.
This time was more of an opportunity for Magdalen and Paul to get to know Twyla, and her to get to know them. Magdalen had tea made, along with homemade scones with jam and cream, as well as homemade ginger cake. Very delicious! It was also an opportunity for Paul and I to chat more than we ever had opportunity before. So it was all great. And Magdalen brought out four of her mother’s icons, which I had never seen previously. Here they are:
These were amazing to behold, and very inspiring to know about. Monica, in the words of Aidan Hart, was a “force of nature.” He said that after I showed him the Mandylion icon, painted by Monica, which Magdalen had given me at Monica’s funeral in 2023. I wrote about that here.
I suppose I am still processing the amazing lives of Monica and Martin, and processing the depth and reach of their Christian witness. Monica had a glorious and productive vocation to iconography. Her husband had a glorious and productive vocation to theology. The two of them were quite the dynamic duo! And that I have studied theology through Martin Thornton’s writing, and my daughter has studied iconography through Monica Thornton’s teacher (Aidan Hart), and both of us have deepened our relationship with Christ through Monica’s icon—really something, isn’t it? I certainly conclude that the Holy Spirit worked powerfully through them, through their Sacrament of Matrimony, through each of them personally and through them united. Both were deeply prophetic—meaning, they were able to convey how God was active and present in their lives, and do so powerfully. From an Anglican perspective, both seem to be calling the Anglican Church to a deeper engagement with its own past. Martin emphasized prayer, Monica emphasized holy image. Both call us to retrieval of experience from English ages past, yet which still readily possess the aliveness of Jesus Christ, able to call us to repentance, and nourish us, and deepen our prayer, and thereby refashion us to greater conformity with Christ.
Here are two more icons of Monica. The first of course is Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Teacher. The second is called the Hospitality of Abraham. I was hoping Magdalen might have this in her possession, but she did not, and she did not know who might have it. The hunt continues.
We needed to be off to our next appointment, so we had warm goodbyes with Magdalen and Paul. It was such a blessing to see them, for both me and Twyla. I do look forward to seeing them again, and hopefully before too long.
We drove an hour back, past Telford and heading to the ancient market town of Shrewsbury. It was a date, as I said above, with Aidan and Sarah Hart, and Mark Ari Fisher. We met Mark back in Sept. 2024 after a Divine Liturgy service (what the west calls the “Mass”) at the Orthodox Church in Shrewsbury, called the Church of the 318 Holy Fathers of Nicea. Both Twyla and I connected with Mark on social media afterwards, and have kept in touch. You can see Mark’s website here.
It was lovely to be with them and share a meal. It was our first opportunity to meet Aidan’s wife, Sarah. Aidan had spoken about her previously to us, and even shared how he and Sarah had met. She is a journalist, and I had first encountered her on Instagram through her ministry to put online events at their church that celebrated the 1,700th anniversary of the 1st Ecumenical Council of Nicea. At their church’s celebration, by the way, were two excellent talks about the Council and its significance by Father John Behr. Here are those talks:
Anyway, it was amazing to see them. We had lively conversation about a variety of topics. This is the third time Twyla and I had shared a meal with Aidan out in the wild. He possesses a brilliant mind, yet is very warm and caring. It was very good to get to know more of Mark, and we hope to see him again before too long, as well as Aidan and Sarah. We should have taken a photograph of the five of us at table, but alas, the energy made us forget such things. But this dinner did happen!
DAY 7—MONDAY
After a night’s sleep, though not long enough, we checked out of our hotel and headed to Durham. We had a four-hour drive ahead of us, so we got a decently early start, 7 am. With a couple stops, we arrived just before Noon, and made our way to our hotel. We were very pleased to find out the hotel is in the shadows of Durham City Central, and thus very close to the Cathedral. We checked in, dropped our bags in the room, and immediately headed to the Cathedral. Again, the glorious exterior:
Immediately after entering the building, one encounters the Shrine of the Venerable S. Bede—even before the ticket desk. Here are the photographs I took of this great and holy shrine to this staggeringly important Saint and English Church Father:
Here is what is inscribed on the tomb:
The epitaph reads:
Hac sunt in fossa Baedae venerabilis ossa
which is Latin for:
Here in this grave lie the bones of the Venerable Bede
Note as well the quote of Bede that is displayed on the wall, from his commentary on Revelations 11.28, which reads, “and I will give him the morning star.”
Next to the Shrine, I sat down and prayed. I gave thanks to God for the witness and teaching of Bede, and I asked Bede to intercede for me and my family. I asked God to continue to open the eyes of my heart through the Bede’s teaching. And as always, I asked God for guidance in life. Bede has become very important to my life in Christ, as many of you already know. I learn from him daily. What a tremendous thing to sit and pray at his shrine
.What follows are photographs I took throughout the wonderful and holy Durham Cathedral. These next three are of the Lady Altar next to Bede’s Shrine:
Then into the nave. Twyla took this of me next to the baptismal font:
The view from the west end of the nave:
And the Quire:
There is an amazing pulpit nearby:
And the high Altar:
Then we walked around the high Altar to the Shrine of S. Cuthbert, another immensely important Saint to English Christian tradition and the Anglican Church. I sat here for a while and prayed as I had prayed with Bede.
There is also an Altar dedicated to Saint Hilda:
Then we decided to climb the step to the top of the tall cathedral tower:
I am quite out of breath by this point!
Finally, after 325 steps, we were at the top.
That large white building is our hotel!
Here are three that Twyla took:
After climbing down the tower, we hit the gift shop, and then headed out of the cathedral. We took a tour of Durham Castle, which is now part of Durham University.
There is a glorious chapel in one of the buildings:
We enjoyed the tour of the castle, but for some reason did not take any other photographs. We did learn of the reputation of the Prince Bishop John Cosin—did not sound very humble, self-effacing, or oriented toward the poor.
After the tour concluded, Twyla and I ambled down the streets of City Centre all the way to the River Wear. We had a peaceful walk along the river, which was very grounding.
There was a crew in a boat along the river that I was able to capture before they went out of view:
And our final view of the evening before heading to a pub for dinner was the Cathedral from below:
On that glorious note, here endeth the account of days 6 and 7. We have one more day before we fly home. Do stay tuned, and God bless you!