Norwich Cathedral Visit – 3 June 2017
On the 3rd of June eleven of us went to see the paintings of the “Passion of Edith Cavell” which are housed in the beautiful surroundings of Norwich Cathedral; bathed that day in sunshine and everywhere full of late spring and early summer flowers.
Father Peter Doll, the Canon Librarian, was our guide. The paintings by Brian Whelan depict the life and death of Edith Cavell in fourteen icons, likening them to the fourteen stations of the cross of Christ. We then visited her grave just outside the Eastern end of the Cathedral in Life’s Green. It is engraved with some of Edith’s last words:
“ I realise that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards any one”
Some members of the party recalled their time in Belgium visiting the places where Edith had worked and died. They felt that this visit completed the story.
We then had a buffet lunch in the light and airy modern refectory attached to the Cathedral. A few then caught the bus to Swardeston to visit the church and vicarage where Edith grew up.
I would like to thank Father Peter who, by his knowledge and reflective meditations brought the paintings to life.
Helen Pickstone