3rd january 2024

 Friday:  It is Andrew's birthday today.    It is my birthday next Wednesday so we will go out to my favourite restaurant, 'Staff of Life' on this coming Sunday, there will be six of us.

Capricorns have a somewhat negative write-up as far as their star (the goat) is concerned.  Coupled with the fact it is soon after Xmas and everyone is broke to buy a second lot of presents.  Our birthdays happen in the midst of winter, the light is beginning to return but snow, ice and rain make it miserable outside.

I am still  researching  cameras, I seem to have settled on a DSLR - digital single-lens  reflex though that means little to me, and it is a toss up between a Canon EOS  2000D or the 4000, it is so complicated and confusing.

Returning to taking photos or even my wobbly videos is still of interest to me, though I have a great backlog of photos to wander through my life. 

Now for some music, I used to love the sound of the organ (played well) in the church but voices are equally pleasing, so for an uplifting experience and a reminder you can always find something happy through the day to listen to.

The voices blended so beautifully, it reminds me of those years at the convent, there is also this Veni,Veni Emmanuel.  One cold December filing down to the icy church to practise again and again the above carol. I got my middle 'catholic' name at this time, though it was lost on a non committed religious me.  Though by the law of the church I was  supposedly excommunicated because my first marriage was in a C of E church, does that still apply I wonder or was it the vicar at the time making the rules up.

The above photo of my confirmation, my then, who I thought of as my brother, besides me to join in the day.  As I look at the photo I see no DNA linking us.  He was the grandson of our Jewish grandfather who brought me up after I had been adopted. Looking at the photo I think it was my biological mother who must have insisted on my Catholic upbringing.

We were together as children and then harshly parted when a divorce occurred in the family.  I also remember it happened around this time, and walking down the stairs at the convent to face my new life with a new stepmother who I disliked intensely.  Funny what music brings up;)

01/01/25

 Top of the morning to you! may the beauty of this world sustain you through this year.  And perhaps reflect on this.......

Yes the flood warning went off in the middle of the night, so on the whole fireworks and WW11 sirens kept the night lively.  But we are into the New Year, Flood Wardens have stood down, and on the Tod forum, people have renewed their moaning about that large hole in the main road.  Cursing the workmen of course, though several people came to their defense and made them hot drinks and snacks.

People make me wonder where their sensibilities have gone.  Things take time to repair, to settle, to resolve as a problem, but moaning is a great pastime. 

Problems interfere with the placid affairs of our lives, some would argue that it makes life more interesting.  Flooding is commonplace in this valley, the meetings of water cause chaos on the road at Callis Bridge but it is a natural phenomena and perhaps those first pioneers who settled at the bottom of a deep narrow valley will be giggling up there somewhere in the clouds.  

So I will leave you with the thrill of what a old siren sounds like and try to remember that it is not to do with today but a long time ago war when people fled to the underground when its sound was heard on the air.  And down in the corner of this large screen, I can see the fateful words 'heavy rain'.