Queen Elizabeth.

I was wondering what I would write about tonight and just as I thought I would give it a miss and write another day I came across the above lovely picture of our Queen and underneath was the following statement

The Queen will mark the 59th anniversary of her accession to the throne by attending a traditional Sunday church service.

So it is 59 years since she had to come home from holidaying to begin her reign as our Queen.  what a responsibility it must have been for such a young woman and her husband.  Of course the crowning of the Queen did not occur till quite a while later as lots of arrangements had to be made.  I was only 7 at the time but can well remember the excitement of the coronation.  at school we were all given a mug with the queen on it, and a tin pencil case similarly decorated and containing small bars of chocolate !!  I wonder whatever happened to them, I expect the mug may have been broken but it seems strange not to have kept the pencil box...  what else do I remember.....oh yes we had a magnificent bonfire in the village at night.. Also it was almost the first time I had seen a television.   In Laws of the daughter of a friend of ours in the next village had a TV !! (they also had a small shop)and invited me to join them to watch the queen being crowned...to be honest I can't remember much about the actual crowning but what I do remember is that we had tea and sandwiches...and the sandwiches had tinned salmon in them  .....well....(as we still had rationing after the war)... I certainly had never seen salmon let alone eat it !! we also had cucumber ones !!!  To this day I can never each a salmon sandwich without recalling that day, I can almost "see" the interior of the house and the wee probably 10/12inch. television, black and white only of course, in the corner..  quite some time later the Queen was having her usual visit to Edinburgh and her car was due to pass through the village and all the children at school were lined along the main street, flags being carried and then......the car passed........what a disappointment...oh yes it was the Queen, but she didn't have her crown on...now to a child a Queen without a crown....was...well...not quite a Queen... Many many years have now passed and I have been fortunate to have met the Queen at a reception at Hollyrood House her Edinburgh home...and she still didn't have her crown on  LOL..but she was lovely.  I think the picture I have put on top today is a lovely one...

I hope you have enjoyed my little tale of nostalgia,,

I have had a very nice week, nothing dramatically has happened but it has been a quiet week weather wise and it is a delight to see the snowdrops nodding their little heads and even the odd yellow crocus, and even some tiny pink cyclamen showing themselves under the clematis that is also showing some buds.  I only hope that the dreaded heavy frost does not return and nip everything, it is early yet..I think maybe that the bulbs etc thought that after the very early snow and ice we had that that was the end of winter....Ah well we can always hope,,,

Today has been lovely as we were able to welcome a new member into our church, Eric has been coming to church with his wife who joined last year and has been wonderful in the background doing many maintenance things throughout the church and only now did he feel that he was able to commit himself to the church. It was such a great service by our fairly new lady minster Rachel Borgar.  I must write to our former minister (who came to us as a retired minister from Canada) to tell him as he was the one who encouraged Eric's wife Sandra to join us..  After church I came down and collected our neighbour Peter and we went to join Sarah, Beth, and Alex (Beth's stepson) for lunch at one of our favourite pubs the Quarrymans....why is it called the Quarrymans....that's a story for another day...

Goodnight to you all.    Remember always to  LOVE  ONE ANOTHER

 

Burns supper...

Good Evening friends,

Tomorrow will be a big occasion in Scotland and indeed in many other countries throughout the world it will be BURNS DAY. The day when some Scots celebrate the birth of Robert Burns. Suppers are help everywhere and most follow the same tradition that has been going on for many many years...Now as most of you know I am Scottish but I have a confession to make....I have never actually been to an oficial burns supper...I have had many many ordinary burns suppers...indeed I can hardly remember a year when we have not had the celebratory Haggis for lunch/dinner/supper....Tomorrow I will again be having my haggis. Sarah, Flick, (Sarah's friend) Mary and two or three other friends are joining me at a local pub for a burns lunch...Many of you will be already familiar with what goes on at a traditional supper but in case you are not I will write a bit about what actually goes on..and on ..and on...whilst usually the whisky flows !!!!

Piping in the guests


A big-time Burns Night calls for a piper to welcome guests. If you don't want all that baggage, some traditional music will do nicely. For more formal events, the audience should stand to welcome arriving guests: the piper plays until the high table is ready to be seated, at which point a round of applause is due. At a more egalitarian gathering - with no high table - the chair can simply bang on the table to draw attention to the start of the evening's proceedings.



Chairman's welcome

The Chair (host/organiser) warmly welcomes and introduces the assembled guests and the evening's entertainment.



The Selkirk Grace

A short but important prayer read to usher in the meal, The Selkirk Grace... Although the text is often printed in English, it is usually recited in Scots.



