Almshouse resident (85) heading for Sutherland on ‘Brother on a Bus’ tour
An 85-year-old resident of a medieval almshouse will be travelling across Sutherland as part of a nationwide road trip using his bus pass.
Brother John Green has embarked on the six-week journey to raise awareness of the Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty in Winchester, Hampshire.
He set off on May 1 and according to his current schedule he is likely to reach Thurso on May 21 before heading along the north coast of Sutherland.
Almshouses are the UK’s oldest form of charitable housing and Brother John is also raising funds for St Cross, where he has lived for about 10 years. More than £3000 has been pledged so far through a “Brother on a Bus” JustGiving page.
Brother John said: “We’ve had difficulty finding people to come here, so I thought I’d raise a bit of publicity. It’s a wonderful place.”
St Cross is said to be England’s oldest charitable institution. It was founded around 1132, so is seven years away from its 900th anniversary.
There are places for 25 brothers, over the age of 65, each of whom has a self-contained flat. Brothers wear a black robe, a black trencher hat and a silver badge in the shape of the Cross of Jerusalem.
Brother John is travelling from Monday to Friday across England, Scotland and Wales, spending the weekends resting and writing updates. He has arranged accommodation for most of his stops.
He told the Hampshire Chronicle: “It is going to be interesting, I think, particularly because I am going to meet all sorts of people. It will be fun.”
The first leg of his journey was completed in a vintage bus. He was waved off by a group of well-wishers including other brothers and the mayor of Winchester.
A statement on the fundraising page explains that Brother John is “known for his bookbinding skills, volunteer work and boundless energy”. It adds that he will be “interviewing fellow travellers, highlighting sites of historic interest and blogging weekly reflections”.
He is due to complete the tour on June 17 when he returns to Winchester.
King Charles, who has been a patron of the Almshouse Association since 1992, has offered his good wishes.
