THE FRIDAY BLOG PAGE

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A CHILDHOOD MEMORY FROM THE ARCHIVES

THE GARDEN AT RICHMOND HILL

I must have been eight years old when we moved to Richmond Hill. Ration books were still a part of everyone’s life. But we were getting a little more variety so not all the garden was for growing vegetables as it had been at our garden in Warren road. There was a long

narrow border along one side of the path as you walked through the back gate and there were flowers. Pink thrift, smiling pansies in deep blues, and sweet violets. A few small shrubs were dotted here and there. The following spring there was a mass of snowdrops and bright golden crocus. It was rather shady being very close to a tallish wooden fence. That must have been the reason they had not been pulled out to make room for growing vegetables before we had arrived to live in the bottom half of the house that Mr and Mrs Pepper owned. In my mind’s eye, I can still see that delightful border that was to bring so many smiles into my life. This flower border went half the length of the house and ended at the edge of a metal frame used as a partition across half the garden. made from the springs of an old double bed attached to the fence at one side. Along this framework grew the tiny pink rose Dorothy Perkins. At the other end close to the path that went down the middle of our part of the garden was a circle of largish round white stones. Growing in the circle were the ever charming pale blue forget-me-nots. As I write I smile at the memory of the pinks and blues of that pretty patch.

My father kept a very nice garden and he loved every moment he spent in it. He was no longer as strong as the year before and got rather short of breath very quickly. He had so much patience that the job he would start in the garden would always be finished however long it took. That Summer we had runner beans, peas, carrots, beetroot and tomatoes. Most of these were grown from the seeds he had kept from the year before. Mr Pepper had left the fruit bushes in and we had a share of the black currants, gooseberries and my very favourite raspberries. It was a lovely warm summer that I remember so well. He grew cabbages, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts for the cooler months. The other side of the long concrete path down the centre of our part of the garden was for growing potatoes and with the help of Mr Pepper, they would harvested the potatoes which were to be share between our two families, these were all kept in the large shed underneath old sacks for the winter time. He also grew herbs and this was how my love of using herbs started with the thymes, sages, several types of mint and parsley. Be assured once the fresh herbs were finished, there would be plenty of dry herbs that he had carefully hung in small bunches to dry on the hanging clothes dryer in the scullery. When they were really well dried my job was to rub the herbs through a sieve and put them in small glass jars. I loved to watch as he took the onions that had been harvested a good few weeks before and were now ready to be plaited together, they would also hang in the scullery. My father just loved onions and would often slice them so thinly to have with Huntley and Palmer’s cream crackers, some times with a slice of cheese or meat. This was to be the last garden my father would work in, so the memories are of being old enough to help him in the garden; beginning to

understand the cycle and seasons of a garden that he taught me, they are very special memories in so many ways. Although to be honest growing vegetables was never some thing I enjoyed doing. And over many years I found so many ways to avoid that job as best I could.

THE FRIDAY BLOG PAGE

THE FRIDAY BLOG PAGE

STORIES FROM THE WISTERIA BOOK CASE

BEATRICE AND THE TRIP TO THE NEW PLYMOUTH LIBRARY.

Just a week or so ago Jasper was having a play date with a neighbour and her dog. Loraine had put a pile of books in her shopping trolley to return to the library; as well as picking up a few more books to bring home. She was ready; when she walked over to the wisteria book case; she said quite kindly, would you like to come with me to the Library? She wrapped in in a pretty little cloth; then popped me in with the books and of we went; there was no need for the cover to be put over the trolley; so I was able to see where we were going. There was a great many cars driving along the street and a good few people waiting at the traffic lights. It was a lovely walk; we passed the new Black and glass refurbished building on the corner; they have put a very nice garden on the street front with some

instant grass growing close to the walk to the front entrance and some pretty leaf shrubs. Then on to the tall old Atkinson building that has had an amazing make over that Loraine just loves and is always talking about. She is patiently waiting for the wire safety gates to be removed to take more photos. I know that later; she is hoping to go inside to see the what that looks like on this amazing transformation of a great land mark. At last we walk under the clock tower; another favourite building. Through town to the Library; of course taking in close views of the shop windows for things to put in her Out and about with Mr J posts.

