Saturday 16th April 2016

Today I received a present from Leeta my sister, that I hope is going to open up a new chapter in my life. It is a book called ‘Writing from the Heart’, inspiration and exercises for women who want to write.

Leeta, has, for a long time now, tried to encourage me to write, and the first thing I am going to do is to keep a weekly diary here, of my life.  Sometimes it will be mundane and boring I am sure, and at other times more interesting, but I will at least be writing.  This will just be a little off shoot of other things I hope to do.  At the moment I do a weekly exercise with Leeta. 

When Sindie was alive, she gave Leeta a box, filled with hundreds of little strips of paper, each having a subject typed on them.  Whatever is written on the piece of paper that Leeta picks out at random, is that weeks exercise.  This is the box she did for Leeta.  So much thought and time went into it, that we are both enjoying using it as it was intended.

I will write again with any interesting news :0)

Sunday 1^st May 2016

We went to Chris and Sarah’s for a couple of hours.  It was a wet, cold and windy day, but we had fun building a Profiterole cake with the boys. Each profiterole was filled with fresh cream, and the whole thing, when built, was drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauce!  It was delicious.  When we left, there were still two of the largest layers of profiteroles left for them to enjoy in the evening, (if they lasted that long)!

Tuesday 3^rd May 2016

First sign of summer after a long miserable winter.  The sun is out and it is warming up. The boys, Joe and Jake are coming tomorrow and staying until Thursday, as Sarah has an ‘inset’ day and the school is closed.  Having my hair cut at one tomorrow as well, before preparing the boys favourite dinner, a roast.

Looking forward to having them again.

Wednesday 4^th May

After my haircut, Lennie collected the boys this afternoon, and they all enjoyed a nice roast chicken dinner.

Thursday morning Lennie took the boys on an adventure.  They went for a very long walk in Penllergaer Woods.  They left at 9.30 a.m. and at midday I received a phone call from Lennie saying that they were lost! It was a good hour later that they finally arrived home.  After a nice lunch we took them to Fforestfach to look at their favourite shop, which they always enjoy.  We also went to the pet shop where they enjoyed looking at the rabbits, fish, Bearded Dragon and all sorts of insects. We then took them for a drink, and on the way home they also saw a beautiful owl on a lead!

14^th May 2016

Last week, Lennie sat on a garden chair and went straight through it.  I was just turning my camera on to video the garden, and missed it!!  However, he was unhurt, but to avoid a more serious accident, (namely me falling through a chair!) we purchased 6 nice wooden garden armchairs, and Lennie took our other eight wooden chairs to the local recycling centre.

Tomorrow we are going to buy a wooden Steamer Lounger and cushion for me!  I have to have my legs up for comfort and medical reasons, but don’t like laying down, so it will be ideal! I will put a picture on after we have collected it.

On a more sombre note, poor Pickles is getting less and less able to walk any distance, and it takes her two or three goes before she can manage to lie down, as her hips are so stiff. She begs Lennie to bring her upstairs to me while I am getting ready in the morning, but she can't go upstairs on her own.  Lennie has to take her two back legs and 'wheelbarrow' her up.  She is perfectly happy doing this, and is quite happy in herself as well, sometimes making an effort to attack and chase her little dog treats round the kitchen floor, albeit slowly!  Realistically, we know that it is only a matter of time before the painkillers she has, which control her pain well, (but not her stiffness) will cease to work as well.  She is on the maximum they will give her, so I don't know what the vet will decide then. She will be 14 years old in July, and the vet said that dogs of her size rarely live as old as she is.  It is the fact that she has German Shepard in her that make her hips vulnerable to arthritis unfortunately.

