EE AYE ADDIO, GUILDFORD'S WON THE CUP!!! (Again)

Thursday the 18th of September 2014 saw the occasion of the Epsom Circle's Secretary's Night held in the splendid surroundings of the RAC Club. Tradition has it that when new brothers are enrolled at Epsom it is a 'black tie' affair. That night two new brothers were enrolled to the circle.

Some of the Guildford Brothers enjoying a drink before the Epsom Circle meeting

 In all, including Epsom brothers and visiting brothers from numerous circles, there were seventy in attendance. After the formality of the meeting, the RAC Club provided an excellent three course dinner followed by coffee. During the meal, brothers were invited to purchase raffle tickets to support the Epsom President's Charity; The Jesuit Missions for the education of children in Syrian refugee camps. The evening was further enhanced by a quiz which Guildford did not win. However, being the best  represented visiting circle with ten brothers in attendance, Guildford once again retained the Secretary's Cup.

'' No, this is definitely my chair''

Epsom President, Bro.Teddy Totman presenting the Secretary's Cup to Bro. Dave Caush

Epsom President, Bro. Teddy Totman presenting Bro. Dave Caush with a bottle of Whisky

At the end of the evening Guildford Secretary Bro. Dave Caush, was presented with the Secretary's Cup by Epsom President Bro. Teddy Totman together with a bottle of finest Scotch Whisky. At this point Bro. Dave had to be deterred from singing ''You'll Never Walk Alone''.

PAUL JOHNSON:OBITUARY

The brothers and families of Guildford circle deeply mourn the death of Paul Peter Johnson,
a member of the circle for almost 40 years, who passed away on 25 June after a debilitating illness, which he bore with great patience and bravery. He was aged 85.

Paul, a man of great principle, staunch in his Catholic beliefs, determined and unwavering in argument, was greatly respected by all those who came to know him. He was born and bred in
the East End of London but when only ten years old, with war against Germany imminent, he was evacuated to the supposed safety of Jersey, in the Channel Islands. Here he stayed with his aunt and uncle and went to the local St Saviours School. However, hardly two years had passed when the Germans occupied the island subjecting the populace to increasing hardship and starvation until the end of the war four years later. Only then was Paul able to return to his London family. Paul never forgot those island days, nor his intense Britishness nor the duty he owed to his mother country.

It was no surprise then that Paul joined the Royal Navy at an early age and found himself engaged
in the Korean war. He became an expert in naval photography and was duly appointed Head of the Photographic branch, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. On returning to base he was posted to Derry, Northern Ireland, where he met his true love, Maureen, marrying her on St George’s Day, 1957. Thereafter, Maureen and he travelled the world together until he retired from the Navy twenty two years later.

On leaving the Navy he pursued a management career in the City and then returned to his favourite occupation: photography. First of all he established a photographic business in Guildford and then moved into academia as Head of the Photographic Department at Guildford College. Paul became
a Catenian in 1976 and was President of Guildford Circle in 1980/81. He also joined Rotary, became
a local town councillor and fought many a battle to improve the facilities of Guildford, the town he came to love, over some 12 years. In the little spare time he had, he luxuriated in his family, played the stock market, became a great gardener and loved a game of bridge.

His Catenian friends will long remember the deep conversations they often had with Paul, which somehow always managed to end on a humorous note, with a tale or two of his naval exploits. One
of his favourite stories was about the time he was interviewed for promotion by an Admiral, who proceeded to ask him where he was brought up. Paul told him proudly: “Jersey, Sir”. The Admiral responded by telling Paul he himself had been brought up in Guernsey. “Well, Sir”, quipped Paul, “No-one is perfect”. He got the promotion.

Paul leaves behind his wife, Maureen, their three children, Carol, Paul and Gaby and four grandchildren. God bless him and may he rest in peace!

Michael Shortland

10 September 2014

Lourdes Pilgrimage

                                                                                                       

A mixture of fear and trepidation accompanied me as I embarked on the 2014 Arundel and Brighton Lourdes Pilgrimage fostered principally by my ignorance of what was in store for both me and my family. The initially train journey was the first challenge which lasted for around 29hrs having left Guildford on Thursday the 24th  July at 11.30 am and arrived on Friday 25th July at 4.30pm at our hotel in Lourdes exhausted!

The travel ‘experience” included coach, ferry and an 18 hour train journey and whilst this was arduous there was a hidden benefit in that it provided a great opportunity to meet with and bond with some of the hundreds’ of other Pilgrims travelling to Lourdes. The motto of the Pilgrimage was ‘Joy of Conversion’ and this was first evidenced as the able bodied pilgrims began to load the train with the entire luggage from the coaches, wow what a workout!

