Home from a successful, entertaining and educational Celtic Annual Meeting, or as we often refer to it as our Spring Fling.

Kate, Felisha and I left for St.  Charles at 8AM on Friday.   We figured we would get there by noon but St. Charles is a hard place to fine.   My Garmin did not even recognize the name.  Then there was the quest for the Hotel Baker.  I found that trip discouraging.    We finally arrived shortly before 1PM and were in time for the noon board meeting which had been put off to accommodate some other late comers.  

It was a busy afternoon beginning with the board meeting.  We met for a reception at the Hotel Baker and then proceeded across the street to McNally's Traditional Irish Pub for dinner.   Back at the hotel, a few of us intrepid souls gathered in Gail's room for a bit of wine, snacks and Bailey's.

Saturday morning we had our Annual meeting and installation of new Directors and Officers.    Following the meeting and a short break our member Maureen Smith gave us a lecture on Accessing Works of History,Literature and Arts Online.    With Tons of Sites to explore.   Janet said, something like oh great, now we will never get any sleep.

Lunch was at the Hotel Baker which is an historic hotel.    It is lovely but our bathroom was just plain inconvenient.

The lunch was good.   The sandwich I ordered was a Portabella mushroom sandwich.   I was surprised at two things.   1.  It was cold.   But the mushroom was delicious so that was OK.   However 2.  It was on a croissant which had been refrigerated and refrigerated crousants are really gicky.     However (again) the dessert was wonderful.    A scoop of ice cream with a lava cake.   Let me tell you this, Jim, so you can tinker with your recipe.    The "lava"  had a black cherry background, maybe cherry liquor in the filling?  It was SO good.

Our afternoon program was entitled Irish Round Towers and Today's Gardner, presented by a farme, Bill Scheffler.   I have a lot of studying to do with that.

We were on our own after that until about 7:30 when we walked across the street again, this time to the Steel Beam Theater to enjoy The Seafarer by Colon Mc Pherson.   I was up for Tony awards around 2006 and was SO good.    It was a typical kind of dark rough Irish play but as Maureen Smith said, she finally saw an Irish Play with a happy ending.    We loved it.

Today we had out Scattering Ceremony at 9AM at the Hotel, then Kate, Felicia and me went to St. Patrick Catholic Church down the street for Mass.   Lovely Mass and we talked to some people after the service.   I gave my card to a lovely young Conner girl who was at Mass with her sister and Dad.   The three of us then went downstairs as the church must have known we were coming and were serving donuts and coffee in the downstairs hall.      We sat with some of the parishioners and had a fun time with them before we headed out.    This time the Garmin worked and as there was less traffic and a much shorter area being worked on a Sunday, we made it home by 4PM.

I am exhausted but feel very good about the weekend and the experiences I had and the people I spent that time with.

I presented a short biography of St. Maughold, the patron saint of the Isle of Man at the scattering ceremony along with a piece of Brigid Cloth and the legend of Brat Bhride for them.

Dia Dhuit

Mary

Here is the story of the saint.   

ST. MAUGHOLD OF THE ISLE OF MAN

(Died c.488)

(Also known as Macaille,, Maccaldus, Machalus, Machaoi, Machella, Maghor, Mawgan, Maccul, Macc Cuill)

FEAST DAY

APRIL 27

(Formerly December 28, and sometimes listed as April 25, August 15. or November 15)

Legend says that Maughold was an Irish prince and also the captain of a band of thieves.

He was converted by St. Patrick himself. The tale goes that he tried to make a fool of St Patrick. He placed one of his crew, living of course, in a shroud than called for Patrick to bring the man back to life. Patrick came, placed a hand on the shroud and departed. When Maughold and his crew opened the shroud, the man was dead. A friend of Maughold, named Connor, rushed to Patrick and apologized. Patrick returned, baptized the assembled men and blessed the deceased who immediately arose and was himself baptized. Then Patrick read Maughold the riot act, telling him that he should be helping his men lead good lives and told him that he had to make up for his evil.

St. Patrick put him in a coracle, a small, round boat lined with skins, and set him adrift. He landed on the Isle of Man and was greeted by Conindrus and Romulus, Patrick's disciples on Man. The story adds that upon landing he was to fetter his feet and throw the key in the ocean. The two disciples found him worthy and he was eventually ordained. Shortly after his ordination the keys to his fetters were found in the belly of a fish, He was appointed bishop when the two disciples died.

He was known for his kindness to the Manx people. Many sites around the island bear his name.

Apparently, there is no special celebration of the saint on the Isle of Man or anywhere else. Perhaps because of the fact that he seems to have five possible feast days and even more names.