The Hovel Chronicles Part Four and a Visit to a Small Corner of England......

Hi there everyone, yes it’s me again.....I know back with catch up but I have other things to chat to you about so thought I would get my ‘stress filled time’ out of the way. There are some good moments too so I thought I would share them with you.....Lots of pics this time, hope you enjoy them....

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After the funeral none of us wanted to go home straight away and as it was only late afternoon we decided to potter about a local store called The Range. This shop has great things for the home and at reasonable prices. Apparently we have one here in Truro which I have yet to explore. But I was in the Nottingham store so Truro could wait. Remembering we had a hire car I had to limit my shopping however......So I only purchased some Kilner Jars and some pretty jam jars, the jam jars I thought would be ideal for some of my buttons. The Kilner jars, not sure yet what I’m going to do with them.........

Good old traditional Kilner Jars

Nice jam jars for some of my button collection

After shopping Kristina came back with us to Hannah’s cottage. Her husband would not be back from work until evening and naturally she did not want to back home to an empty house. Plus it was nice to relax together as friends, reflect on the day’s event and appreciate the friendship we shared. We toasted Alma and enjoyed our time together.........

Kristina and Hannah, friends since they were five years of age....



Me and Hannah...My I look big here. Trust me my tummy isn't that big.
I had pushed by bag under my shirt for the photo...Honest
Thank goodness for Slimming World...lol...



I love Hannah’s cottage, which always feels like going home when I stay there. It is very old and was at one time two small cottages back to back. It’s nice to be somewhere that doesn’t have ‘work in progress’ plus she has a lovely garden where you can relax with a glass of wine or two....lol.......


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I would like to show you where we rested our weary minds and bodies for the time we were in Nottingham. May I take you through to Hannah’s dining room.....




An African theme to this room

Very much our kind of tree girls

Yes it's brown and when the lights are lit it's magical

Nice backdrop when you are having a meal

I like relaxing in Hannah’s conservatory, that’s if Jess the dog will let me. She is a working Cocker and is seven years old. In fact Jess was born on my son’s birthday so another May anniversary.........

Jess, on the go all the time. A little sweetie



Peaceful



I love this view of the garden through the kitchen window. I wouldn’t mind doing the washing up if I could look out on this.........



The sun shone for Alma



A favourite part of the garden is the area just outside the back door. The clematis is seen in full bloom which blends in beautifully with the copper tones of the shrubs. The small Rowan tree seen on the right was given to Hannah and Dave as a wedding present from Mike and Alma. The Rowan tree has a particular meaning for Alma. As well as being her favourite tree it also featured in the title of one of her books Echoes Round the Rowan Tree which Alma later changed to Echoes. Other books to Alma’s credit are Lady of Valour and a booklet called In Days of Yore. All excellent examples of Alma’s gift as a writer. Talking about the books here as prompted me to read them again.........

A talented writer who I will never forget....

A Mature Rowan Tree in Wicklow, Ireland

The European rowan has a long tradition in European mythology and folklore. It was thought to be a magical tree and protection against malevolent beings. It was said in England that this was the tree on which the Devil hanged his mother. (wikipedia)

Spooky, lovely tree all the same though.....

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But I digress, back to Hannah’s garden......

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The birds were singing and bees humming

Hannah, where's the nuts....

Notice the horseshoe

Birds are known to nest here

An old forgotten lamp nestling amongst the flowers

A fairy kiss amongst the bluebells

Many a time I have relaxed here with a chilled glass of wine

and a meal or two....

This would make a nice card

A walk down the garden path back to the cottage

A splash of colour....purple...

I have spent many a happy time here in this garden either alone, with Hannah or when Hannah has friends over. Parties, lunch or just a quite drink, happy memories......

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Well my friends that’s all for this posting. I hope you enjoyed your visit to a small corner of England. I will be back with tales of our visit to reclamation yards, the local library, the house in the woods and general travels while up in Nottingham. Until then take care...lol....

The Hovel Chronicles Part Three.....More Ramblings from Cornwall....

Hello to you from Cornwall this midsummer weekend...Hard to believe that we will be having the longest night and shortest day over the next few days, but more about that later. I thought I would continue with my time while MIA. I apologise about this but a lot did happen to stop me posting and plus the reasons for that put me in a frame of mind where I didn’t want to post. I almost hibernated from life for a while when it let me.......So either get yourself a coffee or something stronger and relax for a while or escape now while you have the chance...lol.........