I was very excited; as we when up the slope and through the sliding doors. Wow it was so; much bigger than I ever thought it would be. Loraine off loaded the books and we got in the lift to go upstairs Luckily Loraine picked me up for a little hug because I was really frightened in the lift; it went up so fast. It looked like a whole new world to me when the doors opened and we were on the second floor; so light and airy. We stopped to put a few pieces of the jigsaw puzzle on the board. I have heard her say several times that we should buy a few jigsaw puzzles to do in the winter time; maybe this winter. It was fun adding to the puzzle; wonderful blues, gold and lots of Italian buildings. We then headed to the craft book area she picked a couple of flower books and a vintage house book to look at with our coffee and biscuit times. Back to the ground floor. I had my photo taken sitting with a few books on the shelves. You will notice all the books she takes home are all mysteries; some times she picks out the villain in the first few chapters; but I know she is often on the last few pages before she knows “who did it”. I love the way Loraine lined up the books to put through the scanner. Then home picking up darling Jasper from his play date. As always

before the shopping trolley is unpacked the jug is put on for coffee and biscuits. The weather has been so hot lately that there seems to be lot of time spent resting with a good book in the Orange apartment.

THE FRIDAY BLOG PAGE

THE FRIDAY BLOG PAGE

AWARENESS OF THE WORD

JOY AND THE COLOUR YELLOW

I have decided to do a sort of rerun of the monthly Colour our world posts that I posted in 2020. I do hope that these blog’s will add a touch of brightness to your days.

As we come to the end of January; I started thinking about the last few weeks and how dedicating a word and a colour to my days had opened my eyes. The word “Joy” the colour “Yellow” have been thought about every day this month. Has it helped? Did it make any

difference at all? Well yes it did. Mostly in small ways that gave my day an extra lift. Here are some of the joyous moments. The bright yellow evening primrose that flowers in the

Evenings and early mornings; so one can easily miss them; that we came across on a walk along the walkway; their freshness making me catch my breath for a moment. To start the year we had some rather dull cloudy and rather windy days, but brightness was waiting for us this one morning. Turning a bend in the pathway between the fence and the railway line on a somewhat neglected piece of land were the lovely Evening Primrose flowers lifting their faces towards the sky, shining their insight, and transforming the rough place into something rather magical and adding a big smile to our walk.

Having to stop for a rest in the afternoon is something I find hard to do every day. But my back issue is always helped if I do. When one adds a touch of joy with a drop or two of the colour yellow it becomes a new way of looking at having to rest. Resting now will help me enjoy the rest of the day, it is an opportunity to restore my energy and refresh my soul. Having morning tea with jasper on one side and a good book in my hands, a detective

mystery of course, oh the joy of taking as long as I like, reading as many pages as I want to. Not too many years ago, more than ten minutes or at a push fifteen, I would most certainly have frowned upon that, so many other things to get done. But when you have put joy into your day, one can think and know that there is just me to please and it pleases me a great deal to be able, with reason, to do as I wish. Yellow is about so many things like finding smiles in odd places, laughter, and that great feeling of being at peace with life. Yellow helps to strengthen the mind helping us to think clearly, bringing a new balance to the day and giving us a real sense of confidence to enjoy that day. Among other smiles that have come my way this month are Rory Clements books; jolly good spy mysteries. These lines added a smile to the page in his book “Corpus”. The character Lydia described Hartmut as, “he was devastatingly attractive”. I thought could anyone look that good and a smile came along when I thought about a few of the men who I have know through the years. But I think that may be another story. As I turned the page for the twenty fifth day of the month a Yellow verse, “Let your brightness shine every day” was the thought for the day. Yellow is the brightest colour of the spectrum, it is freedom and joy, laughter and fun. This year 2024 started with a few rather gloomy days, but my golly the very hot weather arrived and that clear bright sky. I had to really work on ideas to help me thought as Summer has never been my favourite time of year. I have found that sitting with some knitting while listening to

