The Magic Steps of Life …

Another year older, a twelfth year of being ‘here’, and onto my 1005^th post … seems to be good for all things …

… January gloom was upon us yesterday, today there’s a little blue … better than the unenviable reputation of St Hilary’s Day, January 13^th being the coldest day of the year …

Age ... probably 4 or 5 ... playing
with lego

… and that I can confirm happening quite often in the past seven decades, or as my uncle would have said … your eighth my dear!!

Ellis Evans - his real name:
c 1910

While looking around for something slightly erudite to write … rather than Happy Birthday to me, and aren’t I clever: 11 full years and one day with 1005 posts since starting this journey …

… I came across a Welsh poet born on the same day in 1887 … who sadly died in WW1 … but I’ll leave you to read more.

The film released in 1992 -
I must try and find a copy

Hedd Wyn, his bardic name meaning ‘blessed peace’, worked on the family farm – where, as a shepherd, he composed his Welsh language poems, dominated by themes of nature and religion.

An Englyn appearing on a
gravestone, in Christ Church, Bala

At times he wrote in the traditional Welsh and Cornish short poem form ‘Englyn’ … using quantitative metres, involving the counting of syllables, and rigid patterns of rhyme and half rhyme …

 

A Canadian novelist, Robertson Davies, wrote this English-language englyn, which is more appropriate than the others shown:

The Old Journalist

He types his laboured column – weary drudge!

Senile, fudge and solemn;

Spare, editor, to condemn

These dry leaves of his autumn.

Bistrot Pierre ... should be good!
- newish restaurant and seems to be the in thing -
I had a society lunch there before Christmas
(150 of us!!)

So this old blogger, is walking to a lunch, with a couple of girlfriends, by the sea looking out over the white cliffs of Beachy Head and English Channel …

Happy Birthday to me and many more ahead for us all … thank you for being such a supportive community – it’s encouraging to be around …

'Hedd Wyn' … to you, your families, friends and the world …

Hedd Wyn - the poet ...

Englyn form 

Robertson Davies - one of Canada's most popular wordsmith ... per the information given ... 

Hedd Wyn - the film ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Blessing of the Animals ...

Off to Church we went … with two horses – something different to do when farming family visit from Vancouver Island … the dog had to stay behind … 

'Buttons'

... there’d have been too much barking and general kerfuffle … after all we don’t want to upset the congregation, visitors or rattle the village any more than necessary?!

Being blessed - a friend's pony

The Service was on the village green, known as the Tye, in front of the Church … there were lots of hymns or songs, four readings with prayers, and the Blessing of the Animals … 

St Andrew's Church on the Tye

... the Vicar visited each and every critter there: mostly dogs, three ponies and I expect a cage or two with some little critters as Lenny would say in it …

At a friend's house post having a carriage ride

As an aside: apparently the hymn “Morning Has Broken” was written in Alfriston in 1931 by Eleanor Farjeon … probably better known and to a broader audience through Cat Stevens’ recording - with the same title.

Cara wanted to play - one
boy wanted to zizz!

The family were entertained with carriage riding, horse and pony grooming, dog outings, walking to see the Long Man of Wilmington … lunches and suppers … some slept!

Extended table - with
fun Beachy Head mats

It was a lovely relaxed time … dinner and lunches were served, left-overs eaten and added to … 

Fresh from the tree in
the garden

... mulberries, by the squishy squashy ‘millions’, were used … 

Aga meringues

.... home-made Aga meringues – this is how they should be … 

Feeding the boy!

... the kids made sandwiches of whatever they chose … a goodly mix!

Fresh Salmon on offer, along
with Pork Pie, Cheeses, salads etc 

one evening Roast Lamb, another Salmon, et al ...

Henney's Dry Cider

...a local wine from West Sussex, Cider brought up from Frome in Somerset … more wine and champers – sadly I was driving!

Aaah - siblings!

Lots of nattering and catching up was done … even with your sibling!

A place to relax in the pergola
out of the full sun ... 

Well that was an easy post … lots of photos, bits of information, some captions … Bank Holiday 2016 remembered …

Ripening grapes

The family had last visited in March thirteen years ago – on an incredibly hot day – so hot – we moved lunch outside – my mother was up from Penzance, Cornwall … another fun day … It was Mother's Day - March 30th 2003.

Before we went down ... 

… the weather was the same this year … but it was a bank holiday … though this time we went to Church … to Bless the Animals – we hadn’t done that on their last visit … and the ponies weren’t around … dogs and cat were …

That’s it … it is incredibly hot – as I write this at the beginning of the month … 

The Prayer for all Creatures

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Happy Thanksgiving - belated!