Some hae meat and canna eat,                               some have meat and cannot eat

And some wad eat that want it,                              and some would eat that want it

But we hae meat and we can eat,                          but we have meat and we can eat

And sae the Lord be thankit.                                 And so the Lord be thankful

                                           Piping in the haggis   

Guests should normally stand to welcome the dinner's star attraction, which should be delivered on a silver platter by a procession comprising the chef, the piper and the person who will address the Haggis. A whisky-bearer should also arrive to ensure the toasts are well lubricated.



During the procession, guests clap in time to the music until the Haggis reaches its destination at the table. The music stops and everyone is seated in anticipation of the address To a Haggis.



Address to the haggis

The honoured reader now seizes their moment of glory by offering a fluent and entertaining rendition of To a Haggis. The reader should have his knife poised at the ready. On cue, he cuts the casing along its length, making sure to spill out some of the tasty haggis within.

Warning: it is wise to have a small cut made in the haggis skin before it is piped in. Instances are recorded of top table guests being scalded by flying pieces of haggis when enthusiastic reciters omitted this precaution! Alternatively, the distribution of bits of haggis about the assembled company is regarded in some quarters as a part of the fun...

The recital ends with the reader raising the haggis in triumph during the final line Gie her a haggis!, which the guests greet with rapturous applause.

Toast to the haggis

Prompted by the speaker, the audience now joins in the toast to the haggis. Raise a glass and shout: The haggis! Then it's time to serve the main course with its traditional companions, neeps and tatties. In larger events, the piper leads a procession carrying the opened haggis out to the kitchen for serving; audience members should clap as the procession departs.

The meal

Served with some suitable background music, the sumptuous Bill o' Fare includes:-

Starter

Traditional cock-a-leekie soup;

Main course

Haggis, neeps & tatties (Haggis wi' bashit neeps an' champit tatties);Haggis mashed turnip and mashed potato

Sweet

Clootie Dumpling (a pudding prepared in a linen cloth or cloot) or Typsy Laird (a Scottish sherry trifle);

Cheeseboard with bannocks (oatcakes) and tea/coffee.

I have been reading in the national paper over here that there are moves afoot to get the regulations forbidding the export of Haggis to the USA changed so perhaps one day soon you will all be able to join with me in raising a glass to the Haggis   LOL

I am quite sure tomorrow up at the Quarryman's Arms none of us will be addressing ..the haggis...indeed I fully expect it will arrive on our plates without us even seeing the Haggis as a whole !!!     however there are some things that we will enjoy.  I am sure that Sarah will be reminding us of years long past when she and John used to make their own haggis...and of times they celebrated with the Flick and family and friends.

Goodnight Friends...... LOVE ONE ANOTHER


I had some great news this morning I have won a "give away" by my good friend Buttercup..do have a look at her wonderful blog    Buttercup Counts her Blessings...   you won't be diappointed