The Pilgrimage was from the 24 July until the 1st August and had a packed but flexible itinerary. With approx. 850 pilgrims we were spread across a dozen hotels with around 70 pilgrims in each with a Priest and 2 leaders to assist us.

It was heart-warming to see that the sick, infirm, disabled and mentally challenged had their needs put first. The A&B group comprised “assisted” pilgrims, helpers who would assist, red shirts who were 15- 16 year old ‘meeters and greeters’ cheering everyone up at various events. 

 I quickly became aware how much the assisted pilgrims were grateful to their helpers and others for making their pilgrimage such a wonderful experience; it was especially warming to see the 17 to 25 year old helpers caring for the assisted pilgrims. Sometimes we deride the young as being superficial but I witnessed these men and women demonstrating both love and care for those on the pilgrimage less fortunate than themselves.

Let me describe for you a typical day. It would start with breakfast followed by morning prayers then off to a mass, event or ceremony, come back for lunch to go to an event or ceremony and then back to the hotel for evening prayers followed by dinner and then off to a mass or event, phew! However, there was also a little time to socialise at ‘Le Petit Fleur’ the little flower which is a French bar. This was an opportunity for the pilgrims to reflect on the day and also get to know each other a little better whilst sipping on their favourite tipple. The camaraderie that quickly developed through our shared faith was simply fantastic.

 There were so many special memories and reflections for us and every-time we thought it could not get better it did. On arrival at Lourdes we had the, “Blessing of the Hands Mass”, which was a lovely mass and a great introduction to Lourdes.

There were several highlights on the pilgrimage including, the Blessed Sacrament Procession, the Torchlight Procession, the International Mass where there was circa 15,000 pilgrims in attendance from different countries and our very own Bishop conducted the Mass and said the homily in 3 different languages. We also did the high stations (Stations of the Cross) at 6.15 am with the red shirts. It was an emotional way to retrace what happened to our Lord Jesus Christ at the end we were greeted to a lovely sunrise. The baths was another wonderful experience and we were able to go in and able to pray for our intentions to Our Lady and be baptised which included being immersed in what can be described as a sunken bath. The candle bank provided the opportunity to light candles and to pray for your intentions. The enormous amount of candles with pilgrims praying was a sight 

to behold.

 The Grotto in which Saint Bernadette saw the apparition of Our Lady was very special and we were able to go there at least 3 times and twice being able to go into the grotto to touch the rock and to reflect on what Saint Bernadette had done all those years ago. It was the 10th anniversary of the red shirts and so Bishop Kieran said a late night Mass at the Grotto which was a magical time of the night because of the stillness and time for reflection.

 However, for me there was one special Mass that was very powerful, the ‘Anointment of the Sick’. Here we were put into our hotel groups and the priest came around and said a prayer and anointed all those individuals who were very ill. It was very emotionally charged and I have to confess I too cried as we got to know some of the individuals and the circumstances surrounding their illness.

So what did I take away from Lourdes? I am hooked, this pilgrimage provided my family and I to put aside the daily toils of life together with modern-day materialism.  The pilgrimage provided a metaphoric bridge with which to crossover and feed our souls whilst providing an opportunity to reflect on how very blessed we are as a family.

I would encourage all Brothers to take the time to go and experience this pilgrimage. Rest assured you will not regret it. For those who have been before, Lourdes is calling you back!!.

Thanks to Bro. William D'Souza for the narrative of his family's pilgrimage to Lourdes

GONE TO POT!

With the Snooker afternoon looming on the social agenda, it would appear that two Guildford Brothers decided that this year the standard of play should exceed the traditional level of poor. A passing Catenian wife surreptitiousy snapped the brothers who were equally surreptitiously practicing their potting skills at an unknown venue. After close scrutiny, they have been identified as the rakish pair of 'Billiards Boy Ballard' and 'The D'Souza Kid'. 

 

It goes without saying that the Guildford Circle wish the duo every success along with all the other competing brothers. Indeed, inline with Cruciple Theatre protocol, we hope that their balls won't wobble and will end up neatly in the pockets.

VISIT TO FARNBOROUGH HILL SCHOOL AND ST MICHAEL'S ABBEY

Guildford Catenians were privileged to take part in two private visits organised by Brother Treasurer Stephen Rowden on Tuesday 12th August. The Brothers and Wives were received at Farnborough Hill School by Director of Admissions, Clare Duffin, wife of Ascot & Sunningdale Catenian John Duffin. She guided them around the school, a mid-Victorian creation which was commissioned by celebrated publisher Thomas Longman in 1860. This vast Gothic building with equally vast beautifully kept gardens, was the home of Empress  Eugénie, widow of Napoléon III, for forty years.