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Taken this week at 10.25 pm at night from my back garden.

The sky was a lot whiter

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After the shocking news about my dear friend Alma you would think that would be enough. Not to be however....The previous Friday, the 17th, I had taken my cat Mr Darcy to the vets for what we thought was his usually complaint. He had a bladder condition which caused him discomfort and weight loss but antibiotics and steroids usually set him right again. It seemed to work again this time but by the Thursday evening after I had heard about Alma he seemed to have become unwell again and was having difficulty chewing. Another visit to the vets the following day did not reassure me. He had lost even more weight and a large lump had formed in his right gum....both the vet and I knew this was not an abscess, foreign body maybe? The vet suggested an exploratory op for Monday unless I wanted it performed Saturday morning but he would be short staffed!!!! I now know it was his way of saying ‘Have this last weekend with him’ and I thank Luke for that. I knew deep down, you know your animals, but I was hoping he would be ok........

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Monday morning of April 27th soon came around and after lots of cuddles from me Mr Darcy went to the vets with Andy. The news from Luke that lunchtime wasn’t good. This is how kind and thoughtful my vets are, Luke phoned me during their lunch hour knowing there would be no other clients there. I went to the vets immediately and Luke gave up part of his lunchtime to talk to me and let me spend one last time with my furry friend. The lump turned out to be an inoperable tumour and judging by the rapid growth of the lump and weight loss it was felt it may also be elsewhere...I was in shock, I was going to have to say goodbye to this beautiful gentle ginger puss cat Mr Darcy. He was heavily sedated and so chilled lying in my arms and his fur shone. It was so unfair, he was only 7. But I will not let any of my furry family suffer and so I said my goodbyes. I will admit now that I was a coward when it came to staying with Mr Darcy. I have been with all my other animals till the end but I couldn’t with Mr Darcy, I went through a terrible guilt trip but my friends helped me with their support and understanding, helped put things into perspective. I would like to take this time to say a big Thank You to Gina of Cat Nap Inn Primitives, my dear friend Ann in Australia and Rosie, Alan and Hilary here in Cornwall. All of who are animal lovers who understand my love for my furry family. Thank you for being there and listening to my ramblings. I was devastated, I felt like someone had wrenched my heart out. My furry family are part of who I am and when one is gone then a part of me goes to. I was grieving for my human friend Alma when only days later my furry friend died also......a very bad time for me...God Bless you both, take care of Mr Darcy for me Alma..........

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My gentle man Mr Darcy

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That was not all. The boys were due that Monday for their vaccination boosters and kennel cough vaccine so as you can appreciate it I cancelled that appointment but went Wednesday instead. They needed this because they were going into kennels while we went to Nottingham for Alma’s funeral. Although I was dreading going to the vets so soon it did turn out to be a little amusing thanks to Merlin. Now, I wouldn’t like anything being put in my nose so I could understand Merlin’s reluctance not to want it either but even he protested too much...lol...It ended up with Merlin, Andy, the vet and the nurse all being on the floor together, accompanied by Arthur howling outside!!! And Arthur at his turn just sat there and let the vet administer the vaccine, creep...lol.......But this was not the only visit to the vets that week, Millie my tabby cat (who you met previously when I posted about her being ‘wanted’ by the police..hehe..) had an appointment Friday for her anti-biotic jab, didn’t make it did she. Oh she set off alright with Andy but our good old car decided to break down and Andy was due at work by six......

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Our Range Rover the day we purchased it......It was working then...

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Eventually they got back home and Millie went to the vets Saturday morning after the boys went to the Kennels. That Saturday night was awful, I had no Mr Darcy sat on my computer desk, no dogs lying at my feet and Andy was at work. It was a very quite lonely house!!!!

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Come Sunday lunchtime we were still without a car after the RAC had towed it to a local garage. Turns out it was the water pump and with it being a bank holiday weekend it would not be able to be repaired until the following week. Fine under normal circumstances but we still had a funeral to get to by Tuesday May 5th, some 325 miles away!!!! Train or plane was out of the question, hitchhiking was not an option and my broomsticks were resting until October........What to do, can’t hire a car as it’s Sunday but Andy phoned anyway and left a message. How were we going to get to Nottingham without a car? But in the words of Scarlet O’Hara ‘I’ll think about that tomorrow’.....But as luck would have it the car hire firm did contact us that day and was able to let us have a car Monday.....

