Sometimes I wonder about that old saying about things happening in threes – good things come in threes, accidents and deaths come in threes, we say third time lucky and three cheers. I’m not saying I don’t believe those thoughts but I really sat up and took notice and began to think about them recently……
I’ll start by saying years ago I read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.
The story about a man who hears an old friend of his is very ill and decides to walk to another town quite a way from where he is living in the hope that she will still be alive when he gets there. Long and at times a bit ho hum it tells of how he copes with the journey, his attitude and feelings to the hardships he experiences also the people he comes across on his way and how he is a changed man at the end of it.
Later that year while we were away overseas I mentioned the book in passing to a friend and she suggested another book with a similar title. Called What the Psychic told the Pilgrim by Jane Christmas this is not a novel but a tale (true recording) of the pilgrimage she made in Spain along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela (try saying that in a hurry lol). So very different (much easier to read) and yet quite similar to the other pilgrimage book, this deals with similar hardships and attitudes and feelings Jane has to her fellow pilgrims as Harold had to his. They both wanted to give up their treks but continued without all the fanfare around them and by the end both had ‘found love’.
That was the year Simon Reeve’s Pilgrimage documentaries were released
Simon Reeve retraces the adventures of our ancestors, and learns about the forgotten aspects of pilgrimage – including the vice, thrills and dangers that awaited travellers.
We watched but like many things these days I can’t remember a thing about it🙁
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Fast forward to last week visiting the library what do I see on a display stand but the Harold Fry book. Curiosity got the better of me and I looked along the C shelf wondering if Jane Christmas’s book was there……that would have had me giggling if it was.
No not there but it turned up on a free internet site (https://archive.org) when I was looking for something else……and look what else I found😊
I’m now wondering how long it’ll take me to finish reading the books I brought home – then I can set to ……reread both books, then rewatch the different episodes of Simon wandering the world
Still Waters 
A friend from church just completed the Camino de Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage. I have not had a chance to discuss it with her. When asked before she left what she hoped to get out of the trip, she said that’s what she would learn along the trail.
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I’ve read several accounts of people’s experiences and most seem to say ‘it’s the little things in life that are far more important than the big ones’.
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The pilgrimages that I have read tend to involve hobbits. 😁
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What a coincidence, I’ve planned to read about them over the summer – well, reread them after many years. Wonder if I’ll be as engrossed as first time round
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I have read and watched more than once. I might even do it again sometime.
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Walking tthe Camino de Santiago used to be a dream of mine. I’d still like to walk part of it one day. Maybe. It’s not that far away.
I’ve got both of those books. Haven’t read the Harold Fly one yet. Looking forward to it. I’ve read at least a dozen books by people who walked the Camino and saw the film The Way. As I said, it used to be a dream…
I shall seek out Simon Reeves documentaries. I like him.
Thanks
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I hope you get your wish Linda. Lots of planning needed, that would definitely keep you occupied over winter.
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Anything by Simon Reeve is worth watching/reading
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Certainly agree with that. He has a way with words, delivers the information to you in a soft manner- not aggressive like some broadcasters
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I read Harold Fry book years ago. Not my usual sort of reading but I enjoyed it so will go in search of the Jane Christmas book. I like Simon Reeves’ treatment of the subjects he chooses so I’ll enjoy watching that too.
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Yes, he has a quiet way of presenting information – not brash and busy like some, often just lets the camera do the talking
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I like it when one thing leads to another! Great post about finds leading us on new to us paths.
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Like you Denyse I find it interesting the way a common theme can link then lead us here there and everywhere. You just never know what you’ll come across
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I like the idea of good things coming in threes. I’ve only heard about difficulties or sorrows coming in threes. I read the Harold Fry book but like you found it a little ho-hum. I think that author has written other novels but right now the titles escape me.
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A lot of my favorite Brit actors are in the film version of the Harold Fry book. (I haven’t seen it — I don’t have that streaming service). But Jim Broadbent is Harold Fry, and also Penelope Wilton and Linda Bassett are in it. I love the serendipity of your “pilgrimage encounters!”
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