Marygate House Holy Island

09/09/2026

Island thoughts from Frances: Hmm, I'm going to stick my neck out here... As I was leaving the Island the other day, these clouds were forming overhead and I thought: 'That's a mackerel sky'; am I right?
It's a useful cloud formation, "Mackerel sky, mackerel sky. Never long wet and never long dry". In other words, a mackerel sky denotes changeable weather.
You may have noticed; after a while it dawned on me (!), that I take an awful lot of photos of the sky here. Well, there is an awful lot of it. Here, for sure, the words of Psalm 19 are clear:
"The heavens are telling the glory of God."
They also, though, tell of the weather we're having and the weather to come. Mackerel skies precede low pressure (which, in this country, generally gives us alternating times of rain and sunshine). Just what we need at the end of this hot, dry Summer.
It's easy to say that God provides; our grass will recover, we will catch up our sleep and before Winter ends we'll be thinking longingly of hot Summer days.
For places like Nepal, now only searching for those lost in the landslide rather than any alive, the heavens are telling a much more frightening story.
I'm not sure how much more we can do, here at Marygate House, to help a more sustainable future at present. We are looking to install solar panels and a battery come the refurbishment. Shortly, we will be launching an appeal to take this forward. Now, it's not an added extra to our scheme for a smarter Marygate House, it's our collective future which, in our small way, the world depends on.

08/09/2026

Island thoughts from Frances: Do you celebrate your birthday with a cake? Or do you not celebrate it at all?! My great nephew has always loved trains, so a Thomas the Tank Engine cake absolutely made his 4th birthday.
Today. the Church remembers the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It would be little short of miraculous if this day happens to really BE her birthday, so why do we remember her on this day at all?
Well, I guess the first reason is that, having a birth day, she seems more real to us, less like the plaster saint Mary can at times become.
The second reason in more mystical, though. In the Celtic calendar, there are two feast days called 'Mary in Harvest' (as well as one, 'Mary in Lent'- the feast of the Annunciation; and 'Mary in Winter', the feast of her conception). The first Mary in Harvest feast is of her death or 'falling asleep' when she returns to her Son's side; this is the beginning of the Harvest. Today, her birthday, is the second 'Mary in Harvest' day. Harvest is not only about ingatherings and endings (the ending of Summer, the end of the crop cycle), but also about fresh beginnings as a portion of this year's crop will be put aside to sow next year (or later this year to over-winter) to begin the cycle of life again.
Today, we remember that Mary had a Birthday (whenever that was!); that she began life, grew, changed, matured, took on challenges, was loved and loved in turn. It is through her that the Son, Jesus, was born who daily renews the earth.

07/09/2026

Island thoughts from Frances: Swallows filled the air and covered rooftops yesterday morning as the dogs and I went for our first walk of the day. I was pondering on Courage as I saw them. A number of you commented on Catherine's courage last Friday when she let you know that she feels her time here has come to an end; and I fully agree. Catherine's courage, to travel from London and a civil service background to living full time on an Island and taking on a multi-tasking job has always, it seems to me, to have been a courageous decision. Leaving also seems courageous; I watched the swallows prepare for their incredible journey to South Africa, leaving the Island space for Winter birds to arrive, tired and hungry, and thought that the world is made up of quiet courage.
However much one thinks one knows about the job applied for, starting a new post is always stressful, challenging. And no job is exactly as you were sold it on the advert! Pretty soon the more challenging side comes to the fore. Then there's the new colleagues to get to know; and to work out how best to work together for everyone's good, and for the good of the work. There's an extra layer here though: Those who come to work at Marygate House as deputy warden need to live on site: That not only means moving house, but being prepared to live with a very small community of people who, twice a day for long periods, are cut off from the world.
I guess that's why the first thing God always says when speaking directly to a mortal (either as a voice or an angel) is: Do not fear. Gabriel says it to Mary, God says it to Moses... I'm sure you can think of countless other times.
And maybe you might want, today, to think about encounters in the Bible when God says, 'Do not fear'; and the one that sticks in your mind? Perhaps that's the one through which God is speaking with you. Is there any situation at the moment where you need to hear God say to you, 'Do not fear.'?

04/09/2026

Island thoughts from Catherine: Yesterday's post gave you the good news amongst the outcomes of my period of dieting in the second half of August - it worked and I've lost weight. And now here's the bad news, or at least news which is difficult to convey. Over recent months I've come to the realisation that my role as Deputy Warden at Marygate just isn't right for me, nor am I right for it. My diet, though brought on by less spiritual reasons, served the same purpose as a fast might, of making me spend more time in prayer and listening to God, and brought a conclusion to many months of struggling in the role. And so I'm leaving, actually feeling confident that God has lined up not only provision for me, but really brilliant provision for Marygate House. I'm here until the first week of October, so I'll still see many of you who are due to visit between now and then. And I'm due to do another set of these Island thoughts in a few weeks time, which is where I'll do any reflecting about what I've learned and what I've received through living and working at Marygate and on Holy Island (a lot). But I just wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know, as you've been kind enough to follow these posts and encourage my journey.

03/09/2026

Island thoughts from Catherine: When you read this I shall actually be away in Aberdeen, taking a couple of long-arranged days off, and sampling the local cafes.
So think of me kindly if you will, in Aberdeen, exploring at first hand what a town living through the decline of the oil industry looks like, one cafe at a time. A baking tip: the cake in the picture is by Becky Excell, who has a terrific website on gluten free cooking and her cakes are incredible. I've tried two of her cake recipes and they come out exactly as described and you'd never know they were gluten free. I made this chocolate fudge cake for a social event during August...