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The car we hired

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So off to Nottingham we went a day later than planned and sadly we missed Hannah and Dave’s wedding anniversary. Yes, May 3rd was their first anniversary and their wedding day was the last time I saw Alma as we had not been up to Nottingham since that day. It was also Lee’s birthday Sunday, my friend Cheryl’s son.....The day we set off was my son’s 25th birthday so I was not able to see him, which was the first time ever. His wife Jane did do a party for him however so he probably didn’t miss me...lol.......

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After a long journey with heavy traffic we finally arrived at Hannah’s cottage in Brinsley, Nottinghamshire. I did manage to see my Tor in Somerset though, as seen in above photograph...it was great to see Hannah and she had a lovely meal waiting for us, she is a star.....

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Hannah's Cottage

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As you can imagine we were not looking forward to the next day but it came around soon enough. On the way to Mike and Alma’s house we picked up Kristina and talked about Alma. I knew I would crumble on seeing Mike, Alma’s husband, and sure enough it hit me. I realised that I had never seen Mike without Alma and seeing this man with such sadness in his eyes hit me with the fact that I would never see her again. Tears welled in my eyes and when I hugged Mike I said ‘I knew I would cry as soon as I saw you’. He replied ‘I always have that effect on ladies’....his SOH was still intact, thank goodness, and Alma would have approved.......It was good to see that they had a person walking at the front of the funeral car and Alma would have approved of the fact that it was a woman. But it shows what a dill I can be sometimes. We're going along the duel carriageway just after we left the road leading from Almas and I said 'The woman isn't still walking in front is she'......Andy's reply 'Shouldn't think so as we are gong 40 miles along the duel carriageway'.....huh, what am I like...hehe....

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Bluebells were Alma's Favourite Flowers

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The funeral went well and as we listened about the life of our friend we smiled. Alma loved autumn and so it was only fitting that Forever Autumn by Justin Hayward was played and as we left the chapel I Got You Babe by Sonny & Cher , Alma and Mike’s song.........


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Flowers for Alma. Like me her favourite colour was purple

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Now some people think I’m weird but to me it’s perfectly normal, I take photographs of the funeral flowers and my friends who attend the service. We take photos of weddings and christenings, the other big events in our life, and most people only ever see each other at these events. So I like photos, especially if the person has been cremated with no grave to visit. My friend Andrew also thought it was strange at first but later admitted that he was glad I did. I only have a photograph of Kristina, Hannah, Andrew and Andy but I wanted to have a memento of that day to remind me how precious my friends are to me. Who knows when I will see these guys again (obviously Andy as I live with him...hehe...). I will see them individually but when all together.......


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Special friends indeed. LtoR: Kristina, Hannah, Andrew and Andy

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Refreshments afterwards were at The West Bridgeford Masonic Hall and it was pleasant despite the reason for it. We said goodbye to Alma in style........

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This date has another sad place in my heart. My nephew was born May 5 1992 but only lived 56 minutes. He would have been 17 if he had lived, God Bless him... So you see May 3rd, 4th and 5th of May each year has some happy and sad anniversaries for me....

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If you are still with me, thank you for staying the distance and listening to my ramblings. I will be back later so you have been warned....Take care until then...lol...

The Hovel Chronicles Part Two.....

Hello from the Hovel, yes it’s me again. Goodness, you don’t hear from me for ages and then here I am again.... But before I go rambling on about what happened to me while MIA I would like to wish Mr Harry Patch a Happy 111th Birthday........

Mr Harry Patch 2007

As you may or may not know Harry Patch is the last British surviving veteran of World War 1 who was born on June 17 1898 in Combe Down, Somerset, England. Mr Patch was an apprentice plumber before being conscripted into the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry in October 1916. Serving as an assistant gunner in a Lewis Gun section, this young man of only eighteen years of age would grow up very quickly, as many did, as he experienced the horrors of trench warfare. At this young age he was to take part in the Battle of Passchendaele and continued to serve as a Private in the trenches until September 1917. It was at this time that he was seriously injured by a shell explosion which killed three of his friends. If you have seen the documentary ‘Last Voices of World War 1’ you will remember Mr Patch and the other WW1 veterans recalling their experiences at this time.......

