Charles

I first started my current job about 5 months ago and, as with any new job, I was busy getting settled in and learning all I could about the hotel. It was for this reason that I never noticed an elderly gentlemen drinking his coffee at the bar.

Over the next few weeks, this man would come in every night and approach the bar. He would pour a cup of coffee for himself and would always leave €2.50 on the counter as payment. He would stand there for about an hour talking to whom ever was on duty. It was during one fairly busy night that I got annoyed at this man constantly distracting my staff, and went over to him. The result was something completely unexpected.

Charles was an archaeologist. He was a soldier. He was a child during 1930s Ireland. He is also one of the most interesting people I have ever met. The more he talked to me, the more wonderful stories I heard. He told me of being one of the first people to enter a pyramid in Giza. He regaled to me a tale of how powerful a mother's love is, and how heart wrenching it is to see her lose her mind and eventually pass away.

On one not so special night, Charles entered the bar as normal. He went up to the bar as normal and poured his coffee as he normally did. However, that night turned out to be anything but normal.

As usual, we got to talking. He told me of his mother and of how much she had taught him. He received his love of books from his mother, and still thinks of her every day. She had died of cancer when he was 23. The night went on as usual and I began to close up. As I was about to leave for the night, I said goodbye to Charles. It was during this exchange that Charles revealed some devastating news – He too had been diagnosed with cancer earlier in the week.

I felt as if someone had slapped me across the face, but Charles instantly cheered me up - “Its all right, Gary. I'm a bastard. And God never kills a bastard”. It was the epitome of Charles, and his sense of humour.

Charles hasn't been into the bar for the last week and a half. I also found out recently that he may be homeless (Although the veracity of these reports can be debated).

I hope my friend is okay.

History of the Camino

Here we have it, the long awaited post on the History of the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage:

To really understand why thousands of people undertake this arduous endeavor every year, we must first understand Spain's patron saint – St James, son of Zebedee, and the history around him. While I am in no way religious, it is religion that has brought many thousands of people to Santiago over hundreds of years and turned what was originally both a pagan place of worship and a Roman shrine before it, into one of the most famous Christian Pilgrimages in the world.

St James the Greater was born in Galilee, at roughly the same time as Jesus. Born to a fisherman, not much is known of his early life, only that he followed in his father's footsteps and became a fisherman. It was while doing this that Jesus summoned James (along with his brother, John) and called them to his side as disciples. This was to mark a transformation in James life and turned the son of a fisherman into an apostle to the son of God.

After Jesus' death, St James traveled Europe to preach his former master's message. It was in Spain where St James had Mary appear to him in a vision. This began Spain's affinity with their now patron saint. St James hurried back to his homeland to retell his vision.

As St James returned to preach of Mary's appearance to him, King Herod himself executed him for heresy, thus consigning him to history as the first apostle to be made a martyr for Christ. His remains were long thought lost until, in the 9th century, documents recently discovered revealed he was buried in Santiago. For this reason, amongst others, Santiago was, and still is considered to be the third most holy city in the Holy Catholic Church.

During the 12th and 13th century, the Way of St James became one of three pilgrimages capable of earning the pilgrim a plenary indulgence and the route became popular with thousands of Christians seeking atonement for their various sins. It was during this time that St James become one of the patron saints for Pilgrims.

The pilgrimage today is undertaken for many different reasons. For many, it is indeed for religious purposes (Although the promise of plenary indulgences has long since been removed) and for others the appeal of an open road is too much to resist.

And then of course, there are those who simply wish to find answers....

EDIT - Edited to revise some historical facts. Credit to Sil.

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Barnardos

Hi guys,

I've set up a MyCharity.ie donation page. I've chosen the charity Barnardos.

Although I never availed of their services, it is a charity does amazing work for children and their rights.

Thanks

(PS - I'm working on a post at the moment which explores the history of the Camino. Stay tuned)

Cogito Ergo Sum

When I was younger, I loved books - the very earliest, and very fondest memories I possess are of walking to Pearse Street library every Wednesday with my grandmother, whose library card would allow me to check out more than the three books my own card limited me to.

With her card in my hand, I would then go about selecting my books. Like most children at that age, I was interested in everything. I loved the varying worlds that each set of pages would offer me. By just picking up a tome, I could escape the arguments in my house, the mental and physical abuse at the hands of my father and enter Narnia, the latest Siobhan Parkinson book or whichever 'adult' book I had found in the library that particular week.

Then when I was 13, our family got our first computer. With 160mb of storage space and 24mb of Ram, the beyond 2000 branded PC was a powerhouse. My love of books quickly fell by the wayside in favour of my shiny new toy.

When I discovered the world I could enter simply by plugging a telephone wire into the back of my computer, I met many interesting and intelligent people, and different view points were opened up to me. There was Hannah, the emo girl from Chester who had a penchant for poetry and Larry, from Kansas who was sure he had the solution to all of life's problems. Some of the most challenging and meaningful conversations I ever had were with Larry, and I loved our chats about philosophy.

I look at myself now, and I see a very different person to the younger me that cherished those Wednesday afternoons with my grandmother. No longer do I get lost in libraries or wonder why something is the way it is. The only philosophical conversations I have are with myself, and as such I don't feel as intelligent as I once was. In a way, I feel the internet has "dumbed" me down, so to speak.

Very recently I have decided to walk the Camino de Santiago. The Camino, or Way of St James, is an age old pilgrimage towards the majestic city of Santiago de Compestela and the wonderful cathedral it contains. The pilgrimage starts for me in Bordeaux and from there I will travel to St Jean-Pied-Du-Port where I will then start my walk towards Santiago. I will hopefully walk with and confront some of my own demons along the way.

I'm not sure if this will give me any answers to life's great questions, or if I will ever transform into the person that I once saw myself becoming but I do know that this will give me some much needed humility and time to think.

I plan to keep a journal and to update this blog as frequently as I can, if nothing else this will serve as something I can look back on in a few years and say "That was the moment I began my journey".