A Rainy Retreat

A relaxing day for a group of us at the Diocesan House Of Retreat in the village of Pleshey, near Chelmsford. The weather was not ideal, but as ever we made the best of what we had.

We started with Morning Prayer in the chapel, and then shared bread together. This entails breaking off a piece of bread from a loaf and giving it to the person next to you with a blessing, such as “may the Lord keep you in health and happiness”. You then pass the loaf to them and they do the same for the next person. After coffee and biscuits, we considered together the concept of “acceptance”, and the peace which it can bring. We stopped for a simple lunch, then had the afternoon free to do whatever we wished in this place of calm beauty.

While the rain eased up, some of us walked around the stunning gardens. I give you a very small selection of some of the photos I took, the grey skies and raindrops actually helping to improve my efforts where bright sunshine would have made the plants look overexposed. My main blip shows Geranium psilostemon looking fresh and vibrant. In Extras we have Hypericum (also known as St John’s Wort), another perennial Geranium, the large Pleshey wooden cross by the water with Oxeye Daisies in the foreground, and a view along one of the many enchanting pathways showing the profusion of pretty plants.

We had tea and Victoria sponge cake during the afternoon too, making it a delightful and relaxing day all round.