The lonely malnourished Spanish man who lives br by himself in a house without a kitchen practising br Franciscan-learnt Latin; the lonely widow offering br Nicholas Shrady a walking stick, the poor people in br Bosnia relying on apparitions of the Virgin Mary br for an income, the bloated corpses in the Ganges br br Lonely hamlets in India where people live and die br without ever learning to read and write, the young br boys with rotting teeth working like pack animals; br the learned young man in Jerusalem who could not br find a job due to his Palestinian Christian descent – br br Impressed by a true pilgrimage, Nicholas Shrady’s br ability to travel on foot – relying along the way on br strangers for accommodation and food, br br Seeing so much misery, so much hatred and bigotry, br criminal banditry and decadence – and yet still read br his religious books as he lay down at night; Bible, br Koran, Vedas, balanced by Gerald Manley Hopkins’ br poetry… br br Trying my best to cheer up again, sad images br stuck in my mind… br br “Sacred Roads” by Nicholas Shrady; Penguin br Books 2000br br Margaret Alicebr br