An exciting thing has just happened!  Chris popped in this afternoon for a visit after his long cycle ride in the mountains, and I mentioned that we had bought a pedometer each, which turned out to be rubbish!  We sent them back for a refund!  He said that he and Sarah have a lovely one each, and that he would buy us one each as well.  This is the one he is getting us.  You can even receive texts on it :0)

vívosmart® HR

Overview Specs In the Box Accessories

Smart Activity Tracker with Wrist-based Heart Rate

Sleek band is comfortable to wear all day, and the always-on display shows your stats, even in sunlight

Displays steps, distance, calories, heart rate, floors climbed and activity intensity

Receive text, call, email, calendar and social media alerts²

Control your music and your VIRB® action camera (sold separately) all from your wrist

Reminds you to stay active with move bar and vibration alert

Wrist-based Heart Rate

vívosmart HR smart activity tracker¹ with Elevate™ heart rate technology1 measures heart rate at the wrist 24/7. That gives you the freedom to work out with no additional heart rate strap needed. Using heart rate, vívosmart HR provides calories burned information and quantifies the intensity of your fitness activities, providing better credit for your efforts. You can even use your vívosmart HR as a heart rate strap on your wrist when paired with other compatible Garmin devices.

More Than Just Steps

In addition to measuring steps, calories and distance, vívosmart HR measures floors climbed with its integrated barometric altimeter. Whether you’re going for a run or trying out a new gym class, it measures your activity intensity with intensity minutes. This feature lets you monitor your progress against activity goals recommended by health organisations.

Smart Capabilities

Stay active and connected with vívosmart HR activity tracker. Each time you receive a notification from your compatible smartphone, it gently vibrates and automatically displays the information. Simply touch and swipe the screen to read more. Other connected features allow you to control music and your VIRB action camera (sold separately) or find your misplaced phone.

vivosmart HR

Beat Yesterday, Every Day

SHEEP TROUBLE!!

We had to pop round to Chris and Sarah’s house while they were out.  We let ourselves in, and turned off the alarm, then set about the little job we had to do.

After about five minutes, I heard Lennie shouting something about the gate being left open.  I looked out of the front window, and sure enough, we had forgotten to close the large gate across the drive.  Lennie was nowhere to be seen, so before I went out to close the gate, I looked out of the window into the back garden. 

There was Lennie, frantically waving his arms in the air, and making all sorts of strange noises.  I quickly popped outside, thinking maybe some wasps were attacking him or something.  The sight I saw was hilarious!  He was surrounded by seven sheep, all happily munching away on the lovely grass, completely ignoring his arm waving.  However, as he got louder they began to move, some of them going out of the side entrance to the front, then doubling back again in the other side entrance!  He eventually managed to get them out of the garden on to the front drive, and was successful at shooing them back out of the gate, and closing it.

He spent the next ten to fifteen minutes going all over the garden and drive picking up an unbelievable amount of sheep droppings, which he deposited in a bag, and put into the boot of our car!  On the way home they were put into one of the many ‘doggie bins’ in our village.

One thing is for sure, we won’t forget to close the gate again!  I must say, we had been warned by Chris and Sarah when they first moved to that house that the gate was to be kept shut at all times.  It only take a minute or two for the sheep to realise that a gate is open, and as if by some sort of telepathy, they all start making for it!

TOUR OF LLANELLY HOUSE

A BIRTHDAY TREAT

We had a lovely day out including a tour of  Llanelly House, part of my birthday treat from Chris and Sarah.

They have just completed a 10 year, £6m restoration, and it is an outstanding  1714 Georgian Town House.  It was the most interesting and amusing tour we have ever been on.  As we were taken round this huge house, dressing table mirrors, framed pictures, and even a complete wall about 27 feet long, came to life, with characters such as Sir Thomas and Lady Stepney, talking to us directly about the ‘goings on’ in the house at the time, all dressed in the costumes of their day.  On the huge wall, which included many picture windows, (which seemed to disappear) we were shown the history of the house and surrounding land with animation and drawings, which was superb.

In Lady Stepney’s bedroom, the dressing table  mirror was the next thing to come to life, suddenly turning into a TV screen, with Lady Stepney showing us how she made up, with that awful white powder with lead in it, and with those little false black spots that were stuck on as beauty spots to cover up any blemishes on the face.  She was saying how vulgar it was to have a tanned skin, whilst looking round the room with disdain at all of us!

