Haywards Heath, Sussex: 45-year old Peter Bainbridge thinks that "being a monk would be really cool", based solely on watching old episodes of Cadfael on DVD. The popular drama ran on ITV from 1994 to 1998, thrilling audiences of up to 9 million with its tales of murder and intrigue – set in a twelfth century abbey.
"The thing is, people don’t realise he’s not just some stuffy old monk", Peter enthused, ".he’s actually an ex-soldier and womaniser – turned Benedictine monk. So you see, there’s a lot of moral conflict there – I mean, this guy was there at the fall of Antioch! He settled there with other crusaders, and met Mariam, a young Syrian. They fell deeply in love, but it only lasted one year, as Cadfael was forced to leave her to take part in the siege of Jerusalem.
Most people don’t know he was just 20 years old when Jerusalem fell, serving as a man-at-arms under Robert of Normandy. But before leaving, he returned for a brief while to Mariam, before finally sailing off. Unknown to him, this brief encounter lead to a son – now how many monks can say that?
As a sailor, Cadfael travelled around the Mediterranean, before finally, years later, he returned to England. He had grown tired of his wandering existence and a chance encounter with a Benedictine Prior finally pointed out to him the direction his life would now take, and he decided to join the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Shrewsbury. Now, I’ll think you’ll agree, this isn’t some dull old man. This guy really lived. He’s like a twelfth century Colin Farrell, for God’s sake!"
It doesn’t end there, though. "All that stuff’s just a preamble", Peter snorted. "When Caddy got to the abbey, that’s where the crazy stuff really started. He used his special powers gained in the army and navy to solve the slew of murders that were happening around Shrewsbury. That place was worse than Compton back then! No, seriously, it actually had a worse crack problem (?)
Anyway, I don’t know why so many people have such a downer on being a monk. I mean, you get to solve crimes all the time. It’s true! It’s a little known fact that whenever the police are snowed under, they put a call in to the local abbey and get some spare monks on the case. Nine times out of ten, their holy detective work results in a conviction. No, that’s not just in Cadfael.
And it’s not as if Monks don’t know how to have any fun! I mean sure, there’s the whole chastity thing, but I’m doing that anyway!
Seriously, when night falls and they’ve said all their prayers, the abbey really starts to rock! They could show the so-called "Met Bar" a thing or two. You’ve got people knocking back the mead, while scantily clad nuns bring round platters of Holy Communion. And if it all gets too much, there are chill out areas where you can read the good book and just take a load off. It’s true, someone told me".
While Peter seriously considers becoming a monk, there is one misconception about Cadfael that really makes his blood boil: "I hate it when people think he was some Franciscan or Trappist. They’re just so ignorant".
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