Hello Friends,

I do hope that you have all had a good week and that you have been able to get out and about to enjoy it.  We have been blessed with warm days not at all like November, when I think back to last year we had deep snow and Mary and I were marooned !!!....The forecaster tells us that perhaps the mild spell will end this weekend and it will become more winter like....we will wait and see...I for one would be quite happy if it stayed this way till spring came !!!

Two weeks ago on Thursday we had a lovely day as my sister Margaret felt well enough to come over to me for our usual Thursday visit and then the 4 of us went out for lunch. we went to a very old Inn called The George set right beside the Kennett and Avon canal as it meanders into Bath some 4 miles away. It was some time since we had been there and it is now under new management. It was excellent. Even more so as I had a voucher and Mitch and I were able to have two wonderful sirloin steaks with all the trimmings at 2 for price of one...yummy....It was all the more special as Margaret got quite unwell the day after and has not been able to get out at all since....

I collected my new glasses last Wednesday, They are varifocals and glad to say I have got used to them very quickly there are only occasional times whon I have to move my head up and down to get things into focus. Such as at our church quiz night, I kept getting the question master out of focus LOL.  Pam and I were doing a raffle st the quiz and everyone was very kind to want to have a go, we did have some nice presents so that helps. I think that we made almost £97 and altogether the evening made just over £300 for church funds. Pam Henry, Mary Peter and I I am afraid did not do as well as we have in previous quizzes coming 7th out of 12  boo hoo,  although Peter did win some biscuits in the raffle !!!

I am going to change my header picture tonight and will keep it up for a few days.  It is a very old picture...the reason I am putting it up is to let you see what my dear Mother looked like at around age 6 tomorrow my Mother would have been celebrating her 100th birthday. what celebrations we would have had...She is the only one with a ribbon in her hair...she hated that ribbon as none of the other children had to wear one. Mum was brought up by her spinster Aunt who always insisted in the ribbon....little did she know that it was removed as soon as Mum got out of sight...but the day of  the photographs of course she knew better than have it removed.  I actually think it is an amazing thing to think that 94/5 years ago a school photographs was taken especially as it was a very small single class primary school the headmistress must have been well beyond her years to think of such a thing....

To all my friends in America may I wish you all a Very very Happy Thanksgiving weekend whatever you are doing I hope that you are surrounded by love and friendship.and take that opportunity to tell everyone that means anything to you that YOU LOVE THEM....

Hello friends,
How are you all this week. i can hardly believe that we are half way through November already. Christmas will be here before we realise it.  I will have to get my Christmas hat on and try somehow or other to get into the mood.  I know that this year is going to be particularly hard with out my dearest sister but for the sake of other people I will put that smile on the face and get going...just that it is taking a bit longer this year ..
i have a friend Marie who writes a daily blog....ayearfromoakcottage.org....it always amazes me that she can write such interesting stories every day...now me...it takes me all my time to wrote to you all once a week...and even then I never think that it is very interesting.  On a Tuesday Marie writes each week what she calls a simple woman's page...or similar ! so i thought that maybe this one week I will give you a taste of what she writes by doing a simple page of my own...

Outside my Window.
It is all dark with just a few orange glows that indicate some street lighting in the village. up near the top of a far hill I see a white light travelling along that must be a car bringing someone home from work perhaps. I hope he/she has had a good day.
I am Thinking.
How lucky I am to have such a lovely warm house. Mary has just gone home and tells me that the temp. outside is now 3deg.c. quite cold as we have not had real cold for some nights now..actually the weather forecast tells us that the clouds will soon be covering us and that will bring the temps up again.
I am Thankful For.
All my wonderful friends and family and all the encouragement the give to me.
I am wearing.
Black trousers, and a short sleeve pink top. I did have on a navy cardigan a wee while ago but the heating has come on now and it isn't needed.
I am creating.
I have started to knit a few scarfs some will hopefully sell at the church table top sale in December perhaps others will be for extra Christmas presents.  I am also sewing up blanket squares that Mary has been knitting, it is a lovely child's blanket this time in lovely colours of yellow green and a brilliant orange and will have a white border all round when finished...
I am going.
After  I finish this to do the drying up of the dinner dishes. Tonight we have had some ham that I roasted at the weekend with new potato's and some mixed veg. Peter our other neighbour joined us tonight direct from his work...Mary always washes up but is not so keen to dry up and put away !!
I am reading.
Running out of Tears. it is the moving personal stories of Childline's children over 25 years by Esther Rantzen.  My sister Sarah was quite involved with childline right from the start and indeed was partly responsible for making childline available worldwide in particular in India.  It is quite a hard book to read it is so disturbing to read of the effects adults treatment has been to young people.
I am hoping.
That tomorrow when I go to Bath to collect my new lenses that they will be good varifocals and that I very soon get used to them. Also that when I see my dear Sister Margaret she will be a bit better. She has been very poorly this week.
I am looking forward to.
the quiz night at church on Friday evening..not exactly for the quiz ! but for the good company and laughs that we all share not forgetting the great ploughman's supper !!

