Easter Sunday .... Blessings ....

First of all my friends, Eleanor and I would just like to thank you for all your extremely kind and generous comments on her post about the trip to India.  We were both very touched by them, especially at the length of some of the comments.  

Secondly, I would just like to send you blessings and love on this very special day in the Christian Calender, and to wish each and every one of you a very happy and joyous Easter.  

As we celebrate Easter, I think it is good to share this time to reflect on life, love, family, and all of our blessings.

I will be off to Church this morning, and then the family that live close by will be coming down later on for a meal and an Easter Egg hunt for the little ones.  Hopefully it will be dry, so that we can hide the eggs all around the garden.

Here are a few vintage Easter Cards that I found on Pinterest.

Please don't feel that you have to leave any comments on this post.  Just relax and enjoy your Easter!

See you all again soon.

The Story Behind My Blog Name ....

For my newer Followers, I thought perhaps you might be wondering about my Blog name, i.e. Southhamsdarling.  Well, the 'darling' part is obvious of course, for that is what I am (Hee Hee!).  The first part is from the South Hams, which is the most delightful part of the county of Devon, which is where I was born and live.  The South Hams really is the jewel in Devon's crown and that is why thousands of holidaymakers flock to the region during the summer months (Emmetts or Grockels, we call them).

In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles, described the South Hams like this -

"South Hams - District in the south of Devon, with a line being drawn from Tor Bay to Plymouth Sound, and spreading away to the sea in bold swells with winding combes, and rich vales.  It comprises about 240 square miles, and is so fertile as to be called "The Garden of Devon."

In the South Hams, the countryside consists of rolling hills which gently meander down to the sea, where the water glistens like diamonds.  I'm sending you all an open invitation to come and visit.  I know you would love visiting the little villages and the cottages with their thatched roofs.  I would treat you all to a Devon Cream Tea, which is a speciality in these parts.  In fact, as I walk along, quite often the locals are heard to say "tell e what, that maid, 'ers been eating too many cream teas again, me 'andsome!" 

You will see that I was trying to give you an example of the Devon dialect there, which is completely different from the rest of England.  I will write a separate post on that another time!

( I bet I've spoilt the myth now haven't I?!  I expect all my American friends were thinking that I spoke like the Queen! LOL!).

 

This post was first published by me two years ago, but I thought my newest Followers might be interested to read it.

Wordless Wednesday! (The Real McCoy!).

500 Posts and Still Here!!

As you can see from the title, this is my 500th Post!  I wanted to make it a little bit special to celebrate the occasion, so I've  invited a special Guest Blogger along to entertain you today!  (Well, she is very special to ME!!).

I would like to introduce you to my number one granddaughter, Eleanor, who has kindly agreed to write a few words about her recent trip to India.

"Hallo to all Grandma's Bloggy Friends.  The following photo is when we all gathered together at Gare du Nord train station enroute to Charles de Gaulle  Airport in Paris, at 4 a.m. in the morning (NOT the best time for me!!). I had been SO excited about our trip for weeks, and could hardly believe that we were actually on our way!

After leaving the luxury of Bombay behind on our first night in India, we flew to Indore.  We stayed at Daly College for the week - a beautiful school with a huge campus and many activities for us to participate in.

Although I would have loved to have stayed there during the day, we had much more important things to do.   At the crack of dawn each morning (5 a.m.) we all got up and began work.  The first couple of days involved walking through the slums and telling as many people as possible about our Project : ICU2.

My school has been organizing this Project every year since 2005.  It involves us giving free eye tests, glasses, and cataract operations to anyone who needs them.  We set up our tent and four, long, intense days followed in which we screened over 6,571 people, gave out 5,37l pairs of glasses  and 300 cataract operations were carried out.  

We had set a new record! We were all very proud of ourselves and I can safely say that it was the most rewarding experience of my life so far.  It was very hard to say goodbye to all the extraordinary people I had met during that week, but more unforgettable experiences were awaiting me in Mumbai.

We flew back and met up with the Exchange Students who we will be playing host to when they come to Paris next week.  During that weekend, we were able to form a bond with our correspondents as we worked on building the foundations of a school in a small, rural village, an hour outside Mumbai.  We really got to know each other better and and my correspondent and I got on very well.

It was very hot all the time we were there, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees!

After we had finished in the village, I spent the next few days in Rhea's apartment.  This was when we saw a very striking contrast between the different classes in India.  In Indore, we had seen the very poor, but now, in Mumbai, our hosts were in a different league again.  They had Housekeepers to tend to their every need, and drivers who would take them everywhere.  It was a very surreal experience for me, and not one that I particularly enjoyed.  Even though everyone at the Ambani School were very nice, we had seen so much poverty the week before, that it was very hard for us to take in how they treated the people who worked for them.  These people were just so thankful to have a job, but I could not help but feeling a little bitter.  

