January Musings

Well Christmas came and went and I was determined to try and find a way to be able to get photos onto my blog from Windows 10. Hooray I made it, even if it does feel like 'a long way round' moving photos and files around. If I can spend time getting to grips with Windows 10 filing system then it will probably be easier.

When I sit at my computer (and like most I am sure) it's because  have a job to do so I don't get to the 'experimenting'.

Ready for friends to arrive for dinner here

The following photographs were all taken with my phone so not so great.

 Husband Alan 

January 2nd found 50 + of us from church celebrating a friend's 65th birthday. He hosted it at a local Turkish restaurant where we took over the whole of one half of the place.

The birthday boy is third from the left here so he is now a fully fledged Pensioner.

As Alan was saying, it's 20 years since he became a 'pensioner' - where does the time go?

Walking back from the park on Boxing Day I managed to get a photo of Bekah with her Uncle Peter, my son.

Well life moves on and so much seems to happen in a short time.  Daughter Jane has just returned from business meetings in Denver, USA and Peter just returned from a couple of weeks in Africa, this time Ghana, Benin and Togo. Cat feeding over again for a few months!

I'm Still Here!

Yes, I am still here but have not posted for a month nor hardly visited. This has not been intentional but as we all know 'life happens'. Talk about slowing down as one gets older, we just seem to get busier! Apart from that my i-pad and Facebook have played a part.

I need to rectify this with a few bits and pieces and get visiting you, my blogging buddies.

Where do I start - maybe with a photograph from the beginning of the year.

Our son was trying out his new camera for this photo

but the following are mine

The Grandchildren are growing fast

Five and Eight here

A lego gift I had bought for Bekah which she assembled in less than half an hour

We had some gorgeous weather in April and even managed to have our AGM at Pilgrims Hall outside

When pruning shrubs in March I began to think about cutting down on some more of the work in the garden (those who have followed my garden may remember that in the last two years we have removed some the larger shrub beds and replaced them with small island beds and planted new roses). I am looking ahead to the time when it might be more than I can handle.

So decided  to 'just do it' rather than dither.

Hopefully soon this area will be dug out and grassed over. I am now looking forward to seeing this area opened up. It was hard to let go of the Smoke Bush particularly, but it had spread to it's limit of 16ft x 16ft and a lot of the wood was dying off.

Still some Spring colour to enjoy

I'll finish with another tea note

My son just returned from his second trip this year and having seen how we enjoyed the tea he brought back from a tea plantation in Bangladesh in February, he brought some back from a Borneo tea plantation.

It's interesting to note the slight difference in flavour these teas have.

This is Sabah - the national black tea.

It is cultivated on the verdant foothills of Mount Kimbalu, Malaysia's first ever World Heritage Site. 

Here choice tender leaves are carefully harvested and meticulously processed to preserve the pristine purity of the Borneo Rainforest. 

Well I just realised that I have been blogging for 8 years Easter gone. To think that when I began I wondered what on  earth I would have to say!

Exploring Tea Part 1

For all my tea loving friends across the world I have a treat in store. I will be doing a series of posts over the coming weeks/months. Two things recently got me thinking about posting on the subject of tea again.

The first was the fact that my son recently visited some tea plantations while on holiday in Bangladesh.

He brought back bags of tea direct from the plantations.

Secondly I came across  Newby Teas when looking for a good quality Peppermint tea

It certainly was good and tastes more like the fresh tea I make at home during the Summer when my own Mint plants are growing

I am looking forward to trying more of their many teas over time.

For now I will leave you with a taster of interesting facts from Newby website

Victoria and Albert Museum (in London) Tea Gown

The tradition of taking tea in the “afternoon” conjures up images of sophisticated, beautifully-dressed ladies socialising over cups of steaming Assam tea. Tea gowns were invented for such events. Above we have a picture showing a tea gown by the celebrated designer Charles Worth, with luxurious flowing fabrics of pink satin, silk and lace. The tea gown could be worn without a corset and this allowed women to feel relaxed and liberated whilst taking tea with their friends.

The custom for fashionable ladies to take tea in the afternoon existed from the end of the 17th century- Madame de Sévigné (1626-1696) often referred to “five o’clock tea” in her letters. The tradition for Afternoon Tea gained popularity in the Victorian era and such social occasions called for larger and more impressive sets of silver and ceramic tea services.

Hope you enjoyed - do come back there is much more to come.

Images of the Week

Saturday's baking. Did some baking for myself and some for church. When house churches meet together some of us are making cakes to sell, either for coffee time or to take home. The proceeds are to help our young people with their mission visit to Uganda in the Summer. Here we have Date Gingerbread and Almond, Cherry and Lemon Loaf. Both equally delicious.

Then there was card making - always someone's birthday.

And last night's Sunset

And my darling Grandchildren who are now beginning to play together now that Bekah is 1.

6th May - A Day to be Thankful

6th May 2010. Today is the World Day of Prayer which also happens to be the day we went to the polls in this country. Thought by many to be the most crucial Election of all times. Certainly I have never known such media coverage nor such a sense of the church coming together in prayer to pray for our parliament and fast and interceed for a Godly out come.



