St Catherine's Chapel at Abbotsbury seems different on every visit. The weather is an aspect of that: on this occasion (Bank Holiday Monday) it was bright, but not especially warm. Lots of people were about, and a couple of children stumbled in while I was in the middle of the Office Hymn. As I left I could hear them trying out the famous acoustic: perhaps they wouldn't have, had they not heard me. The other changing aspect is the prayers people leave in the wall niches. There were two little stones decorated with Ukraine hearts, a range of love tokens ('we were engaged here 14.2.2022'), prayers of remembrance, and some heartache: 'I wish I had a child', read one. Although none of the prayers address St Catherine by name at the moment (that has been a trend in the past, but I've not observed it for some time), one either unwittingly or by design picked up on the traditional use of the chapel: 'Dear God/Universe, whatever. Please can I meet my love. I think I'm ready now.'
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