Overall, the trip has made a lasting impression on me (one that I am sure I will never forget) and I very much look forward to putting these experiences to good use in later life.  There were so many photos, but here is a little collage which I hope you will enjoy.  Thank you!"

Well my friends, I do hope that you enjoyed Eleanor's guest post.  You can see why I'm so proud of her, can't you?!  After they arrived back, all the parents involved received an e -mail from their School Principal and he said "throughout these two weeks, I witnessed the creation of a team, and a family.  All of us accompanying staff members were immensely proud of the way our group acted, both in work and play, and would like to thank you all for being such polite, respectful, engaged and mature students and travellers.  You made our job easy!"

Thank you so much for doing this Eleanor.  It is such a privilege to see how you have become such a caring, thoughtful and beautiful young woman.

 Well my friends, I will see you again soon, and here's to the next 500 Posts - Gulp!!

Watch This Space!

S T O P   P R E S S!

N e w s   F l a s h!

Southhamsdarling's  thisisme  will  be  submitting  her  500th  Post  this  coming  Sunday  and  will  be  featuring  a  very  special  Guest  Blogger!

Watch  This  Space!

Wordless Wednesday! .. Been Busy In The Greenhouse.

Time For Some Quotations ....

Well, here we are again then!  It's been very frosty here for the past couple of mornings, although dry and sunny during the day, so that has been a blessing.

I haven't posted any quotes for quite a while now, so here are a few that I have chosen for today.  I hope you like them.

This was describing Elizabeth Bennett from Pride & Prejudice.  I think I would have liked her!!







All Quotes Courtesy of Pinterest.

"Go out there today and Shine.  Be Awesome!"

(Quote by thisisme)

Update on Kelly....

Hallo my friends. You were all so supportive with your prayers for Kelly, that I thought I would give you an update.

The disease has spread to the bones of her pelvis, spine and chest. She will be starting a mild form of chemo within the next two weeks and the view is that if the chemo works to reduce the tumours everywhere else, then it will zap those ones too. View of life expectancy is now months, rather than weeks, as previously thought.  Dear of her, she is still so positive and enjoying life to the full.  Her workmates held a fundraising event for her last evening and raised £3, 000. Kelly and her husband are going to take their little girl to EuroDisney.  My daughter took the following photo when they were down in Cornwall on Monday for the brought forward hen night.

Kelly is the third from the right.  Doesn't she look fabulous?  It's all so surreal, really.

My dear friends, may I please ask you to continue to hold Kelly in your prayers.  You never know, that miracle just might happen.

I won't have any Sunday Snaps tomorrow, but I wish you all a very happy St Patrick's Day.  It's not something we  celebrate very much here in England - unless you're Irish of course!!

I will see you again soon.  Take care until then.

Wordless Wednesday or Snow in Paris Yesterday!

Sunday Snaps!

Happy Sunday Peeps! Can you believe how quickly the weeks have flown by since Christmas.  Easter will soon be here!

I'm actually typing this on Saturday, as Sunday is Mothering Sunday here in England (today as you read this!).  Daughter number 2 is coming down in the morning and the girls are preparing a special breakfast, and then later on in the day, we are going out for lunch, so I'm looking forward to that.

Not many Sunday Snaps today, but I hope you enjoy them nevertheless.  My friends on Facebook will have seen this first one.  Last Thursday it was World Book Day and a lot of the schools encouraged their younger pupils to come as a character from a childrens' book.  As you can see, Eli went as Cat in a Hat.  Ruby didn't want to be left out, so she had to put her Princess dress on to join in the fun!  

Ever since Ruby was a baby, Alfred has absolutely adored her.  It's really strange, because he doesn't bother with Eli very much, but Ruby he faithfully follows everywhere!

The following photo is of Kelly with her hubby and little girl.  This was taken last year and her hair had just grown back after her treatment for the breast cancer.  Just think of that little girl being left without a mummy.

Here is a photo of daughter number 2 (mummy of Eli & Ruby) when we were out for a rather windy walk.

As a lot of you know, we have an open fireplace in the lounge.  Well, my husband has been on about having a woodburner for quite a while, so I finally agreed.  I think we will use it a lot more and, hopefully, it will look nice when it's all installed.  We have just placed the order, so I'm quite excited about getting it now.  

With the  following two photos I was just practising with the panoramic view option on my iPhone.  The first one is of the kitchen, and the second when I was out for a walk.

Hope you all have a safe week ahead.  Hugs and blessings to you from your friend in deepest Devon.