Total Pageviews

Tuesday 9 November 2021

Lest We Forget

Just simple images of remembrance in my Blog Post today, to remind us of all those men and women who died that we may be free. 











Let us remember all those brave servicemen and women, who made the ultimate sacrifice. I will be thinking of a Grandad that I never knew, my dad’s dad, who died on foreign soil, aged 27 years. My grandad was killed at the Battle of Ypres in Belgium. The Battle of Ypres was a series of engagements during the First World War, and during the five engagements, casualties surpassed one million. 


Every year, since 1923, there has been a British Legion Festival of Remembrance, held at The Royal Albert Hall in London, which remembers all those who have lost their lives in conflicts. 

Wednesday 3 November 2021

A Month To Give Thanks ...



Here we are at the beginning of another month - the penultimate  month of the year. (I know - I can't believe it either!).  When I was young, I used to love Anne of Green Gables, and there is a lovely quote in that book ....”It was November, the month of crimson sunsets, parting birds, deep, sad hymns of the sea, passionate wind-song in the pines”.  To me, it is also the month to remind us to be thankful for the many positive things happening in our lives.  We do not have Thanksgiving here in England, but I really wish we did.  I suppose the nearest thing we have over here is the Harvest Festival, which is, of course, a celebration of the food grown on the land. We have given thanks for successful harvests since Pagan times.  



In fact, although we do not celebrate Thanksgiving over here, it was the early English settlers who first brought the idea of harvest thanksgiving to North America., when the first celebration took place in 1621. 

The November flower is, apparently, the chrysanthemum, which would explain why the Americans love their displays of colourful ‘mums’ at this time of the year.  This past week here in heavenly Devon, the weather has been just perfect for Autumn walks.  I have been out almost every day, savouring the wonderful sights and colours which surround the countryside at the moment. The golden and red leaves still hanging on the trees, and the smell of woodsmoke and bonfires in the air.  We also seem to get wonderful sunsets at this time of the year.  Here are a few photos taken this week ....












'Older' Followers of my Blog will know that I have family who live in Ibiza. After not seeing them for two years because of the Pandemic, I was finally able to visit them a couple of weeks ago, and I give thanks for that. Here are a few photos of that beautiful Island. 











On that note, I will say cheerio - hoping that all is well in your little corner of the world. 💕

Saturday 14 August 2021

Was Ignorance Really Bliss?

Well, hello!  I don't know if anyone is still out there. I've just realised that I haven't written a Post for so long....the end of January to be precise. 

Any old how, I was just sat here ruminating on this Saturday morning about this and that, when I decided to put pen to paper once again. Remember those - pen and paper?!  Such a shame that the art of letter writing seems to have gone out the window - I used to love writing and receiving letters, but I suppose they're not needed anymore, when we can be in instant contact with people through our phones. 



I was reading something the other day, when the sentence "ignorance is bliss" came up. It was a saying that used to be said quite a lot, and, in view of the events of this past eighteen months, I'm beginning to wonder if there's something in it.   Covid-19 is the first Pandemic of the Information Age, and there is so much information out there, but the trouble is, a lot of that information is incorrect, with some bordering on real scaremongering. 



Of course, the media need to keep us informed, but in my opinion, a lot of their reporting during this time has been increasingly frantic, causing a great number of people to feel increasingly scared. This is, in this Country, despite the very successful vaccine roll out.  We have been literally bombarded with information from all angles. My goodness, I never realised there were so many 'experts' out there who saw fit to pontificate their point of view. The trouble is, not many of these experts seemed to agree with each other, which didn't really give me much faith!

I'm sure there are a lot of people reading this that will totally disagree with me, and that's fine. Thankfully this isn't Twitter, so I'm unlikely to be torn to shreds! 

Anyway, on to brighter things!  Today my daughter and two youngest grandchildren  are flying to Ibiza to spend the week with my eldest daughter.  They last saw each other last year, so I'm happy for them to be getting together again. The adults have been vaccinated, and the grandchildren had the appropriate tests to enable them to be able to do this. They will then be tested again before they fly back to the UK.  People keep saying, surely you can go without a holiday this year.  Hallo!!!! For thousands of us, it's not about going on holiday, it's about being reunited with our loved ones again. 