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After the war Mr Patch returned to being a plumber and in WW2 served as a fireman. In 1999 Mr Patch would be one of the 350 surviving WWI veterans who received France's highest decoration - the Legion D'Honneur medal, awarded by the French government. Another medal would be presented to this fine gentleman in 2008. On his 110th birthday the Ambassador of Belgium presented Mr Patch with Belgium's highest military accolade, the Knights of Leopold medal. And earlier this year he was awarded his second Legion D'Honneur by French Ambassador Maurice Gourdault-Montagne......I wish a very Happy Birthday to Mr Patch and Thank You........

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My son Christopher, the proud daddy of baby Dylan

Korenza with her baby brother, she loves him so.....

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Following on from my last posting you may recall I was delighted that my grandson had finally gone home from hospital in April. Being eager to show him off I finally managed to take Vikki, my ‘adopted’ daughter (aka my son’s ex-girlfriend of some years ago), to see Dylan on April 21st. The above photograph is of Dylan and his proud but very tired daddy plus one of Dylan and Korenza, both taken that day. The weather was glorious and Vikki decided that the following day she would have a BBQ and we would all go. Dismissing the sighting of one lone magpie outside my son’s home, I was looking forward to an unexpected invitation to a get-together........

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Me (much younger...hehe..), Christopher & Vikki. Abt. 2002

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The following morning dawned warm but overcast and it seemed that the BBQ may be cancelled but the sun finally got its hat on and came out that day. You may wonder why this should be so important as to mention here. Well after many months of highs and lows, more lows than highs, it seemed that life was going good for the family at The Hovel. Little did I know that the magpie rhyme ‘One for Sorrow’ would have significant meaning for us in the days ahead.......

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Vikki enjoying a tipple at her BBQ.....

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We all had a great time at the BBQ despite Christopher & co not being able to attend. Vikki had put on a great spread, there was music and a super bunch of people there, including my friend fellow nutty nanny Charlotte...lol...Arrived home feeling very relaxed and nostalgic, why nostalgic you may ask? Although I have made many friends here in Cornwall and have great social times with them events like this day were more frequent when I live in Nottinghamshire. I sat at my computer, listened to music and reflected back to times spent with my very special group of friends. We all have friends we make over the years, some stay for good, some drift out of our lives. Apart from Cheryl, who attended my son’s wedding, I have another group of friends who are very important to me, friendships of twenty years plus....We are an eccentric group of individuals. There is Andrew my soul mate, a fellow vegetarian and witness at my own wedding. Hannah who is like a sister, many a weekend away, holidays and parties we have shared together plus soul searching chats, a friend 24/7 regardless whether we see each other from one week to the next. Within this group is Kristina and Martin, a beautiful couple. I got to know Kristina through Hannah, these two women have known each other since they were five years old, some 49 years, that’s friendship...Julie who I met while nursing and like all was an ‘aunty’ to my son, Ian a super guy with a wicked sense of humour, again met when we were young nurses. Other friends met through Hannah drifted through this group but the main constant heart of this group are a wonderful couple named Mike and Alma. I used to always joke that they were the parents and we were the unruly children...lol.. Different ages, jobs, etc, didn’t matter a jot, we all blended together to form a special bond....This nostalgic reflection on times past would become quite poignant as April 22nd became the 23rd.......

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L to R. Charlie, Kristina, Alma, Hannah & Mike

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Just after midnight my telephone rang, so I instantly thought ‘bad news’, sadly it was. It was my friend Hannah telling me that our dear friend Alma had passed away Tuesday April 21st and that she had been trying to contact me all day Wednesday (Hannah not Alma, but then again knowing Alma she just may have been...lol..). As you can imagine I was shocked, could not believe it. My talented friend with the big personality and passion for life had gone. Although she was 76 she did not look it or act it. She approached life with such gusto, wrote beautiful poetry and books, an exquisite designer and seamstress and had a fantastic sense of humour. Everything Alma did she did with passion, including throwing things when riled as I later found out...lol...In true Alma style she died with style and quickly. She apparently complained of feeling dizzy, went to lie down accompanied by Mike, sat up because she was having difficulty breathing, rested her head on Mike’s shoulder and passed away.....At least my wonderful friend was not bedridden or in hospital. I cannot imagine what Mike was going through. And we her friends are devastated by our loss. She has left a big hole in our lives. To know her was to love her......