audio books a great help; relaxing as much as one can. It has been great to catch up with friends, a lovely feeling of soft yellow; like the sweet wee primrose; of seeing friends who have been poorly and are still taking things easy but who came for coffee and biscuits. And other friends who I had not seen for some great length of time visiting with wonderful thoughts of love and kindness; renewing and bringing feeling of quite optimism to the Orange apartment when we are trying to cope with the very warm days.

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A CHILDHOOD MEMORY
THE FIRST PICNIC from archives
Over the Christmas holidays Jasper and I were invited to have lunch with friends, just a small group and it really was “delightful”. Mid afternoon found us all sitting outside on the deck in the warm sunshine with a large expanse of green grass with blue Agapanthus on the boundary, whispery white clouds over head. I began to think when was the last time I had tea and cookies outside looking at blue and white. That was a good while ago, when my own children were young and we would often take our lunch to the near by park at the top of the steps in Lorna street, but soon I had wondered future back to my childhood.
Being the very youngest of my four cousins and the close neighbour’s children who lived at the top end of Warren Road I wasn’t allowed to play in many of their games. But I was always included when they went for walks across the fields. We only had to walked to the top of our street. Then up the wide track and we were in the country. Huge fields with tall hedges around them with gaps that lead into the next field. Some were planted with
cereals, corn and barley, they moved slowly in the warm summer breeze; bright wild red poppies and rather tall white daisies grew among the wonderful golden coloured fields. So lovely to watch the swaying movement. All of the children had learnt the rules of walking in the fields, “don’t walk off the paths or tracks” and damage the crops in any way. We were well versed in this and only if the flowers were close to the edge of the path did I pick them to take home to my mother. The other children being older always marched along faster then I could manage. But it didn’t take me long to learn to keep up, I’m sure that was how I got into the habit of always walking with a real purpose, I still walk that way all these years later.
Mr and Mrs Dickinson and there two lovely daughter Joy and Janet lived next door to us going down the street. I don’t have even a vague memory of Mr Dickinson. Oh, but such fond thoughts of his wife. She had very long silver grey hair and always wore it in a bun at the back of her neck. She was a little on the round size and always had a very ready smile and such a quiet voice. I would some times hear her singing while she was putting out her washing, mind you, lots of people sang or whistled in those days. She would often take a good half dozen; sometimes more children walking over the fields. To the woods in the springtime where we all would picked bluebells to take home. Sometimes they would be wood anemones and the lovely pale yellow primrose. Again I think this is where my love of simple wild flowers began. I remember her taking us for a walk one summers day and being told we were going for a picnic. I was so excited a real picnic. I had some times eaten food in the garden. But going out with Mrs Dickenson was so special. Mrs Dickinson carried a biggish bag and each of us children brought something to eat just for ourselves, mine was a sandwich made with Hovis brown bread cut very thinly with a little scrapping of butter or margarine and jam. It was cut into four small sandwiched and wrapped in a clean cloth. Off we went taking a good fifteen minutes to get to a lovely shady area under tall trees. Out from Mrs Dickinson bag came a small primus stove and was carefully placed and lit with matches and to my delight a tiny kettle was placed on the flames. I’m sure I was fascinated as I watched her pour the boiling water into a little brown china teapot she had also brought a pretty breakfast cup and drank her tea with out any milk. There was a bag with some little cakes inside. My sandwiches were so nice and I can remember my mother telling me to eat them very nicely. Bread and jam never tasted so good. Mrs Dickenson took the cakes and cut each one into four pieces calling them fairy mouthfuls. They were passed around each of us taking a very small piece, no one took more than there share and there were two piece left for Mrs Dickenson. There was also a large bottle of water in the brown bag that was for us to have a drink from, we just wiped to top with our hand, took a drink, then passed it on; this was of course before any one had eaten anything; so there were no food bits in the bottle. Mrs Dickinson poured the last of the tea into her cup and we were told to go and play for a while. Calling out to take care of me. The older children wanted to play hid and seek and my cousin Pat took me with her to hid. We finished our outing
playing I spy with my little eye. But I wasn’t very good at that so we sat around Mrs
Dickenson and she told us a story she remembered from when she was a little girl. We packed up and slowly made our way home. I had a lovely time and was rather tired when we got to my house and had a big drink and told my sister and mother all about the grand afternoon I had. There were several other picnics over the summer school holidays. But this first one is my very favourite memory of eating outside.

