This was Bernadette when she was approx 19/20 years old. I didn't know her then but she was always an attractive woman, even in these latter years when ravaged by illness. She was 75 in January, just gone.
Being an Irish Catholic, and of the old school, her family arranged for Bernadette to spend the night before her funeral in her own home. Bernadette was taken to church by a horse-drawn carriage, which is something she had expressed a wish to have for her funeral. The photograph below is the actual carriage as it arrived to convey Bernadette to the church for the Requiem Mass,
followed by three limosines. The floral tributes from family and friends were magnificent. The service at the church was followed by a commital for cremation at the local crematorium, then a buffet at a local restaurant for family and friends to celebrate her life. Her family gave her a wonderful send-off, I know that Bernadette would have been watching and enjoying going out in style and to top it all the weather was absolutely beautiful for her last trip.
God bless you Bernadette, you will never be forgotten.
In my last post I told you how I had just discovered a Christmas gift from my lovely neighbour and friend, Bernadette. She telephoned me last Saturday to ask if I could pop over (her house is right opposite mine) for a few minutes, which I did, only to find her half in and half out of bed and unable to get herself into bed properly because of her health issues. I helped her back into bed and made sure she had everything she needed and showed her my newly manicured nails, thanking her once again for the gift voucher.
The following day we went out and didn't get back until 7 ish, We had only been home about an hour when Bernadette's daughter called to tell us her Mum had been taken into hospital, as she really wasn't very well, and asked if we would take care of her house (close the blinds at night and open them in the morning) whilst she was in hospital. Imagine our shock the following morning when I found a note pushed through our letterbox saying Bernadette had passed away in the early hours.
Bernadette was a very strong woman who had been living on borrowed time for the last five years. In fact 5 years ago, after a three week stay in hospital, she was sent home and given two weeks to live, that will give you some indication of just how strong she was.
Tuesday will find us paying our last respects to Bernadette at her funeral,
Visiting my friend and neighbour on a Thursday morning, as usual, a couple of weeks ago, I was a bit confused during the conversation when she asked "Did you have your manicure?" Not quite understanding where the conversation was going I said "I did my nails myself". "Oh yes I know you do them yourself but haven't you used the gift voucher I bought you for Christmas?"
I must have looked suitably confused because she then asked me what she had given me for Christmas. I thought back and described what was in the gift bag I had opened on Christmas Day. "Yes but there should have been an envelope in there with a gift voucher for a manicure as well" she insisted. I said I hadn't seen one. As she is virtually housebound and can't really do her own shopping her daughter does it for her so she said she would check with her daughter that she had indeed purchased the gift voucher. I felt terrible but there wasn't much I could do other than thank her for the thought and apologise for not being more observant.
A couple of days later she told me she had checked with her daughter who had confirmed there was definitely a voucher with the gift but she would check with the salon (one she goes to weekly) if they could issue another voucher. I thanked her but begged her not to go to any trouble as it is the thought that counts and it was my own fault I'd missed that part of the gift. Later that day I decided to look through my collection of gift bags, I don't usually discard gift bags as one can usually use them again, to see if I could find the one my neighbour had used for my Christmas present and, lo and behold, there was the plain white envelope containing the gift voucher! Luckily it was valid for six months so I still had plenty of time to use it. I telephoned my neighbour to tell her the good news and she was delighted.
Anyway, the point of all this is to say I used my belated Christmas gift yesterday. MWM and I had a day to ourselves so we caught the bus into the next town, did a little shopping and then went for lunch at a favourite haunt,The Trackside, which happens to be just around the corner from the salon that issued the gift voucher. MWM read his Kindle whilst enjoying a pint of real ale whilst I went for my manicure, then when I returned we had another drink before catching the bus home.
We don't need a special day, organised by industry, to say
"I love you",
We say it every day,
True valentines us, we are in love.
Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall).
The idea is you write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take
part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.
I started it to keep a record of my progress after I had a knee replacement, little did I know then that six years later I would still be writing.
My writing has slowed down a lot over the years, I mainly just write about our holidays and trips now with the occasional Flash Fiction thrown in. I have no idea how much longer I will be writing on this blog but do not have any plans to stop in the near future.
So, help yourself to a piece of cake and a glass of bubbly to help me celebrate my 6th Blogversary.
This story happened a while
ago in Dublin , and
even though it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it's true.
John Bradford, aDublinUniversity
student, was on the side of the road hitchhiking on a very dark night and
in the midst of a big storm. The night was rolling on and no car went
by.
The storm was so strong he
could hardly see a few feet ahead of him. Suddenly, he saw a car slowly
coming towards him and stopped. John, desperate for shelter and without
thinking about it, got into the car and closed the door.... only to
realize there was nobody behind the wheel and the engine wasn't on.
The car started moving slowly.
John looked at the road ahead and saw a curve approaching. Scared, he
started to pray, begging for his life. Then, just before the car hit the
curve, a hand appeared out of nowhere through the window, and turned the
wheel. John, paralyzed with terror, watched as the hand came through the
window, but never touched or harmed him.
