Wisques, rain and exhaustion

With a solid day of walking behind me I am now at Notre Dames Abbeye Wisques. My sack is much too heavy. I will leave some things here and return for them on the 25th on route north again? If I leave my sleeping bag, bivvy and pillow I may not feel quite so oppressed by the end of the day? Will ask Soeur Lucie if I may return for one night, on my way north, at dinner.

...

There are a group of French undergraduates in a house the Soeur's have apart for pilgrims. We shared dinner in the refectory and they helped me to get my request across to Soeur Lucie that it would be helpful if I could reduce the strain of the weight I was carrying? She's fine with me leaving it here to return on the day prior to departing back across the Channel and I can sleep here again. I am not up to another 100 kms with the backpack as it was. Yesterday I rushed because by noon it was getting heavier and heavier to get to the Abbey for around half three.

...

Gathering around the breakfast table I advised the students to make sure that their education counted. Chose the right future. I am now in another god awful Bar Tabac. So I don't stay longer than a single coffee. It has started to rain and it is blowing a stiff cold wind from the south east. It feels ominous - persistent and torrential. Off I go.

...

Oh dear! Quite wet and annoyed with the official Via Francigena taking me away from straight to add what seemed like the longest 20kms ever! In all, from Wisques, I've managed 30 kms in quite atrocious conditions. Everything I own is wet in some ways, but I got to Amettes (with a little help the last couple of kms). But I have a bed and tomorrow is another challenge. The host at this Gîtes is very helpful and I've a tisane for my exhaustion!

Being the first pilgrim of this year is a reminder of how bloody stupid I can be! But there must always be one. Very early in the year. Who decided Lent should be so soon? What will be will be. After the first 8 kilometres I gave up cursing and accepted that I will be wet and cold until I reach sanctuary. Now everything is hung about the place. This reminded me of when I arrived at Aubrac and the English Tower after the craziest few hours I had ever know. So I knew I could cope, just.

Along the way I passed some huge mounds - hills really - which I assume must be left over from something industrial ... Slag heaps? Maybe not. It was very muddy through there! Negotiating black sludge. Later on, when I thought Auchy au Bois would never come, being the penultimate village, I came to a dead end as a bridge was in the middle of being rebuilt. I carried on minding my footing as I didn't want to retrace my footsteps quite so far.

...

Thought I had caught a chill. Probably mild hypothermia? So hastily to bed. Four layers of various, hopefully dry, clothes, two duvets and woolly hat. Two radiators drying my wet items. From five until seven. At nine my clothes are dried, boots too and waxed, Robinson Crusoe is getting very exciting and I feel better. Had very little to eat since two bananas in Thérouanne, but I don't need anything until the morning. I hope Collete, my host this Saturday night, will provide coffee and bread - or in the village there is a magasin? Tomorrow is dimarche and very little occurs at a petite village in rural France. Good night sweet world.

...

Finished today! Walked through a few mining towns and am now in a village attached to Bruay la Buissière. My guest tells me tomorrow the destination is closed currently. So I will head to Arras, do my laundry and refresh. I think I've passed 100 kms already. But today I really had no strength at all to walk the 20kms over hills through shit splattered roads. The Bar Tabac in Auchel, where I thought to stop for a coffee and two bananas was really busy with people on PMU, scratching lottery cards and drinking wine; it was 10:15. They all looked grey, washed out. Such dead ends. To get a coffee in France there are only these state sanctioned gambling, drinking and eating establishments. My bed tonight is with Mrs Jones, 38 rue Benjamin Peret.