In 1927 The Sisters of Christian Education bought the house from the Empress's estate and have since added considerably to the original building making it suitable for a large girls' school. The most recent addition is the superb St Cecilia Suite which was opened last April and is entirely devoted to the teaching of music.

Left to right; 
Bro. Steve Rowden, 
Bro. Leo Cash, 

Angela Cash, 
Bro. Geoff Bignell, 
Bro. David Allen,
Bro. Martin Mc Hugh, 
Patricia Mc Hugh, 
Bro. Claude Kauffmann






About 2km from the School on the A325 is St Michael's Abbey which was designed by the well-known French Architect Gabriel Destailleur whose only other building in England is Waddeston Manor, the  palatial Buckinghamshire home of the Rothschilds. The Abbey is pure Flamboyant French Gothic with two-metre long gargoyles and pinnacles and, apart from the marble floors and columns, both in the Abbey and the Crypt, which are Italian from Carrara, was entirely built with French materials by French stonemasons. One would think that one is somewhere on the Loire valley when visiting the Abbey and the adjoining monastery. The building, which was constructed under the Empress’s supervision between 1883 and 1888, was intended to serve as a Mausoleum for the Empress, the Emperor and the Prince Imperial, Louis Napoléon.

Upon completion of the Abbey, the bodies of both the Emperor and the Prince Imperial, who died during the Zulu war as a Captain in the British Army, were transferred from the Catholic Church in Chislehurst and placed in the Crypt into two of three Aberdeen granite sarcophagi. These were donated by Queen Victoria who was an old friend of the Empress and a frequent visitor to Farnborough Hill.

The Empress invited Benedictine monks from Solesmes Abbey in France to take charge of St Michael’s which, in effect, became part of the French Benedictine province. French was the official language of the community until 1947 when English monks started to come to Farnborough and gradually replaced the French ones.

The Empress died in 1920 and her body was placed in the central sarcophagus in the Abbey. Her funeral was attended by King George V and Queen Mary as well as many other distinguished guests. These included; Prince Victor Napoléon, then head of the Imperial family and his wife, Princess Clémentine of the Belgians, Kings Alfonso XIII of Spain and Manuel II of Portugal.

Thanks to Bro. Claude Kauffmann for the narrative.

 

Anyone for Croquet?

On Sunday 27th July, a pleasant Summer's afternoon, 14 Guildford Brothers with wives, sons and daughters in law played Golf Croquet from 15:30pm to 18:30pm. The participants were divided into 8 teams and they each played four rounds. The winners of the Croquet Trophy were Peter and Roisin Caush, son and daughter in law of our esteemed secretary, Bro. Dave Caush. Drinks and a buffet supper followed in the Guildford Rugby Club and the event, which was organised by Bro. Martin McHugh, was greatly enjoyed by all. We look forward to another tournament next year.

Ordination of Fr. Dominic

Bro. Andy Preisner and his wife Gill have recently returned from the Ordination of Fr. Dominic and here are a few words from Andy:

"Gill and I have just returned from the Ordination at the Clifton Cathedral............

what a wonderful ceremony, the first I've been to. There were 3 being Ordinated with approx 80 priests, 2 Bishops and the best part of 1,000 congregation. Fortunately the Cathedral is modern, with very high ceiling and few windows, which kept the inside temperature bearable on a hot day!

 

We went to the nearby reception afterwards and managed to tear Dominic away from his large family (his sister has a beautiful voice and sang the Responsorial Psalms) long enough for Gill to take a photo of me congratulating Dominic on behalf of Guildford Circle..."

 

"He is moving to a parish in Swindon, which is in our Diocese but unfortunately some way from Bristol.

 

A moving occasion and so glad we were there."

BBQ 2014

This year's BBQ was held after the President's Mass on Sunday 6th July 2014.
Here are some pictures from that wonderful day:

Father's and Sons Evening - 2nd July 2014

On Wed 2nd July, the Guildford Catenians held their annual Father's and Sons evening at the Guildford Golf Club. Here are few pictures from a most enjoyable evening:

Guildford Catenian's Charity Tennis Tournament

Sunday 29th of June saw another memorable tennis occasion. No, not Wimbledon but the Guildford Catenian's Charity Tennis Tournament. This is organised every year by our Treasurer, Bro. Steve Rowden who emailed thanks to all participants and congratulations to Chris Adamson of London South-West Circle, the outright winner and Katie Brennan from Guildford, the Ladies winner.

The proceeds from the tournament will be added to the Guildford Circle President's charity fund for the Numntu Project http://www.thenomntuproject.org.uk/, a project run by Guildford Circles Chris Devereux and his wife Jane.