Shortly thereafter, John saw
the lights of a pub appear down the road, so, gathering strength; he
jumped out of the car and ran to it. Wet and out of breath, he rushed
inside and started telling everybody about the horrible experience he had
just had. A silence enveloped the pub when everybody realized he was
crying... And wasn't drunk.
Suddenly, the door opened, and
two other people walked in from the dark and stormy night. They, like
John, were also soaked and out of breath. Looking around, and seeing John
Bradford sobbing at the bar, one said to the other....
Look Paddy....there's that
idiot that got in the car while we were pushing
it.'
Thirteen years service to my country, now it's the
end.
I've never been popular, too small everyone
complained.
They will be sorry, the price of everything will go
up when they get rid of me.
The halfpenny coin ceased to be legal tender on
this day 1984.
The last line is so true, all prices were rounded up not down!
Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall).
The idea is you write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take
part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.
IDIOT SIGHTING 1 My
daughter and I went through the McDonalds take-away window and I gave
the girl a £5 note. Our total was £4.20, so I also handed her a Twenty
pence piece. She said, 'you gave me too much money.' I said, 'Yes I know, but this way you can just give me £1 back.' She
sighed and went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my request. I
did so, and he handed me back the 20 pence and said 'We're sorry but
they could not do that kind of thing.' The girl then proceeded to give me back 80 pence in change.. Do not confuse the girls at MacD's. IDIOT SIGHTING 2 We
had to have the garage door repaired. The GARADOR repairman told us
that one of our problems was that we did not have a 'large' enough motor
on the opener. I
thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one GARADOR made
at that time, a 1/2 horsepower. He shook his head and said, 'Lady, you
need a ¼ horsepower.' I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4 and he said, 'NOOO, it's not. Four is larger than two.' We haven't used Garador repair since. Happened in Bromley , Kent UK IDIOT SIGHTING 3 I
live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbour call the
Highways Department to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on
our road. The reason: 'Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! I
don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.' Story from Crayford , Kent , UK IDIOT SIGHTING 4 My
daughter went to a local Kentucky Fried and ordered a Mexican taco. She
asked the person behind the counter for'minimum lettuce.' He said he
was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce. From Gillingham Kent , UK .
IDIOT SIGHTING 5 I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an Irish airport employee asked,'Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?' To which I replied, 'If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?' He smiled knowingly and nodded, 'That's why we ask.' Happened Luton Airport ...... UK IDIOT SIGHTING 6 The
stoplight on the corner buzzes when it's safe to cross the street. I
was crossing with an intellectually challenged co-worker of mine.. She
asked if I knew what the buzzer was for. I explained that it signals
blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, 'What on earth are blind people doing driving?!' She is a Local County Council employee in Dartford Kent, UK IDIOT SIGHTING 7 When
my husband and I arrived at Our Local Ford dealer to pick up our car,
we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service
department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver’s
side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried
the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. 'Hey,' I announced
to the Mechanic "It's open!' His reply, 'I know. I already did that side.' This was at the Ford dealership in St Albans,Hertfordshire UK. STAY ALERT! They walk among us... and the scary part is that is they have the RIGHT TO VOTE and REPRODUCE!
Our
Scoutmaster told us to write to our parents in case you saw the flood
on TV and got worried. We are okay. Only one of our tents and 2 sleeping
bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were
all up on the mountain looking for Adam when it happened.
Oh yes, please call Adam's mother and tell her he is okay. He can't
write because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue
Jeeps. It was great. We never would have found Adam
in the dark if it hadn't been for the lightning.
Scoutmaster Ted
got mad at Adam for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Adam
said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn't
hear him. Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas will blow
up?
The wet wood didn't burn, but one of the tents did and also some
of our clothes. Matthew is going to look weird until his hair grows back.
We
will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Ted gets the bus fixed. It
wasn't his fault about the crash. The brakes worked okay when we left.
Scoutmaster Ted said that with a bus that old, you have to expect
something to break down; that's probably why he can't get insurance.
We think it's a super bus. He doesn't care if we get it dirty, and
if it's hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the bumpers. It gets pretty
hot with 45 people in a bus made for 24. He let us take turns riding in
the trailer until the policeman stopped and talked to us.
Scoutmaster Ted is a neat guy. Don't worry, he is a good driver. In
fact, he is teaching Horace how to drive on the mountain roads where
there aren't any cops. All we ever see up there are huge logging trucks.
This morning all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming
out to the rapids. Scoutmaster Ted
wouldn't let me because I can't swim, and Adam was afraid he would sink
because of his cast (it's concrete because we didn't have any plaster),
so he let us take the canoe out. It was great. You can still see some
of the trees under the water from the flood.
Scoutmaster Ted isn't crabby like some scoutmasters. He didn't even
get mad about the life jackets. He has to spend a lot of time working on
the bus so we are trying not to cause him any trouble.
