Newbrough Day Off 5/9/25

Good Morning!

Right outside of my room is this poster. It says, "Living to an old age could be dangerous for an old woman in the Newbrough of the 17th century. Old Meg was one such unfortunate woman. Accused of witchcraft, she was tied to a stake and burned to death. She then had an iron spike driven through her heart to prevent her vengeful ghost from returning to haunt her executioners. A pink thorn tree not far from Lane House  marks the spot, near to the stream that bears her name - Meggie’s Dene."

I took a bus to Hexham. Hexham has a history of marauding Vikings and England’s first purpose-built prison, Hexham Old Gaol, dating back to the 1300s. Doesn’t that sound like a fun place to be imprisoned? 

I also went to Hexham Abbey, which was originally built in the 12th century and added to over the years.

The main altar was stunning. "The wooden rood or cross is a reminder of Christ's death and resurrection.The High Altar is the principal altar in the Abbey. It is where, with other altars, Holy Communion is celebrated. Bread and wine are shared in accordance with Jesus' command: 'Do this in remembrance of me.' 1 Corinthians, chapter 11, verse 24'

The 16th-century painting of the Holy Family shows the infant Jesus meeting John the Baptist.

The two photos above are sides of a magnificent gilded pulpit.

In the rear of the abbey, there was this magnificent wooden carving of a cathedral hanging from the ceiling. As I was admiring it, a woman walked by and told me it had been carved by a refugee many years ago.

In another alcove stood a tapestry entitled “The Tapestry of Life. It took Ukrainian artist Yulia Achkasova over 645 hours between September 2023 and February 2024.  She said, “Being so far from our country, Ukrainians feel disconnected from their roots.  Historically, our ancestors have used patchwork tapestry and embroidery to overcome the pain of conflict and in times of difficulty.”  I, Jeanne James, stand with Ukraine!

I hope that Dan Stokes reads this because I know he loves organs, and this is a Phelps Organ.

The signs says:

The Phelps Organ is not as you might

expect, with 3 or 4 manuals, but only

has 2 manuals and pedals.

Nevertheless, there are over 30 stops,

and it is particularly versatile; excelling

in French and German Baroque music,

but in all other styles too. It has been

used for recordings and broadcasts and

featured on Radio and television. Many

world famous organists have played

here, most notably Dame Gillian Weir.

Recordings of our organ and choir are

available in the Abbey Shop.

Pictured here is the 'organ console'

where the organist sits to play.

There are 2,304 pipes in total on the

Phelps Organ. As you can imagine,

tuning all 2,304 of them individually

3 times a year is a huge undertaking

and takes a number of hours.

There were so many beautiful stained glass windows.

I particularly like this one.

Directly across from the Abbey was the Hexham market, started in 1222.

Gorgeous plants for spring planting.

And booths of fruits and vegetables. You can smell them as you walk by.

I had the most wonderful dinner.  Amazing how these country hotels make the best food, nothing like the tourist food you get in the big cities.  Tonight I had pan-fried fillet of cod, sautéed potatoes, salsa verde, red pepper, roasted cherry tomato dressing with pine nuts. I would order this over and over.  I used to think that the best thing about English cuisine was Indian Cuisine, but I stand corrected. You have to get away from London to get good English food. And I think Cod is the most undervalued fish in the world. Mostly, we have Cod as fried food, but as I have said a thousand times, you can fry up an old tire and it will taste pretty good. Cod deserves way more than being our favorite fried fish.

So this is all the news that is fit to print.

God bless, until tomorrow, Good night.