02/09/2026

Island thoughts from Catherine: I've been struggling this week to make my posts very much about Marygate House..... well, here is my attempt to redress that! On Monday/Tuesday we had a rare 24 hours without any guests. That hasn't happened for many weeks, and it's not going to happen again until the end of October. Marygate under Frances' leadership has come such a long way since 2023 when the house was rarely full, and even in high summer there were many days and even a couple of whole weeks, with no guests at all. That seems unimaginable now, when we wave goodbye to one full house of guests in the morning, then run around cleaning and washing towels before greeting the new group coming in at 4pm. So what did we do with this rare moment of quiet? We re-waxed the dining room tables! It reminded me how old and unfit I am, all the buffing completely exhausted me.... but look how lovely and shiny they are! I thought I'd add a picture now, taken on Monday just after I'd finished, because they won't stay looking like that for long! If you're a regular guest, I hope it's a nice reminder for you of previous fellowship round the dinner table here. And to those who haven't stayed yet, you will be very welcome to the table here. However shiny they are when empty, they are much better for the addition of food; and... you.

01/09/2026

Island thoughts from Catherine: Yesterday I wrote about the ministry of St Aidan, our Island Saint. As well as patience and humility, generosity was a notable mark of his character. He would generally give away to the poor anything which came his way through his association with the king and other noblemen of the time - including once a horse! It immediately put me in mind of the life of a Christian woman separated by many centuries but marked by the same gift of generosity. Alice Battenberg was born in the late 19th century. She was of noble, in fact royal, birth but was born deaf and later diagnosed with mental health problems and incarcerated shortly after her marriage, with her children taken away. Once released, she became a nun and lived in Greece despite war and huge political upheaval. She is recognised has having sheltered many Jewish refugees during the war, and lived a life caring for the poor. Her wealthy relatives would send her food and money, but eventually stopped in frustration because everything they sent her, she immediately gave away to those in more need. When in her old age she became too ill to continue, her son - yes, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh - had her brought to live out her days in Buckingham Palace, where she largely kept to her room in a life of continual prayer. When I think about how God worked in the life of our late queen and her husband, I can never separate this from wondering how much was an answer to the prayers of this amazing woman for her son.

31/08/2026

Island thoughts from Catherine: Today is the feast of St Aidan, 31 August. Yesterday there was a themed service at St Mary's church on Holy Island, and there have been concerts by a visiting choir. I suppose elsewhere in the UK, St Aidan doesn't really get much attention, but he's very big here. The things that everybody says about his ministry are that it was characterised by humility and generosity, and the patience to stop and spend time talking with everyone he passed on the road. I admire those qualities, probably because I don't share them myself. I fear that I bear closer resemblance to Corman, that much-derided predecessor from the same monastery on Iona as Aidan, who was the first person sent out to England to evangelise the British. Apparently Corman was arrogant and impatient and had no success at all, eventually reporting back to Iona that the British were not open to the gospel, at which point Aidan stepped up and came instead with his different approach. Well, here on St Aidan's day, I'm going to transgress by paying tribute to Corman instead. It was probably not news to him that his interpersonal skills weren't that great, but still he had the faith that if he stepped out then God would still use him. Imagine his courage to be the first to set out to evangelise this foreign land, his zeal for the gospel which made him the first to volunteer (here I am, send me). I wonder if he ever recovered in this life from the sense of failure and shame as he returned empty handed, only to see Aidan follow and succeed. I believe firmly that no effort for God's kingdom is ever wasted; and that sometimes efforts which appear to fail are very valuable as they break new ground, for someone else to come and plant later. I love to think of God's welcome for Corman in heaven - "well done, good and faithful servant".

29/08/2026

How about a gentle read for the August bank holiday( or later, if you've just found us)? Dip into our September newsletter!

Contents

28/08/2026

Thoughts from Rachael: Thank you so much to Steve who messaged me on my last post to say that St Abbs is actually named after a different St Ebba (she was in fact St Ebba the Elder). See this is why Facebook can be useful! Thank you Steve!
Actually, my friend and I did pop into Coldingham on the way back from St Abbs and we did find the lovely ruins of the nunnery by the church - and what a place of peace and contentment this site is! I definitely will visit again to properly take in the information and the history. At the time, I think I was flagging (and slightly sunburnt - to be honest it had been pretty chilly when I left Holy Island, so I hadn't expected it to be so scorchingly hot - note to self, HI weather is not a reliable forecast for the mainland!)
Coldingham had lots of lovely tiny little lanes of the main road, one which eventually led to this idyllic scene I took, the scene was of two chairs outside a lovely cottage. I thought to myself 'yes, that is a perfect scene of domestic bliss, just imagine sitting there with a loved one with a cup of hot coffee and a freshly baked pastry.' Of course, such moments are not always that idyllic, but it did strike me as something quite beautiful which I think we all strive for.
Meanwhile, there is also a delightful vintage/antique shop in Coldingham. I was very tempted to part with cash over a lovely bespangled mirror but decided against it in the end. I shall however visit the shop again - and will also check out more about the history of the area, including more about St Ebba the elder.
Did I mention that I might be a good candidate for working for local tourism!? I think I'd be good game for it!