We’ve had a glorious few months after a pretty cold first half of the year  but from Wimbledon (late June) onwards it was wonderful to be in England now that we had a summer to relish ...

 

Pasty van - providing an easy supper for us all -
Downsview Icecream tubs to follow later on -
simple but effective catering I'd say?!

There were a few celebrations ... some shared, then repeated and why not when you’re 21 – it only happens once ... but so many of us seem to want that recurring bliss time!

Lots of beautiful gardens to see ... this is a post of few words (well it was meant to be!) ... as I now I feel able to relax and get on with life once again ... Thanksgiving has come and gone, end of November also ... by which time I had need to complete a few things – done .. now to spruce them up, after I had an epiphany for my future blog and life ...

One real and one honorary twin goddaughters ...
born on the same day - coincidence to say the least - but
fun all the same!

Christmas is a-coming ... the goose is getting fat – well I hope our turkey is! ... so December will be another month of action and finally perhaps in 2014 I can really see the light ahead.

Generally I’ve been out and about lots – visiting many exhibitions that I still need to write up about ... and have a list of a few to visit in the coming months – keeps me learning.

 

The family standard poodle

In 2014 I need to catch up with friends and more family ... but you’ve all been great supporting me, some of you I have met, which has been a pleasure, some I almost feel like I know albeit we’re miles apart ...

My blog proved its worth recently ... as I wrote about Emily Hobhouse the great aunt of one of my mother’s cousins.   

Meditation seat half way down the pergola, opposite
one of the ponds

Those brief posts were spotted by an Afrikaans journalist in Cape Town, who is organising a project around Emily and a famous speech she wrote for December 16^th 1913, and her work in South Africa, where she is honoured.

So now Elsabe, from the Die Burger newspaper, in Cape Town and Emily’s great niece, Jennifer Hobhouse Balme, who holds her papers, in Vancouver Island are in touch ... interesting world isn’t it.

 

The tidied up compost heap at the bottom
of the orchard ...

I think I need to do a post on Emily – as her thoughts are still so relevant today:

“We in England are still dunces in the great world-school; our leaders are still struggling with the unlearned lesson that liberty is the equal right and heritage of every child of man, without the distinction of race, colour or sex.”

... one of the ancient apple trees now happily
covered in rose blossom

Emily had always been determined to help the impoverished ... the women, the children in particular – the inhabitants particularly affected by the war, whichever ghastly war, raging around them ... so, so sad it is still happening today.

Shawn the Bouncing Sheep - to get everyone in the
mood for the party ... 

We have natural disasters, mechanical disasters, human disasters and for most of us in this blogosphere can count our blessings we don’t usually fall into those categories, however should a disaster occur I like to think we can each learn from the other – as there are so many caring people who have family challenges ...

Roses - blooming outside
the town's library in
mid-November!

This is a learning environment ... as well as a fun, caring place to be in ‘our’ blogosphere – which reaches far and wide ...

A belated happy Thanksgiving ... and while we still have roses blooming in November – before the polar air hits us at the end of the week I send you some blooms across the airwaves ...

Emily Hobhouse post - part 1 and my school days in Oxford

Emily Hobhouse post - part 2, more on Oxford, Tolkein, Einstein etc

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Lenny Lee - Creatures, Critters, Georgia on my Mind, Red Arrows ...

Lilac Breasted Roller - c/o Kruger Park

Lest we forget – personal letters or postcards cheer us all up – my mother loves her letters and cards, and Lenny – “our” Lenny Lee – whom someone described as a talisman ... loves his cards!

We had a Lenny Lee blogfest in June set up by Theresa, Sharon and Shannon ... he’s one special lad ... and we sent him some cards – real ones .. those cardboard-paper things .. you know what I mean – remember them?!

I spotted Lenny up and about again around the blogosphere ... and thought I’d send another card or two with a letter – nothing like a surprise through the post. 

Lenny’s smiling face lit up .. and he replied with an email ... which lit my fire and cheered me up enormously ... and now I’m passing on our cheer.

I started this blog because I had letters back from friends and family ... saying please don’t stop your letters – they’re so positive and so informative (about how my mother was doing following her strokes, and the sorts of things we were discussing) ... a blog was born. 

It’s a two way process ... my mother got letters and cards, I replied and the process was repeated ... much as blogging – a post, a comment and a reply.

