» After much planning was the opening and blessing last Sunday of the new war memorial and Douai Room in the equally new cricket pavilion on our former school's prinicpal playing field. While the monastery still owns the field, it has been leased to the Douai Park Recreation Association which undertook to rebuild the decrepit war memorial cricket pavilion. Old Dowegians contributed to the appeal to finance this and they also fitted out a room upstairs to honour the old school. It houses a display of old school sporting uniforms, trophies and honour boards, and a screen playing a film remembering the school made by an Old Dowegian, Jonathan Kight. A huge marquee was erected for the day and a splendid lunch, with music, laid on by the Douai Society for the gathered old boys and monastic community. It was the largest ever single gathering of old boys, with well over 200 in attendance. Later in the afternoon a cricket match was played between the old boys of Douai and Downside.
» The bustle of the last few weeks has given way to some relative calm. Yesterday the last of the end of year services for regional schools was held, being the Downland group of ten schools who farewelled their leavers. There have been two large weddings in the abbey church, as well as concerts and school visits, including the last (yesterday) of the regular visits throughout the school term of pupils from the London Oratory School; the last until the new school year, that is.
» Last Friday Fr Hugh drove into central London to collect a number of sacristy items donated by the Faithful Companions of Jesus in Somers Town, who are renovating their convent. They offered a friendly welcome, and are currently blessed with two young novices. We thank the sisters for their generous and useful donations. We thank also, and pray for, those who have donated to the Sacristy Fund and The Douai Magazine, with a trickle of donations still coming in.
