I offer this song as a blessing to everyone for the Winter/Summer Solstice and to wish you all a happy, restful, and healthy Christmas and New Year. Thank you for all your wonderful posts, comments and friendship this year and always.
My posts have been very sparse of late, and will continue to be for some time to come, but I have kept up with reading your posts and responding as often as I can.
Instead of sending Christmas cards this year, I am contributing to Alzheimer’s Society: UK’s leading charity for dementia care and research, offering a support line (0333 150 3456), local groups, and funding research for all dementia types.
My donation will be based on the number of cards I would have sent, plus the number of responses to this post. To ensure that I am not made bankrupt by AI bots I will set a maximum limit!
It was recently the birthday of Linda, a friend from work days and, in the process of checking whether it was a significant number this year, I found this little offering from a few years ago!
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Linda Barlow’s sixty-five, a mentor and a sage
But surely not, she cannot be, how could she be that age!
I met her when she was my wife, but only while at work
She stopped me doing silly things and acting like a jerk
Supported me for many years and helped so many others
Our team was great, and tightly knit, just like a band of brothers*
We laughed a lot but did the job, so very well I think
We had great friends to help us and strong dark tea to drink!
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Happy Birthday Linda xx and thank you
*(and sisters, actually far more sisters than brothers!)
At this time of year I lose track of who I have wished A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year so here is a greeting for anyone I may have missed. I’m also adding a simple seasonal song. Although it is simplistic and rather twee, it is the perfect sentiment and exactly what we need for 2025.
May I wish everyone a Merry and Joyful Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, Successful, and Peaceful New Year.
Over on GC and Sue W’s Weekly Prompts site, the Wednesday Challenge is the word Sunset. I don’t often take part in this challenge but I knew immediately what had to be entered for this one as tomorrow is the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings on 6 June 1944.
“Sunset”, also known as the “Retreat Call”, is a bugle call played in United Kingdom and British Commonwealth countries to signal the end of the official military day.
A belated Happy Christmas to everyone. I do hope that you enjoyed the holiday in a way that was just perfect for you.
Thank you to all who have asked after my health. I think I have responded to everyone, but some messages may be stuck in Junk folders!
For the first time ever, not only have I not been posting anything, but I haven’t been reading any posts either. I’ve had a fairly long period of health issues, and this month has been full of tests and procedures, with a two-day hospital stay to try to stabilise my blood pressure followed by an excision of part of my right ear because of Basal Cell Carcinoma. I also had an MRI scan which proved that I do, indeed, have a brain and it seems to be in working order!
I am now on my way to have my stitches out!
May I wish everybody a really Happy and healthy New Year – You really are a lovely bunch.
I share this again because it matters to me. It did then, it does now, it always will. Many will have commented on this in previous years. Please do not feel obliged to comment again, but if you do feel the urge then a simple “Always Remember” will be very welcome. Thank you.
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Chris decided long ago that he could no longer endure the Ceremony of Remembrance parades and services. It was too much for him. He knew that he would break down and weep copious tears, sobbing at all of the memories that he could not set aside. He could never forget!
Instead, each year, he went on his normal morning walk and found a quiet spot, apart from all human presence, and there he would remember his friends, and his enemies. Not all had died young, not all had died in battle. Some had not died, at least not straight away.
He remembered two young men. They had all just returned to camp after manoeuvres and were told they could not go home until all the vehicles had been cleaned and put away. One young man was newly married with a two-week-old baby. He persuaded his friend to take him home in his car. It wouldn’t take long, and they could be back before anybody noticed they were missing. The car was sporty, high-powered, and had a roll bar fitted. The young driver entered a bend far too fast, lost control, and rolled the car. It hit a tree. The roll bar saved the life of the driver but decapitated the young father.
He remembered two young Corporals, erecting an aerial mast on top of a vehicle in Germany, right underneath a very high voltage cable. One walked away with very serious burns, the other had horrendous burns and lost a leg and large portions of muscle mass. Chris had the job of taking inventory of the burned vehicle and its contents and then visiting the worst injured once he left the hospital to tell him that he no longer had a job but there was good news, his promotion to Sergeant had come through!
He remembered a young man who shot himself in the chest but survived, only to shoot himself in the head once he was back at work.
He remembered running for his life, literally, when it seemed that everyone wanted him dead when all around him were falling, screaming, dying. He would not forget!
He stood as usual, at 11am, at attention, alone. He remembered. How could he do anything else?
After two minutes of silence, of remembering, of trying to forget, he saluted, fell, and joined his comrades!
I am trying to make friends outside of Facebook while using the same principles. Therefore, every day I walk down the street and tell passersby what I have eaten, how I feel at the moment, what I have done the night before, what I will do later, and with whom.
I give them pictures of my family, my dog, and of me gardening, taking things apart in the garage, watering the lawn, standing in front of landmarks, driving around town, having lunch, and doing what anybody and everybody does every day.
I also listen to their conversations, give them the “thumbs up” and tell them I like them.
And it works just like Facebook. I already have five people following me: Two police officers, a private investigator, a priest and a psychiatrist.
An occasional post of my music choices. No analysis, or explanation, maybe just a few words to say why!
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I offer this song as a blessing to everyone for the Winter Solstice and to wish you all a happy, restful, and healthy Christmas and New Year. Thank you for all your wonderful posts, comments and friendship this year and always.
I’ve run out of fingers and toes and knots in strings and other things I’ve filled lots of jotters and those will remind me of joys that life brings I’ve written my name and that of my wife I’ve added some things that I thought that I should I’m trying my best to précis my […]
Peter's pondering 