Back to the important one – Lenny!!  Here’s how he starts his email:

hi miss hilary!

wow! what a neat surprise i got in the mail of a cool postcard all the way from england. wow! how cool is that!  i love that bird. its sooooo pretty and i like how its got a lot of different colors. it looks just like a blue bird that we got her in georgia. it sorta for its shape looks like a carolina wren that we got here. i love those little wrens.

The bird he’s referring to is the Lilac Breasted Roller found in Southern  Africa .. such a descriptive name ..  Lenny’s email goes on (I’ve put the odd capital in ... and made a few paragraphs) ...  

A House Wren .. Rene or Renoir?

Could you believe a little while back a girl and boy wren got through a hole in our house and builded a nest in a hanging plant we got in the kitchen.

My bother sebastian name them rené and renoir.   They stayed there for the whole winter and came in and out of the little hole. We didnt fill up the hole cause it was cool haveing those wrens.

They didnt get afraid of us and we put a little bowl of water on the table and some seeds and they came and drank and ate. In the morning they did a real pretty whistle before they got outside.

After their eggs got born and the wrennettes (that what my one brother called them ha ha) got big they didnt come back any more. I’m doing a attachment for you of a picture of a carolina wren and a bluebird ... hope you like it.  (I do Lenny .. posted above - sent via Dropbox ... this kid has got some teaching to do to bring this old bird back in the UK up to date!)

Barn Owl

We got lots of birds that come at our back yard.  We got lots of trees round our house and a big woods at the back.  We got squirrels and chipmunks and rabbits in the day time and at night we got raccoons possums foxes and sometimes coyotes.

One time we even saw a flying squirrel.  It was way cool. Oh, we got a big ol hoot owl that comes round some times. My brother Andrew build a critter cafe on our deck and that how come we got lot of them coming at our house for dinner.

I got a little video of a raccoon thats my friend and I named him ‘cashew’ cause he loves eating cashew nuts and I gave him some of my brothers one time and now thats all he could want. He likes strawberry jam too. I’m gonna see if I could find that vidio and send it so you could see it.  (Hi Lenny .. I did see the video - amazing ... but I'm not clever enough to put it here .. perhaps you can put it up in your next post?)

Wow its way cool that you had a air show. I could like to see that. Its neat how those planes could so all those tricks and I like when they get that smoke coming out the back.

Thanks again for the thinking of me and sending me that cool postcard.  I love getting surprised in the mail.

I hope your mom is doing ok. I do prayers for her and for you.

...big hugs from lenny 

Well ... from me to all of you – I sure hope this has cheered your weekend ... it has mine ... easy post!!  What an absolute treat though ... and I know my mother, if she was well enough, would be delighted too –

Red Arrows escort Concorde at the flyover
for the Queen's Golden Jubilee 2002

Lenny – you’re an inspiration to know ..  have a glorious weekend with your family ... and very definitely with big hugs from me ... we can learn so much from the eleven year old you!

Here’s a video of the Red Arrows practising over Cyprus (an island in the Mediterranean Sea) ... with the song Queen booming away in the background .. everytime I see the Red Arrows now – that song comes into my head – even at the Royal Wedding earlier this year.

For some reason for someone so unmusical .. 'Georgia On My Mind' – also comes into play too ...  and I learnt that it is the song of your State written by Hoagy Carmichael ...

Lenny Lee Blogfest post - Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud ... 

It is with enormous regret that I need to tell you that one of the Red Arrows crashed earlier today ... with peace we think of them all and the family at this very sad time.


Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Diamond Congratulations for a sparkling marriage ...

The times they do change ... Happy Anniversary to Harry and Helen: Sixty Years of a good fulsome marriage ... many happy times and loads of  laughter ...

Early in World War II, 1941, they plighted their troth ... Helen, as a young girl visiting the local greengrocers, decided that the owner’s lad would be her fairy prince ... and she was not going to let anybody stand or anything get in her way.

Harry, of course, thought – yugh ... a little blonde girl ... no ways ... but ...

Who could have guessed
when you began married life
how entwined you'd become
as husband and wife.
After 60 years
you still say "I Love You"
in many different ways.
May the Diamond day remind you
you share a special happiness
life gives to very few.

Brixton Windmill 1820 -
where local corn and barley
were milled (author unknown)

They have memories many ... Helen’s family who, in the 1930s, came from Scotland to look for work ... in a rapidly expanding area of South London ... where post WW1 industrialisation and conurbation was enveloping those fields where corn and barley once were grown.