Guess
what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Andrew dived
into the lake and cut his arm, we all got to see how a tourniquet works.
Steve and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Ted said it was probably just
food poisoning from the left-over chicken. He said they got sick that
way with food they ate in prison. I'm so glad he got out and became our
scoutmaster. He said he sure figured out how to get things done better
while he was doing his time. By the way, what is a
pedal-file?
I have to go now. We are going to town to post our
letters and buy some more beer and ammo. Don't worry about anything. We
are fine and tonight it's my turn to sleep in the Scoutmaster's tent.
After a fantastic few days in San Francisco it was time to leave and head south to our first stop, Monteray , for refreshments and a short stop to look around taking in the sea otters basking in the bay, Cannery Row, the quaint shops, restaurants and buildings before taking the coast road where we saw lots of birds and seals.
We made our way to Pebble Beach along the 17mile drive spotting the Lone Cypress, which is the official symbol of Pebble Beach and a frequent fixture of television broadcasts from this area. We passed multimillion dollar homes, (including Whitney Houston's) the Del Monte Estate, the Rolex clock and the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course before we reached our destination for lunch, Carmel. Carmel is known for being dog-friendly, with numerous hotels,
restaurants and retail establishments admitting guests with dogs. Carmel
is also known for several unusual laws, including a prohibition on
wearing high-heel shoes without a permit, enacted to prevent lawsuits
arising from tripping accidents caused by irregular pavement and it is where Clint Eastwood was Mayor for one term. We grabbed a delicious ready-made sandwich and a drink from a local supermarket which we ate in the little park enjoying the sunshine before exploring the little town and taking some photos, then it was time to hit the road again, passing asparagus fields and Vandenberg Air Force Base to our destination for the night Lompoc.
After a good night's sleep the last day of our tour had arrived and we packed our suitcases for the last time, boarding the coach we headed south to our first stop of the day, Solvang. Solvang was founded in 1911 by a group of Danes who travelled west to establish a
Danish colony far from the midwestern winters. The city is home to a
number of bakeries, restaurants, and merchants offering a taste of Denmark in California, it even has a windmill!
We would have liked to have spent more time in this pretty little town but we were pressed for time and needed to get on to our next stop, Santa Barbara, for lunch where we had a great pizza at Rusty's Pizza Place right there opposite the beach. After lunch we had a mooch round the Beach House, where we admired the surf boards and purchased some t-shirts.
The bus was calling again to take us on the final leg of our journey down Ventura Highway to Malibu where we stopped for a group photograph and envied the beach front properties, before boarding the coach again for the last few miles back to Los Angeles and the Airport. We passed Cher's house and Pepperdine University, which had a dramatic display of American flags on its expansive lawn beneath the
Theme Tower - one flag for each of the nearly 3,000 lives lost on 9/11, a very poignant sight. Our last views were of Santa Monica beach as we headed into LA and had to say goodbye to our travel companions and the Wonders Of The Golden West.
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and have some wonderful memories, which will last forever. I hope you've enjoyed our trip as much as we did . Where will we go next you may be asking. Well nothing has been decided yet, but CHINA has been mentioned, I'll let you know.
Christmas over it's now time to carry on with telling you more about
our Wonders Of The Golden West Tour. It was our last full day in San
Francisco and our scheduled visit to Alcatraz. On the boat trip across
the bay we were amazed to see The Golden Gate Bridge shrouded in mist
after how clear it had been the previous day when we had walked across it.
Often referred to as "The Rock" the small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, military fortification, a military prison (1868), and a federal prison from 1933 until 1963.Beginning in November 1969, the island was occupied for more than 19 months by a group of Aboriginal Peoples from San Francisco who were part of a wave of Native activism
across the nation with public protests through the 1970s. In 1972
Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
During its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed that no
prisoner successfully escaped. A total of 36 prisoners made 14 escape
attempts, two men trying twice; 23 were caught, six were shot and killed
during their escape, two drowned, and five are listed as "missing and
presumed drowned".The most violent occurred on May 2, 1946, when a failed escape attempt by six prisoners led to the Battle of Alcatraz. On June 11, 1962, Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin carried out one of the most intricate escapes ever devised. It was fascinating to tour the island prison and hear it's history and see how the prisoners lived. I hope the slide show of pictures gives you some idea of what a bleak place Alcatraz is.
After an interesting morning on Alcatraz we boarded the boat for our return journey and made our way to Pier 39 to sample some Chowder for lunch before making our way to fulfil another ambition of riding a cable car. The cable car ride was great fun and I managed to video our ride up and down the steep San Francisco streets to our destination, Union Square,where we walked round Macy's before getting a cab back to our hotel for a much needed rest before getting ready for our final dinner in San Francisco, which we enjoyed at Fisherman's Grotto.
I've put together a slide show of where we had lunch etc and the video of our cable car ride, I hope you enjoy them.