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THE FRIDAY BLOG PAGE

STORIES FROM THE WISTERIA BOOK CASE

CHURCH HILL HEIGHTS.

This story startled last winter as I can remember seeing Loraine writing up the notes for it; she put them safely away; then could not find them. I really do think she is starting to forget a few things hear and there. So it was not until she started that end of year thing she always does.”The big tidy up” before the new year; and they the notes were hiding with some other pages of writing.

Loraine’s son always pops in on Sunday afternoons for a catch up and a cuppa. If the weather is looking like rain or it is rather cold; he will often drop her and Jasper off; some where for a walk; then they only have to walk home. All of a sudden I was grabbed from the the wisteria book shelves and put into the little lace bag; I wondered what was going on. She had already put the

camera; her cell phone and Jasper’s drink bottle in the bag; so there was only; just enough room for me. Then she was rushing to get her coat on and Jasper’s coat, lead and collar; and in a blink; we were sitting in her son;s car. I was so excited and worried at the same time. Where were we going? He kindly dropped us at the Paul Gates at Churchill Heights. Oh, what kind of adventure could we going to have. We walked along the side with the tall hedge under the ever so “tall” Pohutukawa trees; they seem to grow every where here in New Plymouth. Loraine had not been here for a long while, so she was enjoying the walk very much and of course Jasper was having a great time. I had been pulled to the top of the bag; so I had view of every where we were walking. It was all so new to me and such a delight. Then we got to the clearing; by the side of the croquet club with the lush green lawns. That is when I saw it all. Oh my goodness I was on the top of the world with Loraine and Mr J. They were not at all concerned; but I was of course was a bit worried; what if we fell or rolled down the big slope; my mind was racing; then she gentle took me out of the bag; so I could see where we were. I could see a huge expanse of the Tasman sea; it was so blue and bigger that I ever thought it was when I had seen it from the walkway. Jasper was still having a wonderful time with so many new smells to find. How delightful it was. I could hear it in her voice that she love’s this place. Then Loraine said she had a surprise for me; she turned me around. There it was Mount Taranaki; standing in all it’s glory with a super white covering of snow. The sun was shining but there was a lovely coolness in the air. The three of us had a marvellous time. I was put back in the little lace bag and we started to walk down the Hill towards the Morley street gates. I was for just a moment a little nervous; thinking oh; do be careful; don’t slip or fall. But she is so agile and careful; there was really not need to worry. Loraine gave Jasper a big drink from his water bottle and the she let me sit on the thick tree trunk to have a photo taken. Further down the hill she let me have a little swing on an old car tire on a rope slug over a tall branch of the tree. Oh what fun that was. She did not push me very high at all. The lead was put oh Mr J and we walk on down the hill to those wrought iron gates that she loves on Morley street. We walked along some streets that I did not know with tall fences. It did not take to long for us to be home in the Orange apartment. I was given a little hug and put on the Wisteria shelves. I settled down while Loraine started getting tea ready for Jasper and herself. What a great adventure we all had.

THE FRIDAY BLOG PAGE

THE FRIDAY BLOG PAGE.

WELCOME T0 THE FIRST BLOG PAGE FOR 2024.