In the early 1920s Helen’s father went off to Argentina to find work ... he became a “gaucho” – a nomadic cattle rancher - on the Argentine Pampas.  Change was happening here too ... wild cattle were brought to the Pampas from Paraguay in 1580, by the early 1700s commercial cattle ranching had begun.

He was one of many trying their hand in Argentina ... between the 1850s and 1950 over 4 million Europeans migrated permanently ... Helen’s prince would have been someone very different from her Harry – but fortunately her father was one of 3 million seasonal workers, who returned back to their homeland.

Gaucho 1887

He obviously totally lived the gaucho life .. as on his return to Scotland, he could read and speak Castilian Spanish.  Later on he was invited to Spain to use those skills working in the media.

Helen has a few of her father’s paintings on her wall ... one of Lawrence of Arabia and one of  St Paul’s Cathedral.  When his demise came and they were clearing out his effects ... lo and behold two pearl handled revolvers, dated 1908, appeared!

Now in this country .. you’re not allowed to own a gun, unless you have a licence – no licence!  Harry in the 1980s pops them in his pocket and off to the police station he goes – whereupon he’s arrested!  The policeman locks him up ... despite the logical explanation  ... common sense did not prevail, but eventually he gets out ... after a quick word in the right ear ... all charges were dropped.

An early 20th century

pearl-handled Smith & 

Wesson revolver

This obviously slightly shocked Helen – but I suspect she’d lived through a few other escapades with Harry and I’m sure life has been interesting.


Returning to our love story .. our Diamond Anniversary ... Helen, the Moon Goddess, ... became engaged to Harry, the Home Ruler ... during the early part of the War – then Harry got sent with the Special Forces to Malaya ... where he was shot – fortunately not killed and was repatriated after a spell in hospital.

Married life began in grim conditions ... London was bombed out, the uncertainty of the future ... after the War, Harry found a job in a Munitions factory – then when that closed he worked for a Municipal gardening company, then on to work in Security for the Imperial War Museum ... before being promoted to the photographic archive department.

Harry served 25 long years ...  and as every good husband does - gave Helen his unopened wage packet!   He earned £5 per week ... £1 went to pay the rent for their house, then Helen gave her husband 10 shillings (ten bob - as it was known) for cigarettes, the odd beer – those were the days.

There was very little spare especially as rations were still in place ... and once little Phillip came along, the wage packet was stretched even further ... often to breaking point – there was no money to buy coal and it was positively freezing.

Harry went on his own for his weekly visit to his mother, as the conditions were just too icy for a tiny newborn ... before Harry left his mother gave him a Mars Bar – with strict instructions that it was for Helen only. 

Giving your Chocolate Ration away was a very generous gift ... anyway Harry needed 1/2p for the 1 1/2p bus fare home, so he asked if he could borrow from his mother .. not a problem. 

The next week the family returned for his mother’s lunch ...  as they were leaving – Harry’s mother said .. ‘haven’t you forgotten something?’  ‘No’ Harry said and thought as he looked around ... ‘What about the 1/2p I leant you?’ ... Ah! ... he had asked to borrow ... his mother expected that money back ...

Graphic from the original

Broadway cast album:

"A Funny Thing Happened on

the Way to the Forum"

The Mars Bar contained no chocolate – just £250!  Yet his mother wanted her borrowed half-penny back!  £250 is worth approximately £7,000 today ...  enough to buy a few bags of coal!

Helen loves to sing and during the war sang in a choir, which entertained the troops and unmarried mothers ... later on they both joined the local theatre, with Phillip now working as a stage hand, their enjoyment in the entertainment industry continues.

Eventually a move to the seaside prevailed and ...

World Famous Diamonds:

A group of 

multi-coloured diamonds

One by one each year flew by,
since you both said "I do"...
60 years of memories,
shared by the two of you.
From big events and holidays
to simple daily pleasures,
some tearful times along life's way,
some joys that can't be measured...
One by one each year now gone,
but still they're yours forever...
each and every memory,
of sixty years together!



Have a Happy Diamond Wedding – Helen and Harry – a Positive Letter for a day that's filled with fun, and remember 60 years ago when two became one!

Dear Mr Postman – please make sure this is delivered to Helen and Harry for their special day ... you pass Helen on your way to see my mother.

See my post here for more information on diamonds and baroque pearls ... http://positiveletters.blogspot.com/2009/11/rough-diamonds-and-baroque-pearls.html

Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

The Queen's card sent to Helen and Harry
(NB a different photo is sent each time)

Greeting from the Queen