I haven't actually seen my eldest daughter and my eldest granddaughter for almost two years now, but I'm very excited to say that I've booked a flight to Ibiza at the beginning of September (which is where they live).  Just have to hope that nothing new rears  it's ugly head in the meantime, so that I actually get there. 

I thought I would just end with a few quotes that I hope you might like ....











Thank you for reading this, and I'll try not to leave it so long next time! 💕

Saturday 30 January 2021

Be The One That Makes Others Feel Special



Hallo again everyone. After weeks of rain here in Devon, we are finally having a few days of brightness, although it has turned much colder, but i would much rather have that. Here's Benji, my little Cavapoo, when we had a dusting of snow yesterday. 




I've faffed around a bit today (I'm pretty good at 'faffing' I'll have you know. In fact, it's probably one of my strong points!  Motivation...not so much. Patience....that's definitely a no-no).  Anyway, I digress - as it's the afternoon now and I'm just sitting around, I thought I would write another Blog Post.

Don't you just love the first quote above ?  Surely we can still be kind and civil to each other even if we don't agree on a certain subject?  What I don't like, is meanness, which can take many forms.... unkindness, unfairness, spitefulness, to name but a few. 




I'm not on Facebook quite so much now as, because of the algorithms (no, me neither!) they use these days, sometimes Posts from my friends don't appear until several days later.  I use Instagram much more, where  there are so many like minded women, who post photos of their pets, their gardens, lovely images of their walks etc, and it just seems like a much more serene place to be. Everyone is very kind and always very encouraging to each other. Now I'm not naive - I realise that Trolls appear there as well, but I haven't encountered any. 



I always love to read the School Reports  of my grandchildren (that is when they were actually going to school), and, obviously. I was delighted when they had done well in their various subjects, but what I loved most of all, was when the Teacher used to say that they were always kind and caring towards their classmates, and considerate towards others. You can't ask for more than that, and I always used to tell them how pleased I was to read comments like that. 



Caring about others, and giving to others, helps us as individuals as well. Not only do we physically feel better, but our self-esteem benefits as well, if we can shift our focus to what is around us and not what is within us. None of us knows what may be going on behind the scenes as it were, in someone else's life, so, surely, it's worth going that extra mile to be kind to all those we come into contact with. 



So then, on that note, I will leave you once again. I know it's a bit late, but I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy, healthy and peaceful New Year. May 2023 be kind to all of us. 

All quotes today courtesy of Pinterest.

Monday 25 January 2021

The Month of January is Almost Over ....



Summer Memories Of A Garden In Full Bloom

The month of January is almost over, and I am very relieved about that.  I'm sure we're all mightily fed up with the Coronavirus at the moment. Suffice it to say that we are still in lockdown over here in the UK, and will be for a long time yet to come by the look of it, so we are all struggling a bit at the moment. That is why I have decided to concentrate on brighter things as I write to you today! 



The days are gradually starting to lengthen, and I am so looking forward to when I can start on my coastal walks once more.  It might be a few months yet, as we are not allowed to drive anywhere for exercise at the moment, but one day....At the moment, the footpaths would be far too muddy.  In fact, with all the rain and storms here in the South West of England, much of our coastline is eroding away, which is quite worrying, especially for those with houses close to the sea.  What happens then, is that the cliffs have to be shored up, sections of coastal paths closed and routed away from the sea.  The shoreline really does take quite a battering during these Winter months.  



For newer Followers of my Blog, I thought I would share some photos of my garden as it looks in the Summer.  Looking out of the window at the moment, it’s hard to imagine it being full of blooms.  But I know that time will come round once again, and even by the end of February, quite a transformation will have taken place, as new life starts appearing. The changing of the Seasons really are a wonder to behold, and I always say a silent prayer at the start of each new Season, that I am still here to appreciate it.  










Just looking at these photos has lifted my spirits, as I sit here enjoying a nice cup of green tea with lemon.  A garden can be hard work, but, my goodness, it’s worth if when everything falls into place. 



If you want to enlarge any photo, you can just double click on it.  I hope you’re all keeping safe in your own little corner of the world.   I know that there are a couple of my bloggy friends who are coping with certain things in their lives at the moment, and prayers are with them that all will be well.  Look after yourselves everyone.



Photographs are my own, apart from the quotes, and these are courtesy of Pinterest.com