and so there we are, that is almost as much as I can think of to write tonight.  Oh I nearly forgot  Mary and I had a great Saturday afternoon at the theatre. The play was all about the last few months of Judy Garlands life. I can't remember who played Judy Garland but she was brilliant. She even looked like her and sang like her. there was a long standing ovation at the end.  we were so glad we went even although we had great problems finding a parking place !!...

Have a great week ahead, hope the days are sunny for you.  LOVE ONE ANOTHER    xxx

Guy Fawkes.

Hello Friends,

Another week has flown past and we now find ourselves in November. I can hardly believe it, we have been blessed with such mild weather. I still have my sandals on I don't think that has ever happened...

Trick and treat has been and gone and as always I have not had anyone knocking at my door. where I live in the village we do not have street lighting so I imagine the wee ones would not like that !! so all is quiet.  Our next event is on 5th. November when it will be anything but quiet....

For 400 years, bonfires have burned  on November 5th to mark the failed Gunpowder Plot.

The tradition of Guy Fawkes-related bonfires actually began the very same year as the failed coup. The Plot was foiled in the night between the 4th and 5th of November 1605. Already on the 5th, agitated Londoners who knew little more than that their King had been saved, joyfully lit bonfires in thanksgiving. As years progressed, however, the ritual became more elaborate.

Soon, people began placing effigies onto bonfires, and fireworks were added to the celebrations. Effigies of Guy Fawkes, and sometimes those of the Pope, graced the pyres. Still today, some communities throw dummies of both Guy Fawkes and the Pope on the bonfire (and even those of a contemporary politician or two), although the gesture is seen by most as a quirky tradition, rather than an expression of hostility towards the Pope.(not so sure of the politicians though !!) 

Preparations for Bonfire Night celebrations include making a dummy of Guy Fawkes, which is called "the Guy". Some children even keep up an old tradition of walking in the streets, carrying "the Guy" they have just made, and beg passersby for "a penny for the Guy." The kids use the money to buy fireworks for the evening festivities.

On the night itself, Guy is placed on top of the bonfire, which is then set alight; and fireworks displays fill the sky. when I was young my Dad was always in charge of the bonfire and fireworks. We usually had baked potatoes in the bonfire and when it died down we were able to grab those black half cooked potatoes and ate them with glee !! today we would probably die before we ate them and certainly health and security folks would probably be at our door  LOL   I do enjoy the wonderful display that the fireworks make but these days it is difficult as Dee and most wee dogs I know are terrified of the whizz, and bangs of the fireworks and so I have to keep indoors with the radio or Tv on at high blast to try to counteract the sound of the fireworks etc..It is bad enough on the actualy 5th. Nov. but it seems to go on for a week nowadays, although to be truthful this year it has been much quieter...thank goodness. But come tomorrow night I know I will have one wee cowering dog....

The extent of the celebrations and the size of the bonfire varies from one community to the next. Lewes, in the South East of England, is famous for its Bonfire Night festivities and consistently attracts thousands of people each year to participate.

Bonfire Night is not only celebrated in Britain. The tradition crossed the oceans and established itself in the British colonies during the centuries. It was actively celebrated in New England as "Pope Day" as late as the 18th century. Today, November 5th bonfires still light up in far out places like New Zealand and Newfoundland in Canada.

Please take great care if you are having fireworks or bonfire. There are so many accidents it is usually safer to go to an organised party.

Goodnight friends God Bless  and remember to..... LOVE ONE ANOTHER...

weather, friends,

Good morning Friends,

This has been a quiet week so sorry not a lot to report on. The weather has been certainly getting colder and there has been a lot of rain very close to us here in Box with terrible flooding. It is hard to believe that only about 15/20 miles away they have had such flooding.  We have actually had it quite nice although certainly getting colder.  Yesterday Mary and I went into Bath as I was taking my glasses back. I only got them about 10 days ago but they were not as good as my old ones !! at least they didn't seem to be when I was on the computer the print was not as clear as it should be..Anyway after another check and various questions it was decided that I would be better with varifocals..so now I have to wait another couple of weeks or so for them to be ready. Thankfully they did agree that although I have had to pay extra for the new lenses they would deduct what I had paid for the ones I had just bought...

