Halloween

Halloween customs in Scotland in my childhood days !! consist chiefly of children going door to door "guising" dressing up and offering entertainment of various sorts in return for gifts. Mainly apples and some small coins (which I used to buy fireworks for Guy Fawks Night Nov.5th.) We would practice for days before hand whatever we had decided to sing, recite


We children were invariably dressed up as something supernatural or spooky or whatever the "fad" of the year might be !! as I said we had to do some entertainment usually consisting of singing, telling a poem or joke etc. My costume would always be home made and very easy.. we always only went to neighbours doors where we were known, although we were sure and certain that they did not reconise us !!!

We don't 'trick' you if you do not give, as in America. (However, after the showing of ET in the early 80s, the influence of American "trick or treating" seems to have become more prevelant at least in England.) I alwasy caried a hollowed out turnip with candle in it I can still remember the smell of thse turnips with the burning candle inside. I had never heard about Pumpkins.... ever.......

At church we always had a Halloween party often consisted of various games, for instance 'Dooking fur aiples' where we had to bite apples floating in a basin of water, once we had one by the teeth we could retreive and obtain it.

For younger children an easier game was 'Forkin fur aiples', an easier task, where the children stood on a chair and held a fork handle in their teeth, taking aim, they would release it into the basin of apples and water and retreive and keep any apple they so skewered. Another game was 'treacle scones' where children had to eat a scone covered in treacle hanging on a piece of string. This one we all loved...I can just imagine my Mothers face when we went home covered in sticky treacle !!

Today many if not all churches seem to be trying to stop the halloween celebrations...apparently it was supposed to be all about black magic whatever is that I would have been asking ??? Oh for the innocent days of long ago...

So there you are that is my memories of Halloween...



So Long as we LOVE ONE ANOTHER....we will all be safe xxx

change clocks, netbooks,

Hello Friends,
TodayI was thinking about changing our clocks...we did it last weekend and I know my friends in the US do it this week and I wondered if you ever forget to adjust your clock?
How many of you wondered why we have to adjust our clocks forward one hour near the start of spring and backwards one hour in autumn? It’s not because we have to synchronize with any astronomical time or calendar (as it is the case with leap years), it’s simply because someone thought that more daylight would significantly improve many aspects of our lives.

An early goal of summertime was to reduce evening usage of incandescent lighting (formerly a primary use of electricity) by cutting one hour from the early morning, when most of the people were sleeping and adding it to the evening. Because modern electricity uses different patterns, adding daylight to afternoons is considered nowadays to be more beneficial for retailing, sports, and other activities that exploit sunlight after working hours. Traffic fatalities and crime are supposed to reduce when there is extra afternoon daylight, as well.
Even if saving daylight could be indeed beneficial, it is also sometimes confusing for all of us busy people out there. Did you ever forget to adjust your clock and found yourself running late or getting somewhere one hour ahead of schedule?
Last Sunday one of our older members arrived....and hour early...went home thinking that something was wrong....with everybody else !!!

I have had a busy two weeks, mostly driving friends to various hospital appointments etc. When not doing that Mary and I have had a wonderful time ...eating out...we had friends here for lunch on Tuesday which was lovely, they were actually Mary's friends but had not visited here before. It was a great pleasure to have them. Wednesday we were out for lunch with Sarah, John and another friend we had a nice meal in a lovely pub by the set by the canal unfortunatly the weather was not good enough for a little walk along to admire the many canal boats that are moored along the tow path. Friday we had our hair cut. My niece does Mary our neighbour Muriel and me all on the some morning, afterwards Mary and I did a supermarket shopping which included stopping for yet anoter lunch !! Today we went into Bath quite early so that we could park. Bath like most large towns in very difficult when it comes to parking, but we were quite lucky and managed to find the ideal spot. Before we came home Mary bought me a very early Christmas Present...a new notebook or netbook some people call it. It is really lovely. a bit different in size from my usual laptop but it will be wonderful when we go on holiday as it is so lightwight. I am very lucky.. to have such a friend...
Goodnight friends, never forget to
LOVE ONE ANOTHER....

