Season’s Greetings from Nunraw (and O Street)
A graphic scavenge through a curious old bookshop yielded this treasure: bits of 1980s Christmas programmes from the Sancta Maria Abbey in Nunraw.
From a graphic standpoint, it’s a goldmine: digitised black letter typography (which we redrew for our Christmas letters, printed by Risotto), forgotten photography and lo-fi print techniques we tend to drool over these days.
The best this find has to offer though, are the stories. There’s a bookie who became a prior. In 1985, the guesthouse received a dish wash-up unit. Best (or worst) of all, there’s the story of Father Gerr Lynch.
“Fr Lynch of the Cathedral stayed at the guesthouse while waiting for a place in the a retirement home. He was celebrating his farewell Mass. In the introduction said it was his ‘swan song’, he asked pardon of everyone for his short-comings, gave a homily concluding with a short consecration to Our Lady and at the Communion carefully placed the chalice back on the altar and collapsed and died. He was indeed prepared and could not have asked for a better re-routing of that day’s journey to his new home.”
This Christmas, we’re raising a glass to Father Lynch. If only we’d be so lucky as to drop dead moving type around a screen. Season’s Greetings and lots of love from the O Street family.