Pam was over on sunday for church. Henry brought her over and as he is not a church goer he came down here whilst we were at church and made himself a cuppa ! after church we all met up for Sunday Lunch at the Bear our fav. hotel in the village. Pam and Henry had never had a meal there but enjoyed it. Pam was also over on Monday again Henry brought her over. That was great as we do enjoy our Monday together. It was actually the first time I have had time to really hear the news about her new shoulder joint. She is getting on ok with it but will be gald when she gets the sling removed as she is finding it very hard to find a sleeping position..We had guild in the aftrenoon and this week our speaker had made up a quizz for us  !  there were 50 questions, it was made a bit easier in that all the answers were either a,b,or c..    you would never believe it but Pam and I got the exact same number correct   42/50 !! and as the winners we were given a big box of chocolates !!  we of course shared them with everyone at the meeting and so they all enjoyed them...

Well friends I'm sorry if this has been a wee bit short on real news but hopefully nesx time teher will be more. I did have a "send" this week that I think is too good to keep to myself so I am actually going to pass it on to you all with my love...

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.' 'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied.

Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.

Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. 'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away.. Just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!

Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing.

'Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.

2. Free your mind from worries.

3. Live simply.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less.

Have a nice day, unless you already have other plans.



Hi Friends,

I wrote an update last night only to have it “go AWOL” so I try again. Although this time I am doing it in Openoffice..and will paste when finished so fingers crossed all will go well..

It has been another nice week here in Box, the weather has become much more Autumnal as the temps. Have dropped quite a bit especially over the weekend.

Last Tuesday after bible study here Mary and I went to my wheelchair supplier as I had read about a new lighter wheelchair that seemed just what I was looking for..They had the model in and I was soon whizzing about in it until Andy came of the telephone..we then started to go into the pros. and cons. of it viz The one I have. It was certainly a bit lighter however once it was dismantled it would actually have taken up more space for instance on a coach etc. It would not have been as good at going over rougher ground etc. I think it was mainly designed for indoor use or flat pavements/malls etc. so all in all I decided against it but I was bitterly disappointed as I was sure this was going to be the answer to a more light weight chair...never mind one day something will turn up... On Thursday it was a nice day and we went to Longleat Estate I have described Longleat before so won't go into it again. We did not go to see the lions etc. but visited the gardens, and even part of the house. It was to be the last of the warmish days and it was great to be sitting out there without even a cardi. on...unbelievable in mid October... Saturday was another good day as we went into Bath to the theatre. I love the theatre but don't often go as it can be expensive. However we were very lucky last Christmas !! and had vouchers we had not used them so decided now was the time as quite a few things were coming up that we liked the look of, we have another three visits booked between now and Dec. Saturday's play was actually more of a monologue or should I say two..the first was called Mr. Chips and the second Dr. Marigold. They were both short stories written by Charles Dickens...indeed Charles Dickens himself had read those stories to his contemporaries way back in the 1800's. An actor called Simon Callow told us the stories. He was marvelous and we were all swept up in the emotions. Mr. Chips was actually a freak man (dwarf)in a traveling circus all he ever wanted was to be “normal” and able to take part in “Society” one day he won £200 and so asked to be freed from the circus and this was granted and off he went to join “society”. He was fete'd by one and all and he had a great time ...until he ran out of money...then he realized that “society” had not really accepted him but ad made use of him...and so he returned to the circus where he was happy ever after !!!! The second story was called Dr. Marigold a traveling salesman, to make it as short as possible it was all about a young girl he found being abused by her Father she was deaf and dumb and Dr Marigold asked if he could adopt her and did so...at some cost...and tried to educate her as much as he could until one day he met a Scottish schoolteacher who offered to take her and teach her for him. He allowed her to go and didn't see her for 2 years by which time she had grown up into a lovely young woman who now had a boyfriend. The boyfriend wanted to marry her and take her away to China. Dr. Marigold's heart was almost broken but as he loved her so much he could not stand in her way and so permission was given and of she went...a few years later she returned and brought with her a lovely daughter, who immediately seeing Dr. Marigold ran into his arms calling “Hello Grandpa “ so making the old mans later days very happy. They were both very sloppy plays but told with such feeling that many of us were near to tears ourselves !!

