Paella was popular today at the York Food Festival

Holy as the Day is Spent

I first heard this song over a decade ago when first in Memphis at Saint John’s. It was wonderful then and it is wonderful now and illustrates how introverted poetry can brought out of herself by her extroverted sister music.

Holy As The Day Is Spent

Carrie Newcomer

Holy as a day is spent
Holy is the dish and drain
The soap and sink, and the cup and plate
And the warm wool socks, and the cold white tile
Shower heads and good dry towels
And frying eggs sound like psalms
With bits of salt measured in my palm
It’s all a part of a sacrament
As holy as a day is spent
Holy is the busy street
And cars that boom with passion’s beat
And the check out girl, counting change
And the hands that shook my hands today
And hymns of geese fly overhead
And spread their wings like their parents did
Blessed be the dog that runs in her sleep
To chase some wild and elusive thing

Holy is the familiar room
And quiet moments in the afternoon
And folding sheets like folding hands
To pray as only laundry can
I’m letting go of all my fear
Like autumn leaves made of earth and air
For the summer came and the summer went
As holy as a day is spent
Holy is the place I stand
To give whatever small good I can
And the empty page, and the open book
Redemption everywhere I look
Unknowingly we slow our pace
In the shade of unexpected grace
And with grateful smiles and sad lament
As holy as a day is spent
And morning light sings ‘providence’
As holy as a day is spent

September 21 – The Feast of Saint Matthew

Saint Matthew – El Greco

The Rumors of Bad English Food are Greatly Exaggerated!

Food Festival in York – Amazing!

Reputations have a long shelf-life.  As I prepared to come to England people warned me that the food is not that good and encouraged to go to France for food. Well, the foodies came to town this week and set up camp in the city centre.  This weekend is the end of The York Food Festival. 

The photos speak for themselves.  I’m no photographer but I think I got enough for you to see there is no danger of bad “vittles” in these parts.  York leads the country in organic, sustainable agriculture.  Many of the people in the booths grew what they sell or at least know the people who grew what is in the booth.

As one man explained to me (yes, I’m still talking to people) that when the hoof & mouth epidemic broke years ago people cast about to find what else they could do to sustain the farms. The products you see in these photos are the results of that tragedy.

The smells of roasting meat in the air people walking about with their children and their dogs amidst tents and booths looks a little like the Grove in Oxford might this weekend. No marching bands but the street musicians do what they can to keep the party going.

Nowhere in Britain is far from the sea. Scotland is as far from York as Kentucky is Memphis.

This young man told me that the fish in front of him was swimming of the coast of Scotland last Wednesday.

One cannot live simply by bread. No danger of that in York this weekend.

James’ company supplies people who sign up for fresh vegetables to be delivered in season. This sounds very similar to what Woodson Farms of Oxford, Mississippi delivered at Saint John’s this past growing season.

A few flowers for the table and off you go with amazing food. All that was lacking was an Alka Seltzer booth in the middle. I’m just saying. JWS