My own church has been getting together to fast and pray and last evening had an amazing time in the Spirit during a time of praise and worship as we acknowledged the soverienty of God. How thankful I am to know that God is still in control and still on the throne no matter what the outcome and that we do not have to depend on anyone or anything but Him for our security. As darkness covers the earth so His light will shine brighter until the time when His light will totally swallow up the darkness. So thankful that we can stand in that. Our prayers go out to see Godly men and women in Parliament.





I was also thankful today to have my daughter Janie back in the country after a business trip to California. As the ash cloud started to move again and some westerly airports were closed in the country I so hoped that she would not be stranded as my son was recently in Spain, as although little Oliver and Rebekah were being looked after well by Daddy, they were looking forward to seeing Mummy again.







Something visual to finish - St. Clements, a church in my Borough that featured in the film "Four Weddings and a Funeral". This church is by the River Thames and here we were visiting it whilst out on a Ramble. In past centuries this church was a stopping off post for pilgrims on their way to Canterbury.

And on the Seventh Day...........

And on the seventh day the planes came back - well not too many as yet but the odd drone in the sky. As we heard the first one I ran like a child to the window - sad! With aircraft and staff in all the wrong places, and the back-log to clear, it is still going to be quite some time yet before people can get home. Many are still taking boats, coaches and taxis to seaports in Europe in the hope of getting a ferry or train back to the UK.


Reminds me of our time in 1961 when we tried to get to a town North of Barcelona taking 2 days by taxi, coach, plane, train, coach. This was because we were going to a place not yet on the tourist map. Our son is enjoying his time in Tangiers planning to get a ferry back to Spain tomorrow for a much hoped for flight next Sunday. So in the end some people are having adventures but for most it is a traumatic time.



We had a pleasant but cold day celebrating Bekah's birthday last Friday at P*aradise Park. A Zoo where children can get up close to the animals as well as enjoy so many different kind of play areas and activities. I am not going to bore you with lots of pictures of animals etc. but thought the above funny. Unfortunately the birthday girl was a little under the weather and slept in her buggy for most of the visit but Oliver was having a brilliant time. He was so pleased to get a hole in one on the first tee playing crazy golf. Neither his Dad nor Grandad managed that.



A majestic family

Not sure what this one was called

I do not know a child that does not enjoy a ride on Thomas

Springtime added to the enjoyment for me

Bekah feeling much better back home later in the day. Think this is precious.

The Silent Skies

There's a strange silence in the air. Unusual for us as we live close to several international airports, aircraft from London City airport take off over my house, we are under several flight paths and a stacking system.

The cause of this, as many will know by now, is the erupting volcano in Iceland. It is not until the aircraft noise stops that one realises just how different it is without it. All UK and many European airports are closed and airspace over the UK, France, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Poland are closed. Hard to imagine -no planes in the skies.

Apparently the volcanic ash melts when ingested into the aircraft engines and can seriously upset the navigation instruments. Thousands upon thousands of people are stranded and at a particularly busy time at the end of the Easter school holidays.

Shows just how easily man made systems can be thrown into chaos when nature intervenes.


Nearer to home it is dear little Rebekah's first birthday today. Seems like yesterday she was born. Tomorrow we will be joining her along with her Mum and Dad and Oliver at a fun Wildlife Park as one of her birthday celebrations. Yes one, she will behaving three! So........... I guess there will be photos of Grandma with lions or something next week.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBEKAH

P.S. I had forgotten than my son is in Spain. He is one of the lucky ones - he is staying at a friend's house so would have no problem with accommodation if the ash is still moving over the weekend keeping the planes out of the air.

Swinging in the Rain

What's this? Clear blue skies!!

When walking before dinner last night it was wonderful to see the sun going down on the horizon. The clear blue skies you see above are how it looks at this very moment. We have another 4 days forecast so............yipee! There is still ice on the rose beds which were flooded again over the weekend but what do I care - the sun is shining.

Why all the excitement well December/January/February have been the coldest for more than 30 years with average temperatures struggling to stay above freezing. Here in the South East where we are known for being a dry county we have had more rain than I can remember in this part of the world.

Saturday found us spending the day with Janie and the Grandchildren. We drove past flooded fields and rivers that had burst their banks which altered the look of the countryside in places. During the afternoon we decided to go for a walk even though it was raining, for children the rain adds to the fun, especially when there are puddles to jump in and mud galore to trample through.

Bekah swinging in the rain with a waterproof jacket over a snow suit, over another hooded jacket making 4 hats to keep her warm and dry. All the clothes went straight into the washing machine when they got home as Bekah had mud up to her knees and Oliver much more having fallen flat in the muddy woodland.

Memorable Moments with a Toddler

I was reading through the post of another blogger who was sharing how having put her young toddler to bed he had got up and sprinkled baby powder over the whole room. From my perspective I can see both sides here, the child having a great time making such a mess and the Mother frantic about clearing up and the health implications for the child.

It took me back to some memorable and scary moments when my son was a toddler. He always woke early and liked to start his day before we did. Added to that he always wanted to know how things worked. I'll stick with 5 of his memorable episodes here.

