Cinema

I don't often go to the cinema even though as a retired person I can go for a very small amount of money - in fact today my husband and I with our 'Orange Wednesday' tickets paid just £5 for the two of us.   Great value.
We saw a new film called 'The King's Speech' which shocked us both to realise how little we remember of when we had a King on the throne.   I can bearly remember not having Elizabeth as our Queen but the film today gave us a glimpse  (Hollywood permitting) of what a struggle her father had to overcome a speech impediment in the days when sufferers were judged to be less than perfect overall:  thankfully nowadays many people in the very front line of entertainment or politics care not a jot for the fact that they are unable to pronounce their words correctly and neither do we.  We both found the film to be fascinating and Colin Firth as the King will surely get many awards, contrary to public opinion we thought his co-star as his Queen was really poor and that must have helped him to be so superb.  

Homework

I used to hate homework when I was at school but now I love it.   I have just helped my grandson
with a piece about Martin Luther and was constantly being told... 'too much information'...this was followed by finding the facts about Michael Morpurgo my grandaughter's favourite author....and the same comments from her
'we're not writing his biography'....I'm sure I will reach degree standard before they finish their education.

A Letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury

'Continue to keep a warm love for me........
 I cannot be with you physically but my heart is always with you.
 Make efforts to win friends everywhere....
 do not think you will ever have enough.
 Be bound to all, whether rich or poor in loving sympathy.
 This letter is a document of my heart.

     St Anselm writing from Canterbury in 1093

Friends

A friend came in to supper this evening; she's a vegetarian so we had a lovely piece of fish with cauliflower cheese and new potatoes - it was good.   She is a friend of about 25 years but has lived on the south coast for a long time so we have only been able to meet up when she visited her elderly mother who lives quite close to our house.
However, she has now moved into town to be closer to her mum and help her in her late years and has managed to get a flat not too far away.  We had our usual reminisce about all the people we know or have known before we managed to sort out all the difficulties of moving too many accumulated possessions into a much smaller
place and I have to say it was very easy to do this sorting out whilst sitting cosily before the fire with a gin and tonic.  Today though she is back in the real world with this very real problem which we have all faced at times in our life.  So many of my friends are facing this situation at the moment so I am in the position of giving out unasked for advice in every direction which sounds really good -  for example......'if you haven't used something for a year you don't want or need it' ...Oh how I wish I had heeded my own words because if I had I would n't be in such an overcrowded house now.   Next time I'll do it!

Los tres Reyos

I spent a long time last evening looking at pictures from Spain of the many celebrations of this special day.  The Christian Church in general calls this day Epiphany - the coming of the Kings and in many countries it is the biggest day of the year.  When I lived in Spain you could feel the excitment growing as the day drew near with
excitment and anticipation you never knew at any other time - the 'Mooros y Christianos' fiesta was a really huge fiesta which every town celebrated on a different day in the summer - mostly for the visitors I suspect.
But 'Los Tres Reyos' meant everything to the Spaniards for whom Christmas and New Year meant nothing by comparison.   The children get their presents from the Kings and the anticipation is tantamount to 'something in the air' as the time comes nearer for their arrival.  The Kings arrive by different modes of transport depending where you live, we lived in a coastal town and our Kings arrived by fishing boat clad in their ancient and sumptuously decorated costumes then transfered themselves to high stepping Spanish horses and danced through the streets to the ayuntamiento (Town Hall) followed by the whole population of the town;  the chidren would received their families' presents from the Kings then after coffee and brandy for the adults and sweets for the children we would all ...FOLLOW THE KINGS... to the parish church
for the first and most important mass of the year.  Women and children (and dogs!) all packed inside and all men outside smoking huge cigars.   I will never forget our 'Epiphanys' in Spain and went through all my memories last night watching the celebrations that the Spaniards love with all their hearts.   Wonderful! 

The Marx Brothers

 I love this story about the Marx Brothers and it does help to understand their zany behaviour on stage.

  'For years the Marx brothers toured America with a vaudeville act.   Although they were well into their
   twenties,  their mother, Minnie, continued to buy half fare tickets for them with instructions to tell the
   conductor that they were 13.  One suspicious train official approached Minnie and complained that one
   of her 'young' boys was smoking a cigar in the dining-car,  while the other was shaving.
   Apparently she sighed, saying, 'Don't they grow up fast?'

Back to normal

When you have never been ill before it is difficult to realise that all is not well until it is too late.  This happened to me over the Festive period of Christmas and New Year and as I refused to recognise the symptoms which were presenting themselves for too long when they registered on my body it felled me.  I hardly remember when I took to my bed but thankfully our number 2 son arrived from Dublin unsuspectingly thinking he was starting a Christmas holiday with plans to see many old friends - sadly the old friends turned out to be his old parents as he ran full pelt into a chef/nurse break.  He was wonderful and managed to escape back into his own life after a week's hard work only to feel ill himself by then but by the time he negotiated Bristol Airport then Dublin Airport and a journey back to his flat he realised that he might live on and thankfully his germs did not grow into anything more than a sniffle.  Meanwhile, number 1 son found himself alone with his children and having to play with all their gifts with them, this was not easy as his young wife died some years ago on Christmas Day so it is not a good time for them.   However!  all is well with my family now and we are all thankful for the Blessings.
Number 1 son has a book full of orders for work into the Spring, number 2 son is planning a new life at the other side of the world for a while and I know he'll be happy.  Our grandchildren have lots of plans for next year and we will learn at the beginning of March whether Georgina has been given a place at the High School of her choice.   Thanks to gifts from both our sons my dear one and I are planning a long w/e in a luxurious
hotel not too far from home.  Come on family let's go for it....