We were also taken up some extremely steep stairs to the servants quarters, so steep in fact, that I had to come down again in the lift as I know I would have lost my balance on the stairs!  This was quite a small room, considering it housed five servant girls.  One young servant girl, who was made pregnant by the son of the Lord of the house, had to swear that it was the head butler who was the father.  She then committed suicide by taking a large quantity of laudanum (an alcoholic solution containing morphine, prepared from opium and formerly used as a narcotic painkiller).  In her bedroom was a long standing mirror, which again turned into a screen, and we were involved in the court case that went on after her death, with our tour guide asking them questions, and they in turn, answering our tour guide! These people were life sized.  It is now thought that she was in fact forced to take the Laudenum, and a suicide note (which it is believed was false) saying that the head butler was the father of her child. The signature on the letter, and the hand writing were not those of a servant girl with no education.

At the end of the tour, we had two portraits talking to us.  One was Lord Stepney, and the other Lord Cowell.  It was written in the will that only legitimate sons may inherit the house, and Lord Stepney, who was a kind and forward thinking man was set to inherit it.  However, the next in line, if there was no legitimate son, was Lord Cowell, and he went to court stating that as Lord Stepney’s parents were married in France, which was not recognised in England, then that made Lord Stepney  illegitimate.  He unfortunately won the case, and the house went to him, my namesake!

There was lots more information, which didn’t quite sink in, but it was certainly a very interesting and unusual tour, and I recommend anyone in the area of Llanelli to visit the house and take the tour.

They have a lovely little restaurant there, and our day was finished up with a very nice meal, including a sweet, and of course a latte!

Unfortunately, although armed with our camera and camcorder, as usual we were not allowed to use them, so have no pictures to show you. I did, however, manage to take this picture of Lady Stepney’s bedroom, with the talking dressing table mirror from the brochure!

MY BIRTHDAY

Today is my 73rd birthday.  I can't believe I am talking about me.  The years have gone so fast!

The day started beautifully, with a black coffee in bed at seven, and lots of lovely birthday cards. One of the cards held a Boots voucher from my son-in-law Gary, and a very pretty parcel contained a beautiful Willow Tree ornament to add to my collection  titled 'Me and Grandmother' from our lovely granddaughter Emily, who never forgets my  special days :0) The majority of my little collection is from Emily.  Todays present is the one in the centre.

After the excitement of the morning, we were off to spend some time with my son Chris, daughter in law Sarah and our three cheeky grandsons.  We went to The Three Cliffs coffee shop  in Penard on The Gower coast and were treated to a huge scone with jam and cream, and a giant latte!

Afterwards we went for a little walk along the cliff tops.  It is a glorious day, and Wales is so beautiful along this coast.  These are some of the photo's taken on the walk. Just click on each photo to enlarge it. The video is a bit dark as I was filming into the sun.

We had a really lovely couple of hours, and on Wednesday we are being treated to a day out with tours in an historic house, and a nice slap up lunch, all from Chris and Sarah.

I had to add this video taken last week.  This was probably the last long walk Pickles, our dog will have with the boys.  She is now thirteen, and has very bad arthritis in her hips.  Although she enjoyed it, she could hardly walk by the time she got home, so, on vets orders, only short little walks from now on, which is very sad.  She can't understand why, when the boys are getting their walking shoes on, and getting ready to go out, she can no longer go with them :0(  Now about the video.  Joe, the one in the check shorts, is always getting into some sort of mess, falling into streams, getting covered from head to toe in mud,  or coming home from a walk with his wellie boots full of water!  On this occasion he was seriously sizing up if he could get across the river by balancing on an old tree branch!

I hope to have some more video and photo's of our day out on Wednesday.

SOME OF THE ODDITIES AS PROMISED FOR THE 'SILLY SHOP'!