I started being a full time blogger as a new project in 2021. I loved having a dead line to work to and every day I would be writing. It kept my mind very active. My spelling has improved greatly but I still have a good way to go with my punctuation. And when I’m in any doubt I get a friend to proofread the blogs for me. I hope to carry on being a blogger until I run out of things to write about. I can remember the Jane Austen year and how much I enjoy reading; at the time; very unusual words; how by the end of the year; how surprised I was at how many new authors I had read, understood and enjoyed.

The fed back has been wonderful; and at times rather exciting to know that in a small way I’m beginning to see and understand; how many people my blog page help’s to make their lives a little lighter each Friday.

I do love a project to start the new year with. I feel a little lost if I don’t have plans to do something a little special with my year. So this year’s project; will be a real challenge for me?

As a small child I can remember seeing a photo of my father with two other young children with a group of three or four grown up young men. That memory has stayed in my memory bank for so long. Some years ago I had the opportunity to see some census forms and found out the older men were my father Much older brothers. So I’m going to take some time from a rather busy life to trace my father’s family tree. His name was Arthur James Grace. I so often think about him. I was just coming up to eleven years old when he died. He had been ill for many years; his lungs being damage having worked as a miner in the Welsh pits. At one time I believe he worked in the lovely sounding Lady Lewis Colliery in the Rhondda Valley. I must admit I’m rather looking forward to this challenge.

I will still be walking out and about with sweet Mr J and taking photos of things that catch my eye on our twice a day walks. I will be doing a bit of a rerun of my Yellow monthly blogs that I posted four years ago. Of course they will nicely update for this year.

Some of my other plans for the New year is to read more and listen to more audio books. To have a few little rest though the days and do lots more fun things in and around our pretty city by the sea. Kind thoughts for all of you who regularly or occasionally

read the Friday Blog Page.

#colour #blogging #2024 #familytree

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THE FRIDAY BLOG PAGE

End of year 2023.

IN LOVE

Here we are; just three more days and we will be welcoming 2024 I wonder if there are a good few of the Friday blog page readers who like me are asking the same question … Where has this year gone?. Some days I feel as if I have just blinked and my day has just disappeared. I know that as we get older; time seems to move faster. I need to have little rests through the day to keep up with my busy life.

It has been an such a exceptional year for me with the publishing of the The Friday Blog Page book. For me; such a great achievement; as I have coped with a learning problem all my life. It Has taken courage to reach this stage of my life when I’m able to feel; rather successful. I feel that every day matters and I must make the most of it; believe me I try to do that every day from my early morning walks with the dear Mr J and our second walks that we fit around the weather and time of the year. I have never been a fan of the Summer weather; The long days and the bright light. I finds my patience is sorely tested very often. I often stop and think; how many people in the world would give a great deal to have my problems about the heat of summer here in New Zealand?

Through the weekday mornings we meet a friend and her little dog; what fun the dogs have together behaving each time they meet as if they had not seen each other for ages instead of just the morning before. We; walk along catching up with news and try to come up with ideas to fix some of the problems we find in every day living. But come the weekend there are just the two of us, yes that right ; Me and Mr J; we are still out early; we are so used to leaving home around about six o clock Winter or Summer. We have so many place we love to walk. But the coastal walkway is always the biggest draw card. I really do think I’m in “love” with the amazing Tasman sea. I find every mood it has;

fascinating; from the magical misty drizzle that brings an almost ghostly hush as we walk along the walkway; or when we have got caught in the heavy rain; then we keep marching along calling ourselves; the intrepid pair The sound of the waves always grabs my attention, as the waves crash on the huge rough black boulders with such powerful energy; or times when the ripples just hit the shore with just a hint of a sigh. The colours can be

uplifting with shades of the wonderful blues. My very favourite being the darkest blue almost like navy. The dull greys can be changed with the sunlight or the captivating cloud formation’s and the colour’s of orange, pink, and gold bring delightful reflections to the surface the sea. Of course it changes with the weather and every time I see it on our walks it is quite different. But really I love every thing about the heart stopping wonderful Tasman sea.

THE FRIDAY BLOG PAGE

THE FRIDAY BLOG PAGE.

