Video transcript
This is Ampleforth Abbey high in the hills of Yorkshire, where on June the 6th, 1983, my attitude to life
changed completely and this is how it all started:
I looked into the mirror
Piercing the gloom
The misery I saw there
Was reflected on the room
How could I be that lazy?
Was this woman really me?
They'd say that I was crazy
It's schizophrenia see
Praise God those days are over
And the pain of guilt is gone
For a weight is off my shoulder
And I can carry on
Lone parent with six children
Sofa of rat grey fur
I couldn't face the morning
Couldn't go down the stairs
Suddenly there a was fire
We had to get outside
The flames were growing higher
When a neighbour took the child
Policemen came then firemen
Who threw the sofa out
When in came my neighbour
With a new and wonderful couch
Christmas soon was on us
With a sparkly Christmas tree
I will never forget my neighbour
And the beautiful red settee
Now I can do the dishes
And clean the kitchen bin
I can wash the windows
To let the sunshine in
For I am at peace
Even though I know
Like waves upon the ocean
Troubles come and go
I found God's love and peace
At the abbey of Ampleforth
And people find it still
At their local Alpha course
Born in 1932, of kindly parents, I always had negative views of life, till at the age of forty I had a complete
breakdown. At my first visit to Ampleforth on the 6th of June, '83, three parishioners prayed with me. Next
morning I wanted to dance with joy for my symptoms had completely left me and I felt as if I had come out
of the dark, damp pit into the glorious sunshine and these now are my golden years.