          

       The Lost  Handbag

I forgot to tell you.  The other day I was in Lidl, and there, in the middle of a completely deserted aisle on the floor was a very expensive, large black patent handbag.  I picked it up and carried it around until I found a member of staff to hand it over to.

Anyway, a bit later I got to the checkout and the lady in front of me went to pay.  She was a very elderly, very classy lady, dressed all in black, and very well spoken.  She was panic stricken when she realised her handbag has gone!  I told her it was okay, I had found it and handed it in, so she thanked me again and again,  still in a state of shock, and got her bag back.  As we were going through the till, she came back to me and said in front of everyone

'Are you Church or Chapel'? I asked her to repeat what she had said, as I had been concentrating on my shopping, and again she said 'Church or Chapel'?

'Oh, neither' I stammered, wondering why she asked such a thing.  Everyone was listening. Then she tried to hand me a note, (I don't know if it was five or ten pounds) to 'put in the box when I go'. Of course I didn't take it as I don't go to Church, so she was at a loss how to repay me for handing her bag in.  In must have had a lot of valuable stuff in it.

I just said that I was done a favour a while ago and was asked to 'pay it forward' so perhaps a time may come when she could do someone a favour too and pay it forward :0) Everyone was smiling and 'aahhhing' when she tried to give me the money.  What a sweet lady.  I certainly knew I was in Wales when she said 'Church or Chapel' !!!

PENLLERGAER WOODS

We had our two grandsons Joe (9) and Jake (7) staying with us today and overnight, so thought we would tire them out a bit in readiness for bed tonight  We have a beautiful place just five minutes away called Penllergaer Woods, where we walked and scrambled for just over an hour.  The woods have some lovely waterfalls, and they were particularly lively today after all the rain we have had.  I have never seen them like this, and usually there are a few older boys jumping from the top and swimming below, but not today, it was far too dangerous for that!  I have put a couple of videos on here to show you.  I also took my camera, as stills are much better when you are on the move, but when we got it out, it was as flat as a pancake! (The battery, not the camera)!!

After we finished our walk, we ended up in the woodland tea shop, which is set all on it's own amongst the trees. Thank goodness it wasn't too bad as far as the wasps go, but they have been particularly troublesome this month.

All in all a lovely day with the boys, who are now watching a little TV after downing a huge roast dinner!  Tomorrow morning we have promised to take them to Fforestfach to walk round the 'silly shop' as they call it.  It sells the most unusual things like Roman soldiers helmets, eight foot giraffes, skulls etc., all the sort of things that enthrall young boys :0)  I may take a few photo's tomorrow to show you the sort of things they sell.  And all surprisingly cheap as well!

New Start

After losing my daughter Sindie, I stopped blogging.  It will be six years now since she left us, and we have now moved to Wales to be near our son and his young family. We miss our two grandaughters very much, but they are now grown and are making their own way in life, and we get some nice visits from them. My three grandsons are still young, and so we decided that we would like to be here to see them grow as we did the girls.   I hope to start blogging again soon about our new life in Wales. Unfortunately we also left some of my sisters behind in Yorkshire, who we also miss very much. Hopefully, it won't be long before we can go back to Yorkshire to see everyone again.

Goodbye sweet Sindie

I can find no other words than to tell you that my sweet daughter Sindie passed away on 15th October 2009.

She was not just my daughter, but my best friend.

I love and miss you so much.

Sleep tight Sindie

XXXXXX

Be Aware!!!

My husband decided to give the growing grass a 'first cut' after the long winter months months of it lying dormant.

He happily mowed away until the large grass box was full, and then set about emptying it. As he pulled out the grass box, there, sitting stunned underneath it, were four large mice! The poor things must have been terrified with that loud motor sound in their ears, and being sandwiches between the mower and the removable grass box. After a few minutes, three of the mice managed to get themselves together, and run out of the grass box, but the third, smallest one just sat there, still stunned.