Outings, and new starts,,,

At Last....here I am well into 2011 and only now beginning to get back to normal...whatever that may be..   I have been reading lots of blogs and see that you have all had a good time over the festive season and some have been making New Year resolutions...wonder how many are still sticking to them.  I rarely ever make one as I know that within a few weeks I will be back into the old routine !!
Mary and I had a quiet start to the New Year..in fact after a drink or two early she went home and I actually went to bed just after 10pm.  I did get up again about 11.45 mainly to phone Sarah as I knew that she would be feeling particularly alone by herself for the first time at the start of a New Year. I called her just before midnight and so we were "together" as the old year went and the New Year arrived.  Afterwards as is the tradition I opened the doors to let the old year out and the new year in and then it was away to bed again !!    New Years day itself brought Margaret and Mitch over for the first meal of the year the usual steak pie etc . that went down well as always.  They did not stay too long as they wanted to go up and have a quick visit with Sarah ( Mary Peter and I had gone up early morning)  and so the year 2011 is now well on it's way.
    As the snow and ice have now gone I was able to get back to church and what a joy that was I had only missed three services but it seemed many more, it was great to see friends and exchange news.....Mary and I have been able to take a couple of trips into Bath...first time was a quick visit as I hadn't realised that the battery of my wheelchair was in need of a charge so we couldn't wander around as was the plan. However I did get to spend some vouchers in a lovely shop called Lakeland they sell mostly kitchen things and all things that are difficult to find in conventional shops nowadays. I got two enamel pie tins that I have wanted for ages but hadn't seen them on sale anywhere..they also had some of their Christmas things on sale..so I came out with more than I had gone in for !!   Also spent a voucher in Smiths where I  again got a bargain  60% off  a USB drive thing..we ended up having hot chocolate in a new up market shop that has recently opened..it was delicious as was the macaroon we had with it !!
The next day found us in Bath again this time with the battery fully charged !!  and we made our way down town to M&S I managed to get three crew neck jumpers and a lightweight fleece and also for Sarah a pair of trousers and a fleece, she has lost a lot of weight and most of her clothes are too big for her now ! Mary also bought me a new pair of earphones for my birthday which I will enjoy using when I use my radio (I have such tiny ears that I can't use the usual in the ear phone things).   This week saw the start of the usual routine..Monday Pam my friend was over in the morning. we have such fun together and always have a laugh or two or three !!  In the afternoon we had first meeting of Guild, again good for us all to meet up. This week we had a speaker tell us of a charity she set up after her 16 year old daughter died...at first she gave money raised to OXFAM to build a water well in a village in India later, a good few years later she went to see the village and the well..and said if she could help in any way to get in touch.  About a year later she Had an e mail asking if she could provide a toilet !! she asked how many ? any number was the reply at the cost of £70 !!  she thought of three..but where could she raise that amount of money..she thought and thought and then asked a friend who came up with the great idea of asking 210 people for just £1 that was much easier to raise...since then she has continued in the same vein and has provided 120 toilets and a building used to help teach village children from families to poor to let them attend the usual school it is also used as a workshop for the village folks to produce things with the sewing machines she has been able to donate...and so from one small well...what a change to a whole village...Later the guild will give a donation to this worth while charity...  Yesterday morning we had our first bible study for the year only 5 of us at the moment but I am sure it will grow as we get going...  Today we were in Chippenham where I had a hearing aid test as my hearing aid didn't seem to be working as well as it did.  It was a new man and he was very good, all he had to do was change the setting by computer on my hearing aid and it seems to be much better..  so Mary won't complain that the TV is too loud !!!    And so what happens next ?   Tomorrow Margaret and Mitch will be over and we are all going out for lunch it will be someones birthday on Friday ! !so we are having a celebration lunch ! Sarah is also hoping to be able to come with us which will be a real treat.  Friday think Mary intends to take that certain person out for a Chinese meal... I am always quite happy once the first half of January has gone ... maybe then ...except for the odd chocolate still to be cleared away...I can start watching what I eat...maybe  LOL
  It has been awful watching all the news footage of the flooding in Australia most of the places that they mention are all places that Mary and I have visited when we did a 10 day coach tour from Cairns in the North to Sydney we stopped in quite a few of the places overnight and can hardly believe our eyes...Please join me in prayers for all these poor people...

Good Night,  God Bless,    and   remember   to

                                        Love one Another

Christmas and New Year

Good Evening friends,
I hope that you have all had a wonderful Christmas. I already see from various blogs that I have read that you all seemed to have had !!   I am glad that Mary and I were able to get up to Sarah's. It had been doubtful right up to Christmas Eve as the snow and ice had prevented us from getting anywhere. Thankfully the slope down to the main road here was cleared mostly by Peter and a few other neighbours and up at Sarah's it was the same. Max and Beth had cleared all  the ice from the driveway so that I could park so all was well.  It was a very very cold day the temp was -11 in the early morning and never rose above-6 all day. However at Sarah's all was lovely and warm and cosy. Beth did the most wonderful Christmas lunch with all the many trimmings, her Dad would have been so proud of ...we all were...Sarah coped really well and even manged a good meal.  we did not stay too long as we wanted back down before the big freeze came down again but the time spent with Sarah, Beth, Max..who was also great doing all the washing up etc...Margaret and Mitch and of course Mary was so very happy.  How thankful I am to have such a loving family.
So now we are only two days from 2011... On Saturday the 1st. I always have Margaret and Mitch to me for the first meal of the year...a Scottish tradition of making a huge steak pie will be on the menu !! with the usual trimmings.  I haven't yet decided on the starter but I have tomorrow to think something up...
Until next year I will leave this New Year greeting to you all...




Happy new year to friends, family. Thank you for your kind comments, delightful emails of support and friendship, and your continued visits throughout 2010. I am hoping for peace, Love, Health and happiness in 2011 for everyone. At times this last year has been tough, but with the kindness of  regular and loyal friends, getting through the year has been tolerable. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for being you.And throughout 2011 alwasy remember to
                         LOVE ONE ANOTHER.





God Bless you all, and a very Happy New Year!

Christmas Love top you all

Greeting card generated with Smilebox

Hope that you can all "see" this greeting.   If I don't get back please have a wonderful Christmas and a wonderful 2011 from Mary and me  xxxx
Love One Another  xxx

snow news, good news, turkey news !

