A sort of homecoming

Ashton Memorial at Williamson Park, Lancaster

Alexandria Square, Lancaster University - now it has a learning zone!



Street scene, very close to where we stayed

Me and my favourite parishioner have just spent a few days back in the place where it all started for us this week, Lancaster. We both studied there - well she did and I got a degree too and this being twenty years since we said, "I do", it was a perfect excuse to return to the scene of the crime. We stayed in the Sun Hotel, a really great place to stay, spending about a term's rent in old student money on four days.

Being child free for the time, we did plenty of reminiscing without protestations of boredom from smaller folk and enjoyed being back for the first time in many a year. Inevitably much had changed, my old college has been uprooted and cast into the outer reaches of the campus, and Crows is not a patch on the restaurant that we had our first meal as a couple at.

But then you realise again that it's more about the people than the place and we were heartened to see some old faces in St Thomas', the church we used to attend. One of them was jokingly called the ancient of days when we were there and now, there he is just shy of 100 and still worshipping in the place where I often heard him preach. Best of all was catching up with a couple of couples who stayed in Lancaster after their degrees. They have put down roots and it was brilliant to eat a very leisurely Sunday lunch at the Waterwitch sat by the canal and to sit around a table with old friends (though they didn't look any older) in nearby Galgate.

Great to see them and although Lancaster will always hold a place in our hearts, it really is about the people - they are what make a place. Must be better at staying in touch in future.