My husband carefully lifted him out and put him in the bushes, and was pleased to see it shake itself and run away, non the worse for wear apparently.

Perhaps you had better check your machinery for mice or other small animals before you do your first cut of the year. We live in the country, so there are always little mice running around in the gardens. We would never dream that they would make their home inside a lawn mower. There is absolutely nothing that they can eat in the shed where it is housed. I was so pleased to see them all run free again. It could so easily have been a messy outcome. Please remember to check.

Absence

I would like to apologise for my absence to whoever normally reads my blog, but I have had a lot going on lately. Namely hospital visits and radiotherapy for my daughter Sindie. Each time I think I will have a go at a blog, my mind just goes blank! All we are thinking about at the moment are hospitals, scans and tests.
We have a couple more scans on the horizon, and with some pain management, hopefully things will settle down a bit for Sindie. Meanwhile she is her usual upbeat self.

A Little Bit Of Art

I was leafing through a Van Gogh book when I came across a painting that I had copied when I was much younger, back in the early seventies. I decided to compare the two after all this time, and must say I was a bit disappointed to see that my copy wasn't as good as I remembered! What do you think?



Portrait of an Actor - Van Gogh My Copy

I was closer when I took the picture of my copy, so it looks larger, but it is actually the same size! It is also behind glass so the colour looks less intense.

I also drew this picture from a photograph of a statue called 'Ecstacy of Saint Theresa', but amongst the hundreds of books I have, I can't find the picture I copied it from. There are plenty on Google, but taken from a different angle.




Again, it is behind glass and done in pencil in 1976, and was very difficult to photograph without a flash. (At least for me it is!!) They can all be seen more clearly by clicking on them.

And there you have it. Two bits of art done many years ago!

Rummaging

I have three large boxes in my huge attic which houses a lot of memories. One has everything to do with my son in it, one for my daughter, and one for me! I was rummaging around in them today having the occasional tear at all the lovely mementos I have collected over the years. I came across a couple of poems. One I had written when my first grandchild was born, and another that I had framed and on the wall of the retirement home that we owned. I thought I would share them with you:0)

My new grandaughters name was Emily who is now 17 years old, and this was written to her parents:

When you wake up this morning,
A new feeling will be there,
Of unbelievable happiness
The two of you will share.

That tiny little bundle,
So warm and soft and new,
Is not anothers baby now
This one belongs to you!

She's totally dependant,
On your gentleness and love,
This little miracle of life
From someone up above.

You'll proudly watch her gathering strength,
Her crawling - that first tooth,
Her faltering words and footsteps,
Her schooling and her youth.

And as she slowly blossoms,
And starts venturing from home,
You'll realise that your daughter
Has a lifestyle of her own.

Her need for you will lessen,
As she finds friends of her own,
And finally settles down with one,
Who will always share her home.

You'll feel a little strange at first,
Somewhat like a 'spare',
But suddenly life is full of joy,
Your grandchild will be there!

Again you'll share the feeling,
Of this first day again,
As you hold the tiny baby,
Emotions are the same.

But this time the lovely feeling,
Will be yours to share around,
With three other happy grandfolk,
In who this joy abounds.

The time will pass so quickly,
You must savour every day,
Of this lovely tiny new born babe,
To whom you both gave life today.

* * *

Now at the other end of life, a poem that speaks volumes. This was found in the locker of an old lady in a geriatric hospital by the nurses clearing it out after she had died:

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

What do you see nurses, what do you see?
What are you thinking, when you look at me?
A crabby old woman, not very wise,
uncertain of habit, with faraway eyes;
who dribbles her food and makes no reply
when you say in a loud voice 'I do wish you'd try'.
Who seems not to notice the things that you do
and forever is losing a stocking or shoe;
Who unresisting or not, lets you do as you will
with bathing and feeding, the long day to fill.

Is that what you're thinking, is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, you're not looking at me!
I'll tell you who I am as I sit here so still,
As I move at your bidding, as I eat at your will.