1. Hearing him awake I went in to investigate and found his face smeared with a red syrup. He had drunk a bottle of cough mixture. Now this cough mixture was on a high shelf above his cot. Somehow he had managed to climb up and knock it down. The rest of the day was spent in casualty having his stomach pumped out before spending some time in the poisons unit. It is hard to explain the guilt one feels as a Mother when something like this happens. If only, if only, if only! A hard way to learn a lesson. When it was time for discharge the following day we knew he was better as the nurses were glad to see him go. He had been turning the winding gear that altered the position of some of the patients beds.

2. The second episode found us responding to a call "I have swallowed a key"! It took us a while to realise that this key was a Wing nut that he had unscrewed from the side of the cot. (Don't think cots are made like this anymore!) Another trip to casualty for X-rays followed by a long wait watching for the appearance of the Wing nut once more.

3. Once he moved from cot to bed and was much more ambulant and was able to go downstairs alone we were in for some more fun! Arriving in the kitchen one morning my dear son was sitting on the floor in a pool of one dozen broken eggs, with the fridge door open happily smearing the yolks around and making them 'pop'!

4. On a visit to town one day when in a large department store we endured an embarrassing time when darling son went to investigate the mannequins in the open fronted windows. He was wanting to see if they were real or not. However in his enthusiasm he knocked the first model over and if you have ever seen a stack of dominoes fall then you get the picture. Of course today these windows are completely closed in and locked.

5. We had taken the children to the Pantomime and at the end he wanted to see where all the characters had gone. We were close to the front and before we had even had time to react he ran on to the stage and slipped under the heavy fire curtain just as it was coming down.

I must add that he was never a naughty or rebellious child but extremely bright and curious. However he did give his Mum some hairy moments to remember.

What memorable and scary moments have other bloggers had to endure, do tell?

Our Golden Wedding Celebrations

Just a few non-too invasive photos of our Golden Wedding celebration. Considering so many people over the last couple of weeks had been ill with colds, flu, bugs (I have never known a winter like it)and the treacherous road conditions of snow and ice, all our guests made it to the party - 40 in all.

Our daughter Jane organised and planned everything and she and our son Peter ( with a little help from a couple of friends) prepared everything on the day. Peter and Jane also paid for all of it. We were also blessed to have the on-line food delivery arrive on time as due to the weather there were cancellations.So thank you so much Jane and Peter - you are stars!

Having decorated the house the food preparation began. As guests arrived there were delicious minature finger foods like Brie and Cranberry Filo parcels, Beef Wellingtons, Shepherds Pies and more. The main meal was a delicious buffet followed by minature deserts. Chocolate cups filled with various creams and fresh fruits, Pastry Spoons filled with same, and Cranberry, Almond and Fruit tarts. Later in the evening there was Champagne and Wedding cake.

Oliver who had never stayed up late before thoroughly enjoyed himself being the 'doorman', opening the front door for each guest. As each group of guests arrived he would run to me and say 'Grandma, you have more friends' which eventually turned into 'Grandma, you have lots of friends'. After the speeches there were lots of 'fire cracker poppers' after which Oliver came to me with some concern and said, 'Grandma, the people have made a big mess'. Eleven PM found him with a dustpan and brush having great fun clearing some of it up.

We received some nice presents (not something we had expected)but will mention just two. A number of local friends had collected together and gave us a voucher to stay in our favourite hotel on the beach in Aldeburgh. Looking forward to going sometime in the Spring as at present the whole place is being refurbished so that is an added bonus. We also received a voucher for high tea for two at a very nice Christian restaurant in the countryside. Another fun gift was a 'Golden Wedding' rose bush.

Here we are attempting to cut the cake alongside photos of our original wedding cake and our 40th anniversary cake.

Alan seen here giving his speech

I'm recounting how I first met Alan and how we spent our first year on a ship at sea, to the amusement of everyone

The toast

The card I made for Alan

The following day we had our House Church Christmas party followed by Carol Singing in the neighbourhood (last post) then as the snow began to thaw we had a very heavy overnight frost and we woke to a frozen wonderland seen here in the garden.

I had thought that our time between our anniversary and Christmas was going to be quite quiet and uneventful but that was not so. As the weather deteriorated even further it made everything an effort and there were elderly neighbours to help out. There was so much disruption everywhere. Shopping entailed long queues to get into car parks and then difficulty finding a space followed by slipping and sliding everywhere. Yesterday we had torrential rain which froze immediately it hit the ground so it felt like we were walking on an ice rink. Snow is nice but a mixture of snow, frost and ice and rain is not. The authorities did their best but the weather kept catching up with them. I also found it difficult to get into the Christmas mode having been so taken up with our anniversary. My tree did not go up until last evening, the 23rd.

Frost has a completely different look to the snow





Shrubs outlined in frost






Nearly there. Looking forward to having our son spend Christmas Day and Boxing Day when Jane and family will be joining us too. It's her in-laws turn for Christmas Day this year. I'll take the opportunity to wish all my readers and blogging friends a Very Happy Christmas and a Very Blessed New Year. I'm planning to visit everyone over the holidays.