BELGRAVIA MOMENTS. Part four.

CHRISTMAS AT BELGRAVIA

Many of you will be aware of a certain part of London called Belgravia. But many will have never heard of it. So a little information about it.

Today, Belgravia is celebrated for the unified grandeur of its fine Regency architecture, its fashionable streets, and its sought-after residences. The area was developed in the 10th century and has since maintained its status as one of London’s most prestigious residential addresses.

This is the forth part of a group of Belgravia Friday blog stories.

I thought it would be nice to share a Christmas memory from when I was about

Thirteen and a half years old. It was a cold and rather dreary but it was winter time; with snow and rain; my first Christmas in London; and the second Christmas with out my dear father. Life at home was not that easy. But some how I managed to keep visiting my sister Doreen; who was twenty years older than me and lived with her husband and three little girls; in Eaton place Belgravia London. They had been living in what would have been the servants quarters at the top of a very grand house for about four months. Three houses in Eaton Place had been given to the local council for homeless people; accommodation was at such a premium; this we must remember was around 1957, they were many streets around London’s Borough of Southwark; and other areas around the Old Kent Road where my mother and I lived; there were a good few bomb sites or waste land.

I have never been able to find any details of the if,s and how’s of these three amazing houses in the most

expensive part of London were now housing very ordinary families. I have no idea how long working class families had been living in Belgravia before my sister and her family had been, or for how long it went on after they had left.

My sister and I and Vanessa the oldest of the tree little girls had gone shopping a few days before Christmas We were in a large department store some where in Victoria; when my niece found a wallet. I had never seen a long wallet before containing a chequebook. I did not even know there were such things; also rather a lot of money inside the wallet. My niece was so excited and was asking “can we take it to the police station”?. It was not to far away, so that is what we did. The officer was real old school; making such a wonderful fuss of my niece; telling her what a good girl she was finding a wallet and bringing it to the

Police station. He took her name and my sister gave the address; he did say that the owner of the wallet may get in touch to say; “Thank you”. I was not at Belgravia the next day. But I was told the day after. There was a knock on the door and a young man in a chauffeur

uniform stood there. He came with a message to say thank you. He was invited in and was rather surprised to find there were tree little girls and was asking what there names were; and witting the names in a little note book. He was very diplomatic. But could see what a plan room it was; then he left.

It was the day before Christmas eve. I had been allowed to take a few presents over for the children and to spend most of the day with my sister and her family. Golly !!, Good havens !! such excitement greeted me. The story goes like this … The chauffeur came again with

another man; they needed two people to carry the gifts up all the steps to the top of the house. The younger man then left but was soon back with numerous gifts for the whole family. I really can’t remember what the gifts were. But I can remember nearly every item that was in the large hamper from Fortnum & Mason. Which even today is an amazing store that; one only dreams; of shopping there. The most exotic thing in the hamper was a tinned Haggis; to my surprise it was rather nice. There were tin’s of ham and chicken in aspic and fruit. I had never seen fruit salad before; peaches, and vegetables. A large tin of chocolates, biscuits and even a Christmas pudding in a tin. A really fancy fruit cake with icing . It had a wide bright red and gold ribbon around it. They had waited to me and my step sister to be; Cathy to visit on the Boxing day before the cake was cut; we all enjoyed it with cups of tea and frizzy drinks for the children All the food had been taken from the hamper and had been put in the corner cupboard. It felt like it was Aladdin’s cave every time it was opened. We all had a lovely time. Nothing was mentioned to my mother about the cake or the fancy biscuits or how a shopping trip turned into a the one of the most memorable Christmas I have ever known.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

SACRED POHUTUKAWA

Life here in the Orange apartment has been exceptionally busy as I try to catch up with Christmas; and find time to see a few special friends before the holiday’s are here. So I

have decided to dive into the archive for a Christmas blog from a few years ago.