I'm a small child of ten with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters who love one another,
A young girl of sixteen with wings on her feet,
Dreaming of soon now a lover she'll meet.

At twenty five now I have young of my own,
who need me to build a secure happy home.
A woman of thirty, my young now grow fast
bound to each other with ties that should last.

At forty my young now will soon be gone,
but my man stands beside me to see I don't mourn.
At fifty once more babies play round my knee,
Again we know children, my loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead,
I look to the future, I shudder with dread;
For my young are all busy, rearing young of their own,
And I think of the years and the love I have known.

I'm an old woman now, and nature is cruel,
'tis her jest to make old age look a fool.
The body it crumbles, grace and vigour depart,
and now there's a stone where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcase, a young girl still dwells,
and now and again, my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys, I remember the pain,
And I'm loving and living life over again.

I think of the years all too few gone too fast,
And accept the cold facts that nothing can last,
So open your eyes nurses, open and see,
not a crabby old woman, look closer - SEE ME!

All done!!

At the risk of boring you all senseless, here is a final video clip of the fence all finished! You have no idea what a mammoth job that was for one old aged pensioner to do on his own. Thank goodness it is all over. The whole job was made worse due to the fact that the garden is on quite a slope! Now he said he intends to take a week off to potter, then start on the transformation of the dressing room into another guest bedroom. He has until Christmas to get that finished, so can take his time if he wants to, but knowing Lennie, he will go at it until it is finished!

Moving on!

Thank goodness for a break in this nasty weather! It has been pouring down, and making everything very muddy, and uncomfortable to work in. Lennie has managed to work outside all day today, and things are moving on.

Thankfully, our next door neighbours have gone to France for a week, so we do not have to worry about intruding on their privacy. Pickles is being very good, and has not attempted to go into their garden once, so that is one less worry.

I must admit I am going a bit 'stir crazy' because we usually manage to get out once a day, even if it is to visit my daughter Sindie. She and her family have gone to Kent for a few days to attend the funeral of her father-in-law. I don't like driving, especially by myself, and we live in such a hilly place that I am sure I would have a heart attack if I decided to go walking round here! And of course, Lennie has no time to go off jaunting about!

He is working so hard, as I have probably said before, but hopefully things will ease up a bit now, as he is on the shorter concrete posts, which only weigh 84lbs, whereas the others weighed 126lb! Still very heavy as they are such a dead weight, but a little easier on the arms and back. He is also moving on to earth as opposed to concrete, so the digging will be easier as well.

I have attached a video to show you how he is getting on.

More news as it happens:0)

Getting there!

Lennie is gradually getting the fence up, weather permitting! He had to have a day off yesterday due to back strain, but he is back out there today, dodging the showers! The posts and gravel boards weigh over 9 stone each, and that is a lot of dead weight to keep shifting about! As you can see, some of the posts are in, but we are waiting for Gary, our son in law to come and help put the panels in, as they are very large and have to be lifted above head height to get them in the grooves. I did one with Lennie, but my daughter Sindie was not happy about it! Here are a couple of pictures taken between showers.










Once Lennie gets past the patio and on to the grass, things will become a lot easier and faster for him. At the moment he is having to dig very deep holes through rocks and concrete to set the posts in, but once on the grass it will be mainly earth. He thinks the digging of the holes on his knees was the main cause of his back problem.

The weather for tomorrow seems a little more promising, so we shall have to see how much he can get done then.

Injury!

This is what happened to Lennies arms shifting just one concrete post. At this rate he will be in shreds when he has shifted all 20 of them!!

More as it happens:0)

Our New Project

Those of you who know us, are aware that we live on a very windy corner, and are always having trouble with our fences blowing over and crushing our neighbours plants and solar lights! After a couple of embarrassing years, tying the fence to the other side of the garden using bright blue towing ropes to try and hold the fence up during gales, we decided enough was enough, and we would have to lay out for new fencing. This is what the fence looks like now.

As you can see, it rests directly on the grass and if one part gets blown over it takes a lot more with it!

