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Showing posts from November, 2024

26th November 2024, Edging Towards Christmas

Christmas seems to be everywhere you look.  The shops are full of it!  It can't be avoided and so I've decided to embrace it, in my own way.  It's worth remembering that Pagans apparently took evergreen branches into their homes at Yuletide and  a Yule Log was burnt in the hearth as a ritual to celebrate the rebirth of the sun.   I've visited two Christmas Markets, one at Hestercombe and one at Cardiff with friends and had a great time.  At Cardiff It rained!  So much!  The stalls were few, the funfair empty although beautifully lit, the Ink Rink and food square deserted.  Reading the news the following day, its a surprise we made it home on the same day.  My lovely comfy boots leaked and I had buy new socks.  Storm Bert, (I still dont understand why storms are being named!) left a trail of destruction with excessive rainfall and strong winds.  At Hestercombe, the previous week, the sun had shone although it was cold....

10th November 2024, Rememberance Sunday

Today is the second Sunday in November and Rememberance Sunday here in the UK.  Services will be taking place and we hope people will stop and remember those who gave their lives, and their youth,  so that we could grow old and live the lives we have. My own parents lived through WW2, my grandparents through WW1.  I often count my blessings that I haven't had the same experiences that they had.  As an older person,  I can begin to understand, now, why they were so scarred.   I remember one of my grandfathers only as old man that sat in a chair, grumbling.  After some Genealogy Research,  and reading his service record,  I understand what an extraordinary man he was.  He had experiences that I can't begin to imagine.  My own parents too did their part to protect their country,  and paid a high price for it.  Teachers at the schools I attended as a child were also scarred, both physically and mentally.  My English ...