Today has been our Guild day and Pam and I were the “speakers” and we decided to take them all on a “Cruise” they seemed to enjoy all of our experiences. I am glad to say that Pam was looking not to bad considering it is only almost 2 weeks since she had her shoulder joint replaced, she still has the stitches in will have them removed on Thurs. and then will have to have some physio to get the shoulder moveing again, but knowing Pam it won't be long before she gets back to moving the new joint.

And so another week has past all to quickly. I just can't believe that we are well into October perhaps now that the colder weather has arrived it will begin to feel more like late Autumn.

Xxxx Love One Another. xxxx

Last Cruise news...

Hi Friends,

Well how are you all tonight ?  Hope that all is well with you and that you have had a good week. Our nice late summer has just about kept going this week only last two days has it really cooled down and we have tried to enjoy every minute of it...Last Monday we had our 2 Guild meeting in the aftrenoon this week we had a lady come to tell us all about the Salvation Army how it strated and where it was now etc. It was such a intersting afternoon, everyone enjoyed it very much.  Afterwards we had our Church Council Meeting, this is a wee bit like an AGM when members and friends get together and are informed of all that is going on and that has perhaps been done in their name by the Leadership team. It is held twice a year and for the first time we held it in the afternoon hoping that perhpas more members could attend.  It seemed to work well and we certainly had a few more attend than previously.

Tuesday was a very emotional day for me as I went up to New Malden which is near London to a dear friends funeral service. Revd. Dr. Angie Sheir Jones was our minister at Box nearly 4 years ago and was the most wonderful person anyone could ever hope to meet. She has had cancer for almost two years and died when I was away. She and I had a rather special affinity and it was particularily hard to hear whenever I got back about her death. Although I am happy that she is at last free from all the pain it is hard to believe I will never hear her laugh or see her infectious smile again. It is especially hard for dear Brian her husband, they had no children and at the funeral Brian looked so ...alone...it was so so sad. I am sure though he must have been overwhelmed to see over 300 in the church..... I was very grateful to Peter who took a day off work to come with me and do the driving.

Wednesday,Mary and I had some shopping to do before we were able to sit out for a while. As always on a Thursday my sister Margaret and Mitch her husband come to me and I make lunch for us..  Friday they said might be our last warm day so Mary and I went to the Courts Gardens that I have told you about before.  It was lovely there and very peaceful, a lot of the plants had been cut down ready fo winter but there was quite a lot of autumn colour in the borders. So thats been our week friends  and now on with the last few days of our wonderful cruise.

Cruise part 3  I think !!

Well our days on board the ship seem to pass so quickly it is our 11th whole day and this morning we docked in Portugal's Capital Lisbon. We had arranged to have a panorama coach tour of the city and as soon as we were allowed we were down the gangplank and joining our tour. It was explained that his was to be a no shopping trip ! But that stops would be made at various famous tourist places. As we had sailed up Tagus River into Lisbon we saw quite clearly on the far side the statue of “Christ the King” a monument built after the war to celebrate Portugal' s neutrality during World war 11...and this was the first stop we made once we had crossed the 25th.April Bridge built in the 1960s it is the third longest suspension bridge in the world. Once we were back over the bridge we were in a suburb called Balem. There was a tower there built between 1515-1521 was built to protect the river entrance from Pirates and later functioned as a prison...Quite near there was a wonderful monument called the "Monument to the Discoveries". It is a modern sculpture by the riverside of a caravel and comprises various historic figures who were involved in the discovery of “new Lands” Prince Henry the Navigator is at the prow. There is an elevator inside that give some wonderful panoramic views...however we were not allowed to have time to do this. Thankfully Henry got of the coach and was able to take lots of photo's at each of the”monument shots” ! It took around 4 hours to do the panorama of Lisbon and it was very very interesting.. I have a wonderful painting that a friend of mine Pat did for me of the rooftops of Lisbon and whilst there it was so easy to see just these same rooftops....

Next day our stop was in Spain in Vigo. It was a very hilly place and although we all disembarked it wasn't long before we had to admit defeat at getting the chair up the streets. Anyway we soon found the usual coffee shops and it was here that we had another laugh when we asked for tea for me and a coffee black for Mary. When they came I had a very large cup for my tea and Mary's coffee came in the tiniest wee cup you could imagine and boy oh boy was it strong..Mary never takes sugar but to try to drink it she emptied in about 3 packets of sugar!!! it was more like syrup by the time she finished ...we did laugh... We also met at the same cafe a couple of people from our ship who had with them another couple. They asked me to take their picture and explained that it was a sister and brother in law who had arrived by another cruise ship the Oceano and so they were able to meet up, wasn't that nice but odd at the same time to think they had had to come all that way to meet up !! All to soon it was ALL ABOARD...for our last day at sea. What an adventure it was. Certainly one to be done again and again. Mary and I are now we think quite addicted to cruising..we find it so very easy to get around, with enough to do to keep us both occupied and also plenty time just to laze around...