My daughter Serendipity Grace had hinted that she was sending me a piece of her beautiful Jewellery for Christmas. We had arranged to open our gifts on my New Zealand Christmas morning on Skype. What joy to receive such an amazing piece of her artwork, very unique in every way, and just for me. I felt so honoured and the most special mother in all the world. Sharing it with you on the Friday Blog Page.

SACRED POHUTUKAWA

Bare copper wire woven with tiny glass beads, and a slice of labradorite.

Otherwise widely known as the New Zealand Christmas Tree, but long before this, Maori stories and mythology tell of a young Warrior named Tawhaki who attempted a perilous journey to locate the heavens and request their help in avenging the death of his father. His cause was lost and he fell to earth, his spilt blood represented by the blossoms of the

Pohutukawa tree.

The most sacred tree for Maori is located in Cape Reinga and is believed to be at least 800 years old. This site marks the place where spirits of the dead leave New Zealand on their journey to the ancestral homeland of Hawaiki. The spirits descend down the roots of the tree, underneath the sea and into the underworld to begin the voyage home.

Pohutukawa’s beautiful red blossoms symbolise energy, passion, strength, courage, creativity, warmth and security. The Root/ Base energy centre’ which is found at the base of the spine and brings a sense of survival and grounding, just like the deep roots of the

Pohutukawa, is represented by red. The green of the foliage symbolises growth, harmony.

Fertility and has a great healing power. Green is the colour of the Heart energy centre and is connected with love, compassion, balance, tranquillity and serenity, bringing a wonderful sense of wholeness.

This beautiful piece of art work sits with the with some of my favourite Aura Soma bottles and now also with the delightfully enchanting cards that I’m reading for people on a table in the rainbow room in my home. It adds a wonderful feeling of having my daughter close

beside me as I work with these very pretty and powerful small coloured bottles and

delightful cards.

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THE FRIDAY BLOG PAGE

TWO LITTLE BOOKS

Who would have thought that two very small books wrapped up in brown paper and tied with old fashion string; could put a lovely smile on my face and would take me on a trip down memory lane once again. Gosh before I could blink; the tune and the words of that lovely song about Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Bright, copper kettles and warm woollen mittens. brown paper packages tied up with strings; these are a few of my

favourite things. ( Please feel free to sing or hum along). Memories of the movie The Sound Of Music were filling up my mind. It was such a great movie way back in the mid to late sixties; there were such great songs; that were sung so well; and the colours and the actors in the movie were so wonderful. The movie so uplifting; apart from the second world war encroaching on the story; not the tiniest fault could be found with any thing about it. I was expecting my son in the may and it was Winter time; wet and very cold. The Studio Cinema in Bletchley was to small “at least that the reason that the film was not shown there”. My husband and I had to travel to Bedford to see the movie. We didn’t work on Monday evenings; so on two; unlucky night;s we got there; but did not manage to get in; the queues were huge on those first two nights that we tried to get in to see the movie. But we went very early on the third try; we did get inside, We had great seats. At last the adds were over; the lights dimmed a little more and the movie started. Goodness me; I could feel the excitement as the audience including me; climbed that mountain with Julie Andrews. So amazingly uplifting; such a delightful movie. I really loved it. As we walked out I could hear lots of people talking about what song that like the most. I did not; I loved them all and even now; all these years later I remember them rather well.

Back to the little parcel. While a friend was having a bit of a tidy up at her home; she came across two little Beatrix potters books that she had read to her children when they were small; she was just about to put them into the opportunity shop bag; when she remembered reading a recent Friday blog page post of mine about Beatrix Potter and thought I would like them. She arrived with the gift and a lovely hand picked bunch of cottage garden flowers for me. I was so excited; so quickly opened the pretty little parcel to fine the two sweet books written by Beatrix potter; The tails of Mrs Tittlemouse and The Tail of two bad mice. Both rather fun to read. They are some books written for children that are so perfect for when you are so much older. I can often be found reading children books that I missed reading when I was young. As I read them now; I forget all about being a real older grown up and let myself be young again enjoying; and so often just loving the feeling of excitement of loving such simple pleasures.