Hello Friends,
Well the days are going fast towards Christmas, I wonder if you are all almost ready.  Mary and I are almost there I think, just perhaps a few odds and ends to buy.  well at least we hope to be able to but however the weather forecasters keep warning us of snow and ice for the next week or so and if that happens we will be marooned !! so fingers crossed they are all wrong. My poor friends in Scotland have had it really bad. There was more snow in Edinburgh than they have had for over 40 years...They ended up getting the army lads to come and help clear the streets and pavements, to enable folks to get out and about. This weekend is the last weekend for the Christmas Shoppers and it is not looking very good...The poor shop keepers are going to be very worried indeed.
Mary and I had a nice morning shopping in Bath last week. It was not quite so cold and it we were in town just after 9am. so all was quiet. I managed to get Mary's Christmas for her, she has wanted a really good nativity for a long time and we had kept looking for just the right one to no avail...but on Wednesday, there it was waiting for us in the Wood Shop. It is really lovely the stable and all the animals etc etc are carved from English wood..she is delighted with it.  Only wish our John had been here as he could have told us what each of figure was made from which type of wood..

Some better news of Sarah, she is definitely getting a little better. We have to admit that physically she is not ever going to be the same, however she seemed better mentally and has started making the odd decision so that is good news.   Beth and Max are coming over to Mum's for Christmas and Beth  and Max are making the Christmas dinner, for Mary, and me, and Margaret and Mitch.  I think next Thurs. weather permitting I am going with Beth to do the food buying !!  I have already ordered the Christmas Turkey from our local village butchers, to be collected Christmas Eve.

More good news.  This is the very latest news as I just had a phone call about an hour ago from my Great Niece Barbara (Margaret's Granddaughter) She was so excited I could hardly make out what she was saying at first, but the news was GREAT  she has been given a place at Plymouth University from next year. (unless she really flunks her next exams, and she will never do that!!) we are so very proud of her. Samantha has been a diabetic since she was 6 years old and just a few months after being diagnosed with the diabetes as if that was not enough she was diagnosed as being a Celiac. Her diet has been severely restricted all her life and she and her Mum and the rest of the family have been so good.  I have never heard her complain, although like all teenagers there must be times when she wants to forget both the diabetes and the celiac....She has done well at school despite having had lots of time away. she will be studying Music at Plymouth Uni.

I found this poem the other day and thought that I would share it with you as a little light relief for Christmas  (would also have bee a good poem for Thanksgiving !!)
Will be in to see you all before Christmas, till then Love one another...and watch the poor turkey.

Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas


Cos' turkeys just wanna hav fun

Turkeys are cool, turkeys are wicked

An every turkey has a Mum.

Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas,

Don't eat it, keep it alive,

It could be yu mate, an not on your plate

Say, Yo! Turkey I'm on your side.

I got lots of friends who are turkeys

An all of dem fear christmas time,

Dey wanna enjoy it, dey say humans destroyed it

An humans are out of dere mind,

Yeah, I got lots of friends who are turkeys

Dey all hav a right to a life,

Not to be caged up an genetically made up

By any farmer an his wife.



Turkeys just wanna play reggae

Turkeys just wanna hip-hop

Can yu imagine a nice young turkey saying,

'I cannot wait for de chop',

Turkeys like getting presents, dey wanna watch christmas TV,

Turkeys hav brains an turkeys feel pain

In many ways like yu an me.



I once knew a turkey called...Turkey

He said "Benji explain to me please,

Who put de turkey in christmas

An what happens to christmas trees?",

I said "I am not too sure turkey

But it's nothing to do wid Christ Mass

Humans get greedy an waste more dan need be

An business men mek loadsa cash'.



Be nice to yu turkey dis christmas

Invite dem indoors fe sum greens

Let dem eat cake an let dem partake

In a plate of organic grown beans,

Be nice to yu turkey dis christmas

An spare dem de cut of de knife,

Join Turkeys United an dey'll be delighted

An yu will mek new friends 'FOR LIFE'

Pultney Bridge Bath

Just a very quick entry friends, it has been pointed out to me that some of you were unable to get into the last entry due to a problem with adobe...or something like that...The only changed I thought I had made was the picture that I realise was too big, so I changed it...still a problem, then I remembered that I had tried to add a "counter thing" so removed that and all now seems to be well....hope so anyway.
My friend Cait tells me I will have to change the blog as in the previous one I make reference to the nativity scene picture !!    I sometimes wonder at the things that I get into !!!   Now the picture at the top is one of the famous Pultney Bridge in Bath actually taken by my friend Cait last year  (with all the snow we have had this week I know that it will be covered in even more snow) It is a lovely bridge that has many small shops on it and also a lovely tea shop where you can look at the river below and watch some of the many narrow boats passing along...
We are still having very cold weather. Even here in Box we had a few ins. of snow overnight and temps of -5 tonight they forecast that it may drop to -10...Thankfully I have a lovely wee cosy home. Some places in the UK are having their snow measured in Feet rather than Ins.
Take care friends wherever you are.
God Bless   and  Love one Another xx