Charmaine J. Forde

We attended the 9.30 Easter service in St Albans Cathedral which, as we had been advised the previous day, was spiritual and communal. There were processions and presenting of ‘The Book’ and speaking the word, which is moving to experience.

Between the two-morning services, bubbles, juice and tea were served in the Cathedral’s Welcome Centre to celebrate Easter. Whilst this was taking place, children were encouraged to find laminated eater egg tokens that were hidden inside the Cathedral. These could then be exchanged for a real Easter Egg. Before leaving the Cathedral we lit candles next to St Albans shrine then shook hands with the Bishop as we entered the Welcome Centre.

Afterwards we walked to Wetherspoons for a late breakfast/brunch. I was looking forward to a small vegetarian breakfast to which I had added a couple of extra items. Unfortunately, when Mr C placed the order he forgot to say ‘small’. For the second day running I was overfaced with a large breakfast. Mr C’s breakfast arrived minus some items he was expecting so I was able to offload some of my excess to him.

The weather was gloriously sunny allowing us to enjoy our walk to Verulamium Park where we viewed the Roman mosaic and hypocaust. We continued our walk along the river stopping for a Mr Whippy ice cream that we enjoyed whilst sitting on a bench watching the swans that were settled nearby. A boisterous dog ran towards them, unsettling them and causing them to scatter into the water for safety.

We returned to the Cathedral shop where I was in a better frame of mind to enjoy what was on offer rather than thinking of a gift for mum. I found a lovely glass heart to add to my collection of hearts which hangs on the wall next to my computer.

We walked back into town for a cuppa, in my case Elderflower presse from the museum teashop which we enjoyed in the old courtroom seating area. After which we had a mooch around The Works book shop before returning to the hotel to chill out.

We arrived back at the hotel to find that it had only just been serviced and wasn’t quite in order. The pedal bin hadn’t been put back together and there were no biscuits! A few minutes later there was a knock on our door, it was the housekeeping supervisor asking if our room had been serviced to our satisfaction. We pointed out the couple of issues which he rectified immediately leaving us with extra biscuits which we much appreciated. I told him he was spoiling us.

Later we dined in Bar Meze where the owner came to say hello and remembered us from our previous visit in November 2024. The food was just as good as our previous visit, although on this occasion we slightly over ordered.

We returned to The Cock and our usual seats in the bar area for a nightcap. On the way back to the hotel I photographed a scarf that was in a shop window near to the hotel. I had been eyeing it up every time we walked to and from town, but due to Easter the shop was closed for the duration of our stay in St Albans. I took the photograph in the hopes that I could buy it for the shop to post to me…

We had a lazy start to the morning and walked to the other side of town to have breakfast in The Street Café.

I was hoping to have the ‘tomatoes on bruschetta with herbs and balsamic vinegar’ that I had in November last year when we had breakfast there. It wasn’t on the menu this time so it took me a while to choose from the menu. Eventually I settled for a chicken schnitzel and fried egg waffle with a drizzle of maple syrup. I thought that it would be smaller than a full English breakfast. I was wrong, the portion was enormous!

After breakfast we slowly wound our way to the Cathedral, browsing around shops along the way. We picked up a bargain £1 cook book from W H Smiths; Sirocco Fabulous Flavours from the East by Sabrina Ghayour. Its pages promise some tasty food adventures.

Mr C returned to the hotel to drop off his rucksack along with the cookbook and other purchases he had made whilst I waited in the Cathedral Garden. Before visiting the Cathedral, we shared a tuna and cucumber baguette in the Cathedral café.

Due to it being Easter, the cathedral wasn’t as tranquil as it had been on our previous visit. People everywhere caused Mr C to nearly knock me over near to the altar in the Lady Chapel. Thankfully the altar rail saved me from falling over backwards.

Before leaving the cathedral, I browsed the gift shop thinking to buy a gift for mum but I wasn’t sure I could choose a gift that she wouldn’t reject due to her current state of mind so I left empty handed.

We were unsure of the difference between the two Easter morning services so we asked one of the guides who referred to the Easter service leaflet as I had done. She was as puzzled as I was and went to seek the advice of a Verger who clarified that the earlier service was the one to attend if you were seeking a more spiritual experience.

We wandered back through town to have afternoon tea and cake in Café Roma where I chose blueberry bakewell and elderflower presse. The sunshine was so lovely we decided to visit Wetherspoons for a drink which we enjoyed in a sunny window, chilling out before returning to the hotel to chill out some more.

We dined in L’Italiana where I chose chicken in tomato sauce with olives. The food was just as good as our previous visit; we were even served by the same waiter.

We decided to have a post dinner drink in Wetherspoons. When we arrived, we were informed by one of several bouncers that there was a queue to get in. The queue was not obvious as is it snaked around the venue and away from outside gate which is the main entrance to the venue. The queue was ‘very’ long and we were not prepared to wait to get into a pub.

We walked the short distance to The Cock which we had visited on our previous stay in St Albans. The same few seats as last time were vacant so it felt like home from home.

Luke 11:9

Pericles

This font holds water for baptisms. Baptism marks the start of the Christian life, when someone becomes a follower of Jesus Christ. A prist blesses the water and pours it over the person’s head as a symbol of this new faith.

The font was made in 1934 and its huge cover shows the four gospel writers who tell the story of Jesus in the Bible. the large Paschal (Easter) Candle often stands nearby – a new one is lit every Easter Eve. This was the traditional time for baptisms but now adults and children are baptised throughout the year.*

*From an information board next to the font.

This enormous pair of doors once stood at the main entrance to the church at the far west end of the Nave. They date from the 1400s when the church was at the centre of England’s leading abbey.

The doors were opened wide for religious processions. For everyday use, monks and visiting pilgrims used the small door-within-a-door. Huge iron nails in a pattern hold together the layers of oak panelling. Wood was skilfully carved on the outer surface to creat elegant decoration.*

*from a signboard next to the doors

In 1989 Laporte industries of Luton celebrated their centenary by funding its reglazing. The designer, Alan Younger, interpreted the concentric circles of the universe, with the earth in the centre and triangular areas of colour used to suggest the infusion of spirit into matter. The window was unveiled by Diana, Princess of Wales.

St Albans Cathedral is the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain. It stands over the place where Alban, the first British martyr, was buried after giving his life for his faith over 1,700 years ago.

The building’s amazing mixture of architectural styles bears witness to the many centuries of its life, first as a monastic Abbey and now as a Cathedral. Down all those centuries countless pilgrims have come to honour Saint Alban and offer prayers at his shrine – and they continue to do so today.

The present Cathedral was begun in 1077, using Roman bricks from the ruined city of Verulamium. The massive 11th century bell tower is the only remaining example of its type. The Cathedral has the longest nave in England where you can also see outstanding medieval wall paintings.