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Mike & Alma Harris. May 3rd 2008

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I mentioned later to my friend Hannah that although we were all friends connected to each other, each of us will also have a specific individual connection to Alma. Mine was our mutual love of books and certain favourite authors. One day in particular was just for Alma and me. The author Barbara Erskine was visiting the Nottingham library and so off we went. It was a fantastic, memorable day where we had the opportunity to meet and talked to the author and purchase a book which was duly signed by Barbara Erskine herself. Meal, coffee and lots of chatting finished the day off well...God Bless you my dear friend....

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Alma, a beautiful friend....

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I will be back later this week to tell you more. I wish that this was the only unexpected sad event but alas it wasn’t. Plus I will tell you about our trip to Nottingham, saying farewell to Alma and what we did on our days there. Alma would have expected nothing else from us.....Until then take care...lol........

The Hovel Chronicles Part One....

Hello there, bet you’re surprised to see me posting again so soon, said I would. Now if the writing is a bit wavy it’s because I’m dancing in my chair as I write while listening to UB40, yep swinging my hips and arms while listening to ‘Red Red Wine’, love this one, even having it played at my funeral...lol....But doesn't everyone boggie on a Friday night......hehe....

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It all started while driving back from the vets (well Andy was) and ‘Kingston Town’ was playing on the radio. Well you know how it is when a tune keeps going around in your head and you keep humming it, well that’s what I was doing. So as soon as I came back from the Slimming World marathon (well two miles to be exact but more about that in a mo) and after doing all the usual, feeding the furry family, washing up, etc, I sat at my trusted computer with a coffee and started listening to ‘Kingston Town’ and the rest. My, these songs take me back to when I used to shake my booty.....would have done it tonight but my back is a wee bit painful so I had to be content with swinging in my chair......lol..........

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Finished with UB40 and so scrolled the site that we all know.....yes its back so I was flicking through finding all the songs I like, too many too mention. So I started with ‘Going Up Country’ by Canned Heat, followed by ‘Let Your Love Flow’ by Bellamy Brothers and as I am writing this part listening to ‘Galway Girl’ by Steve Earle. Are you singing and dancing with me girls....can’t hear you....lol......

Foundry Square, Hayle

(Photo from The Harvey's Foundry Trust Website)

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Ha the marathon.....As you know I attend Slimming World classes (cough cough). Back focused now but as you know when life happens it’s hard to stick to a sensible eating plan, well it is for me. Well, Slimming World’s charity SMILES (Slimmers Making it a Little Easier for Someone)is raising funds for the NSPCC’s Child’s Voice Appeal, which will help ChildLine and the NSPCC’s Helpline. These help lines are vital especially as more cases about child abuse and child deaths at the hands of their carers are coming to light......So our local group did a sponsored walk around Hayle. We started from the Foundry Square car park in Hayle, very convenient for me as I only live just around the corner. We walked down towards the area known as King George V Memorial Walk. This is a beautiful place to walk. It sits along the side of the estuary and has sub-tropical plants and flowers. The area is also known for its bird life. Now I do this walk but at a leisurely pace in my own time!!!! Now I thought it would be a nice gentle pace and for most it was but I accompanied two of the ladies from my class who said ‘right of we go’ which I found out didn’t mean just start, power walking seemed to be the agenda...Now I can power walk in a way for a short distance and I can walk a long way steadily but to power walk for a long way is another kettle of fish...hehe..... We walked backed along the high street and guess what greeted our nostrils as we rounded the corner, yep food smells. How cruel is that but we resisted and finished the trek which we enjoyed...pant pant.....This link gives details of the walk we did.......

http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=13319

King George V Memorial Walk, Hayle

The 'soil' area to the right is the estuary, seen here with the tide out




Above two photographs taken by Tony Atkin

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Of course no walk would be worth it without finishing up at a pre-arranged waterhole and in this case the designated place was The Salt Bar back at Foundry Square, a place I like to visit and on this occasion I stuck to my SW eating plan...right...two half’s of larger shandy later I felt a lot less hot and bothered..lol..It was a good evening for us all and we also raised some money for a good cause, can’t be bad.....