Hello Friends, I am back again from my travels. I expect it will have been the last away time for this year. My eldest sister Margaret and I went over to Wales for a few days. It was Margaret who chose to go there as it is a particular favourite area of hers. The area we went to is called the Gower Coast and must be one of the least visisted tourist area, a real secret for those of us who know it. To get there involves a drive of aprox. 2 hours along the M4 from Bath to Swansea and then on to smaller and smaller roads until we arrive at a place called Llanmadoc. There we booked into a hotel for our 3 nights. Many many years ago my Mother and I bought a holiday caravan over there and we visited almost every week for about 6 years really whilst I was working, then we sold the caravan to my elsdest sister (when we moved out here from Bath) and in latter years she gave it to my my niece and her children. It was eventually sold about 3 years ago after very very happy times. I think the Gower is mostly unexplored as the lanes are very narrow and the hedges quite high and folks are not keen to drive if every wee while one comes across another car comming in the other direction...one sits there looking at each other wondering who is going to reverse first, to find a passing place. I don't think there are many roads in the US like our lanes..!! When we first went there on holiday there was one small village shop and a PO but they closed some time ago. It was lovely to see a new shop open up and having a chat to the people in it we discovered that it was actually a Village Store..people in the village had all subscribed to buying and opening the new shop and also to volunteer to serve in the shop. They did tea/coffees and had home made cakes..It was great as we sat outside the shop on the village green having our "coffe break" I do wish them every success. We visited the largest town in the area Swansea and had a window shopping time, also visited the famous indoor market which had been there for over 100 years. Not sure if they have them abroad either. It is a very very large building that is divided into fairly small sections and local people rent a table to sell their wares. There are two wonderful fish stalls with the moast amazing looking fish for sale, one or two butchers who had some gorgeous welsh lamb for sale...lots of fresh veg. stalls. One would wonder how they all pay, but I expect that each has it's own following of customers. there are plant stalls, and cake stalls,places to stop and have tea or even lunches. and many cheap clothes stalls, gift stalls, jewlery stalls,pet food stalls,and ones selling graft making things wool, sewing kits etc etc. some selling books new and second hand, and even a bible stall. It really is a fasinating place to visit full of unusual sights and smells. Along the coast from Swansea is an area called Mumbles. We stopped there and had a lovely walk along the sea front again amazed that the weather was warm enough for us to be sitting admiring the commings and goings of many little yachts and the occasion wind surfer.. All in all we had a lovey few days. So there you are a little it of Wales for you to enjoy.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

what do I see...

A friend regularily writes a shortish type of "daybook" most days and suggexted I might do the same so here goes.
Outside my window...It is quite frosty so roofs are all white it is also fairly misty but will soon lift as the sun gets to work.
I am thinking.... What should I pack to go with my sister for a few days away in Wales
I am thankful for....the fact that me wee dog Dee came in beside me this morning in bed around 5am..maybe he was feeling cold in his bed !
I am wearing....Navy trainers and trousers and wine coloured short sleeve jumper (the heating is on!!)
I am watching....Morning News on the TV and the weather which tells me we are going to have it nice today
I am going.....to pack a bag for three days in Wales
I am hoping....that my Sister will be in a happy mood next few days...
A favourite thing....my camera which hopefully will be in action over in Wales.
And so there you are that's me this early morning in the lovely village of Box.

Hello Friends,
I am sorry that I have been missing lately but I seem to have been having a rather busy period. I really will have to try and perhaps add something every day. I feel my life seems to be very repetitive and not really of much interest.. When I see how wonderfully my friends write their blogs I'm afraid I get a bit ashamed of my rather boring news....
I think last time I wrote I was about to go on a visit to Scotland. My sister Sarah, John and I drove up with only one stop for lunch and a couple of fuel stops. We left around 8am and arrived at my friends Graham and Fiona around 4pm not bad for around 350 miles. Thankfully the roads although busy had no hold ups at all which is a bit of a miracle in it's self !! I have known Graham and Fiona for for I suppose around 45 years sinse I started baby sitting for them and the three children. A lifelong friendship developed from that small beginning. The "children" are now of course all grown up the eldest 2 married with children of their own and the youngest not married...we still have hope for her !!..she works as a world ambassador for the Scotish Whisky Industry and is always on the go. I love her dearly unfortunately she was in Japan so we missed seeing her. We spent two nights with Graham and Fiona and we hardly stopped for breath as we caught up on all the news. From there we drove over to Elie a small seaside village in Fife near St. Andrews famous for the golf course and the University of course that Prince William attended. I have two very dear friends there both who are getting on in years. Jane the younger of the two has been very very ill for some time and her older Sister Meme is her main carer so it is good that we are able to go up and relieve Meme even if only for a few days. Meme was able with her nephew to go and visit her brother who lives near Oban on the West Coast of Scotland and also to have a day over on the isle of Mull where she had a house that she has now given over to her nephew, he is having it renovated and she was pleased to be able to see what was happening. On the Saturday afternoon Jane Sarah John and I went into St. Andrews to a very small theatre there called the "Byre" we saw a wonderful amatuer production of "Annie" It was great to be able to take Jane to see this, she was very tired afterwards but was happy to have been out of the house. We left Elie very early on Sunday morning just after 6.15am !! it was a good time to leave as the roads were nice and almost empty for the first few hours. Once again we managed to drive all the way home this time in record speed..
Mary was glad to see me back as was of course Dee.
Sinse we got back we have had some rater sad days as a two of our neighbours have died. Harry was 93 and had been in a nursing home for last 3 years but his dear wife Bridget still lives only three doors from us. His funeral was on Wednesday. Tomorrow we have yet another funeral. Brian a very dear neighbour who has brought our daily paper into us every day and had a wee chat, was diagnosed with cancer only 5 weeks ago. He and Marjory his wife only recently celebrated their 62nd. wedding anniversary. She will miss him so much, but she knows that we are just across the street and she can pop in any time. Can I also ask any who can to say a prayer from another dear friend Angie and her husband Brian, Angie also has cancer and seems to be very poorly. Angie was our minister for about a year two years ago, and today she was supposed to be back with us to help celebrate our chuches 175th.birthday anniversary. She was sadly missed.
Thats about it friends....sorry for the gloom and doom !!

LOVE ONE ANOTHER.