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........