Salt Bar, Foundry Square, Hayle

The shurbs are now higher and there are lights

entwined through their branches...

The interior of the Salt Bar
(Photos from the Eat Out Cornwall web site)


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So that is why my back is a little painful tonight.......
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Still swinging girls, just listened to ‘No Matter What’ by Bad Finger and ‘Witch Queen of New Orleans’ by Redbone. I think I’ll put on ‘Up on the Roof’, the version by Robson & Jerome, so I will be skipping back and forth to have a peak, quite cute these guys.......
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Now for the reasons I was MIA for two months. Where to start? The best place to start would be with some good news. On April 15th my little grandson finally left hospital after seven weeks and went home. He is doing well and developing his own personality. His sister Korenza adores him and for one so young she is very protective of him. I love the pictures below taken by my son in the first week home........

Korenza and Dylan April 2009

'I have one of these'

'I Wanna Hold Your Hand'

Isn't this a cutie of my adorable grandies....

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I do have more to tell you but I will be back with that later, didn’t want to make this post too long.....So my friends thanks for dropping by and take care...Until next time lol.....

Rembering The Veterans of the Normandy Landings June 6, 1944.......

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Hello from the Hovel....yes it’s me, I’m back. So sorry everyone for not posting for nearly eight weeks, dare I say that. I cannot believe it’s that long since I posted here. Trust me I have tried to do so the last few weeks but every time I planned to do so something else happened. Yes it’s been even more chaotic and stressful than ever here, I should write a book called ‘The Hovel Chronicles’ but I’ll settled for writing here...lol......

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Normandy Invasion Preparations, 1944
U.S. Soldiers march through a southern English coastal town, en route to board landing ships for the invasion of France, circa late May or early June 1944. Note the barbed wire in the foreground.Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives

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I do have lots to tell you. News of joy, sadness, and illness but I will leave that for now. What prompted me to finally post today was the anniversary of D-Day, June 6 1944. A day honoured each year to remember the veterans of the Allied Forces who took part in the historic landings on the beaches of Normandy. The Allied Forces consisted of United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Free Belgian Forces, Free French Forces, Free Norwegian Forces and Free Polish Forces. The invasion force also included up to about 3,000 Australians despite the great bulk of its forces fighting Japan in the south-west Pacific .........

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The British 2nd Army: Infantry waiting to move off 'Queen White' Beach, SWORD Area, while under enemy fire, on the morning of 6 June. The first landings on Sword were made by the British 3rd Infantry Division, 27th Armoured Brigade and Royal Marine and Army Commando units from General Crocker’s I Corps. By nightfall the British had 28,850 men ashore and the Orne bridge had been seized.

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Infantry and armour on Sword Beach. Medics are attending to wounded in the shelter of a Churchill AVRE from 5th Assault Regiment, Royal Engineers. In the background is an M10 Wolverine tank destroyer, probably from 20th Anti-Tank Regiment - 6th June 1944


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The Normandy Landings were the first operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, also known as Operation Neptune and Operation Overlord, during World War II. Many of us will have members of our own family who took part in this monumental operation. Many sacrifices were made that day and after. It was with great pride that I watched on tv the ceremony that took place today in Normandy. Veterans of that day stood side by side once again and proudly wore their medals, some held aloft the Standards of their battalions. Our generation cannot imagine what was going through their minds as they remembered their time here in 1944 or of their memories of fallen comrades. Standing among these veterans were our young service men and women and cadets. Some of who were the ages the Veterans were when they landed in Normandy......What I do know is that I’m very proud to be British and I salute each and everyone for my freedom....Thank you........

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Personnel of Royal Canadian Navy Beach Commando "W" landing on Mike Beach, Juno sector of the Normandy beachhead. June 6th, 1944. Most are wearing Mk III helmets.
From the National Archives of Canada.


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Members of an American landing party lend helping hands to other members of their organization whose landing craft was sunk by enemy action off the coast of France. These survivors reached Omaha Beach by using a life raft. Photographer: Weintraub, 6 June 1944. SC190366

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I will be back over the next few days to let you know what has kept me away and of course lots of photos....I will also change the banner at the top, goodness it still says Happy Easter...Until next time..lol.....

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(Source: Photos and D-Day information from Wikipedia)