If you ever get a chance to have a cruise I would advise you to give it a try..Think how many more people that you could greet with a   " LOVE ONE ANOTHER."..

Late summer heat, and cruise part 3 !!

Hello Friends,

What a beautiful week we have had here, the sun has shone and the heat has built up and up...a real Indian Summer...I hear that it is soon to come to an end early next week so we are making the most of it until is does. Tonight I have all the doors and windows open to catch any breeze that might float past..It is getting quite dark now and I don;t want to switch on the lights as I am sure they generate more heat. On Wednesday Mary and I went to the Courts Gardens I have previously told you about only to find they closed on a Wednesday however on the gate was an invitation to go to another garden and house called Chalfont Manor. I am so pleased that we went, again it is only about 10 miles away and I had never even heard of it !! The Manor dates way back to the early 1400's and has hardly changed throughout the years..the gardens are lovely and there is even a moat surrounding it all..It is still a “lived in house” and only open certain days in the week by the National Trust. I was chatting to the lady of the house in the garden she was picking something up on the lawn and I thought it might be chestnuts (although I hadn't seen chestnut trees so I was being a bit daft.....nothing changes LOL) anyway what she was picking up were lovely walnuts I can't remember ever seeing anyone pick walnuts.. There were beautiful herbaceous borders full of lovely autumn coloured flowers. It was a truly lovely day out. Yesterday I had an appointment for an eye test so had to be in Bath quite early we left at 8.40 for a usual 20/25 min journey.....well the traffic was awful an dit took almost an hour to get in and parked. When I did I left Mary to walk herslef slowly down town and I took to my heals...metaphorically speaking....wheelchair at top speed...to make my appointed time...I got there...just....Turns out I needed new prescription and I have a small cataract developing, hopefully it will take a long time before I need to have it seen to...I will collect the new lenses in about 10 days..

Now back to cruise mode :

After Florence our next port stop was Citivechia this is where most people got off to go on to Rome by coach a two hour journey in Rome the heat had been terrific and they mostly came back exhausted so we were glad we had not gone.anyway  we had heard that it was not really suitable for wheelchair so once the rush to get away was over we slowly left the ship and had a lovely morning in the town. The streets were rather steep//to say the least ! But as usual I found a way around and we had a lovely time just mainly window shopping. There seemed to be an abundance of gorgeous bridal wear shops...and of course coffee shops... Next day was Ajaccio on the Island of Corsica. Here we had booked a coach trip and very nice it was. Renowned as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, Ajaccio's many squares and streets pay homage to the conqueror. We went inland and up into the mountains it was very beautiful ad we had an excellent guide who gave us so many facts and figures that I would have to have had an encyclopedic memory to remember even a 10th if the info she gave us...Suffice to say that I enjoyed the visit very very much and would like to go again some day...13th Sept was Pam's 70th birthday and we had decided we would not stray far from the ship ( I had arranged various surprises for her) but we did get off for a short walk into Seville Spain. It was an easy flat walk but I think Pam and Henry were a bit tired so after a while we left them behind to go back on baord and Mary and I walked a bit further into the town which if we had had longer to explore I think would have been a very interesting town. ...but.....birthday lunch called and we were soon back on board to visit Pam and Henry in their cabin. I had arranged for it to be all decorated and it was such a surprise for Pam. Their room attendant had done it beautifully with streamers and paper bells, etc etc and Happy Birthday Banner on the door... After lunch Pam decided to go for her one and only swim (she thinks she is overweight and didn't like to be seen in a swimsuit) It was great fun sitting by the pool encouraging her to stay in the water she also enjoyed it very much !! That evevning at dinner there was even more celebrating Henry had kept her present till evening and gave it to her at dinner it was a beautiful diamond ring...she was needless to say thrilled...even though it was a wee bit big and she has had to take it to be made smaller since we got home....at the end of the meal all the waiters around arrived with the cake we had ordered and sang Happy Birthday to her....what fun it was...To end the evening we all went to the Theatre to be entertained by a piano player called Bobby Crush who was way back in the early 60's a British “star” he was still very very good and we had a lovely end to the birthday day .....

Only 4 more days of the cruise to go before you can all relax and imagine you have travelled with us !!!! If you are not bored out of your minds by now.....

Good Night Friends.......... Love One Another....