The fence is 90 feet long, and we have decided to buy the sort of fence that has panels seperated by concrete posts, so that if there is any damage, we just have to slide the broken panel out and replace it with another, rather than dig up the huge wooden posts and replace them as well. The fence will rest on concrete gravel posts, all of which have been delivered now, and deposited in various parts of the garden by Len and my son Chris. It was thought that while he was here visiting for a while, he would help Len put them close to where they will be needed, as they are extremely heavy, and Len is no spring chicken!

Work started this morning, digging the hole for the first post. As this is the one that is adjacent to next doors gate, it was the one most worrying Lennie. He says once this is sorted out he should be able to get on with the rest of it okay.

Thank goodness this will see an end to poor Lennie, on his hands and knees in icy, windy conditions, digging holes and mixing cement to replace broken fence posts!

I will update this project as it moves on.

As usual, one post in and rain stopped play!!!!

Dear Old Tom

I was sitting thinking of years gone by, when my late father-in-law, Tom, came to mind. He was a lovely chap, and was always smiling. His wife totally and absolutely spoilt him, and all he ever did in the house, apart from DIY, was wiping up and making a pot of tea! Of course, when his dear wife died, he couldn't realistically look after himself, and as we owned a retirement home in Kent, he came to live with us there. We lived on the top floor for a while, and on Tom's request, we gave him his own room amongst the residents. He loved looking in on them to say goodnight, and thoroughly enjoyed the weekly parties we held for them all. He adored the homes dog, Pickles, and they were inseperable. He also had his girlfriend, Doris, a resident. He was very much loved by residents and staff alike, and had his little jobs that he liked to do to help the staff, like helping the gardener, and seeing that all the kitchen waste was securely tied up etc.,.



After he had lived with us for 5 years, he sadly got prostate cancer and died. This is a poem that I made up and gave out to the staff.



TOM



He always had a smile for you,

He always had a joke,

Happy in his own small world,

With his home, his wife and 'smoke'.



For miles around they knew him,

That kind and helpful man,

He'd clean their windows, mend their things,

And often an errand ran.



He always helped the old folk,

The helpless and the poor,

He had his wife and children,

And would never ask for more.



As years passed by he slowly aged,

But was a familiar sight,

Carrying peoples bags for them,

(But now his hair was white!).



His world it fell apart one day,

When he lost his treasured wife,

Suddenly she wasn't there,

He'd lost part of his life.



He needed looking after,

So came to live with us,

And tried to settle down here,

With the minimum of fuss.



The tables began turning,

He was 'useful' once again,

As he helped the ladies and the staff,

In his own little domain.



He had his faithful Pickles,

Doris, and the staff,

His garden and his rubbish bags,

He always liked a laugh.



You made him feel so needed,

You made him feel so proud,

As he helped you in the kitchen,

And joined in with 'the crowd'.



At parties he would hold the mike,

And sing with all his heart,

I think he was his happiest,

When he heard the music start.



But sadly Tom became unwell,

And illness took it's toll,

He couldn't help us any more,

He couldn't play 'his role'.



His garden patch grew weedy,

The rubbish piled up high,

His strength it fast was fading,

To see him made us cry.



But Tom was totally unaware,

Of what lay in store for him,

He relished all the love you gave,

And returned it with a grin.



Tom didn't suffer any pain,

You gave him so much care,

And when time came for him to leave,

Again, you all were there.



Our lives are all the richer,

For knowing dear old Tom,

And we owe so much to all of you,

For making him 'belong'.



I know he's not too far away,

I feel him everywhere,

And when next we have our party,

Don't be fooled, 'cos he'll be there!



And in all our future summers,

If you would like a treat,

I'm sure you'll feel him sitting,

In his 'personal' garden seat.



You show love and understanding,

In everything you do,

So from Lennie, Sandie and Pickles,

Our heartfelt thanks to you.



This is a picture of Tom and his lovely wife Flo.