Autumn 2013

As autumn approaches and the many colours of autumn appear to brighten our day, I am reminded of the many walks that I went on with my Dad and brother through the National Trust owned woods in North Norfolk. As a child I probably hated being dragged along, now I look back with such fond memories of being in a middle of a forest and seeing all the splendor and wonder, we did indeed live in Narnia so to speak. Narnia was our back garden and was full of life and one I took for granted. It was one with colours oh so beautiful and imagination galore.

Just walking down a street or my driveway I recall just loving and kicking the leaves and the smell of bonfires going in the village meant Autumn was here and that warm fires would be started in many homes. So if you get the chance, go for a walk take a camera and value this wonderful time of year and your Narnia. In America we have lots of pumpkin patches and the amazing different oranges and textures so should be seen or at least captured. In England go for a drive, sit outside a pub, and just take in the amazing majesty of this time of year. Perhaps you too are living in a Narnia so to speak but you have not bothered to step through the cupboard doors. Go for it it calls your name and I am sure like Lucy in the story "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" you will not regret it. Wishing a wonderful adventure in your Narnia. And remember there is always room for one more on our adventures.

Oh to be in England

I have not been home for six years and I don't care what anyone says Home is Home. England is unique to say the least the cobbled streets, the markets the bustle in the town and for me my family lives there. If you visit England this summer take the time to drive out of the hustle and bustle of busy London and go to the small towns and villages that truly depict the wonderfulness of England and the place I call home. Walk a long a beach eat an Ice cream with a chocolate flake. Eat fish and chips and run in from the rain. I loved walking in England, so go be an adventurer do not let what people often say about England and that it rains all the time to allow you to miss out. It does not always rain and rain is just rain. Eat scones, have a cup of tea and enjoy the smallness of little villages and the small roads.Take in all that amazing countryside. It is just amazing. As I sit here I see the lovely corn fields and amazing people. Oh to be on England's green and pleasant lands. Listen to choirs, sing in churches, hear the church bells being rung and just perhaps you will be transported into time and love England as much as I do.

Waste not want not.

Every single day food is wasted. http://www.feeding5k.org/get-involved.php Feeding the 5000 is a group that helps us all to see how much is truly wasted. Every day stores chuck out slightly bruised fruit and vegetables. Bread is thrown out that can bless others. The list is long and wide from factories producing food to restaurants. Starbucks each day chucks out coffee grains this can be used for compost bins and gardens. Many places chuck out pastries and bread at the end of the day because their companies will not even allow these to be given out to the homeless. I understand that none of us want to make others sick. However there is so much waste that we are not seeing the big picture of how simple acts of kindness can mean one less person in this world go hungry. If you think you feel down this is one way you can make a difference. Go by and ask your local grocery store for those fruit that they are chucking out and go through them. Bless others, those items can be frozen and a meal made to bless and fed someone. Make sure that you wash everything you freeze, before it is used for consumption. Every day scrapes are chucked out from places that either make pre made fruit bowls to those making salads. This scraps can be placed on compost heaps and also fed livestock. Cutting down the amount that is going to the rubbish heaps around the world. Feeding the 5000 organization does not need to be limited to England if we all did our part this world would and could be a better place. Please think of how you can make a difference and indeed step up to the plate and make this world a better place.

England in June what a wonderful delight.

As I sit here and remember what June was like for me in England, I thought it would be nice to include a link to things to do in June if you are visiting. http://www.visitengland.com/ee/June-events/ When I was a child June meant that the beaches near me Cromer and Sheringham would be bustling with people getting ready for the holiday makers that they prayed to God would come in the Summer months July and August. The smell of fish and crabs from these seaside towns appeared to be transported to everywhere you went. As a child I probably hated it, now I look back with a smile and think of such happy memories. Bluebells grew along the roadsides and in Blickling Hall outside Norwich I so remember going with my Godmother and seeing wooded area's now carpeted in a wonderful blue woven tapestry. I don't remember making a big deal about fathers day to be honest, perhaps in the 70's and 80's it was not such a big thing. I do remember dreading the approaching summer holiday's in July .I not like most children loved school. So as many children count down to the summer holidays and dread taking exams mum's pray that the school uniform will not have to be replaced and will last at least until the end of the school year. As many hope to God that the summer will not be wash out and look forward to long summer evenings it is a time when windows are opened and washing lines are full of spring cleaning. Winter days you hope to God are over. If you go to England I would take a moment to stroll through a wooded area, drink a cup of tea outside and just value the true beauty of my England.

Spring is calling you home

Spring in England is unbelievable. I always tell everyone who asks me about England that it is the best time to go. There is something in the air that says the long winter days are over and that warmer days are coming. You walk past grave yards and for once they do not seem so creepy, with flowers bursting up everywhere it is as if even the dead have summoned up spring. I loved walking down streets in the villages and through the meadows and seeing not neat little flowers all in a row but flowers popping up that were planted long, long ago. There is a sense that as you walk down the roads in the villages that you are connecting with history. The clothes are pegged on washing lines and the breeze is sweet, the windows in homes begin to be open and the paths finally start to dry. So if you have the chance to go home in Spring to my England hurry go and enjoy in my opinion the best place to be in Spring.Oh don't forget to eat those Cadbury cream eggs and have a lovely cup of tea. There is always room for one more.

Snowed in..... Maybe not so much fun.

I have followed the snow in England like a hawk flying over a mountain. To begin with I was quite jealous, but last night as I watched on the BBC many people stranded in their cars.. the fun so to speak went away and reality hit. Imagine having to walk in that snow for miles to get home? Imagine having to shovel snow and you are seventy three years old, or you are running out of food because you know no one to go and buy it?Guess the fun goes out the window then. I loved walking in the snow as a child, loved playing in it although i hated ruining the pretty snow by my foot prints. I am sure even the children in England must be getting a little fed

up with the cold weather. As I type I wonder how countries like Switzerland and Iceland deal with it, perhaps you grow accustomed to it...you stop complaining and just live. I was encouraged by friends who made Princes snowmen and took wonderful pictures in the snow and then the scenes of the beaches were pure wonder. So even though I am sure the fun of the snow is wearing of, take the time to capture the beauty of it whether in a poem, painting or with a camera, because in time the cold memories might just melt away and you will have a memory to last a lifetime.

Snow in England brings people to care for each other

Well as the snow has braced My England for this last week. Many of us who are not there are longing for them to share the snow. I guess one forgets,those moments of feeling so cold that your fingers are so numb you want to cry and your checks feel like they have been frozen to your face. I guess the grass always looks greener on the other side the reality is that the grass is greener in England. But as I talked to many in England this week, many just tried to be positive. Making sure that their pets were looked after and friends checking in on each other. A simple call to someone elderly or getting a newspaper. Such trivial

things but when the weather is cold it means so much to many. Perhaps people in England find this an easier thing to do, as in the war they had to all pull together. Something I do believe they never forgot, especially many from that time period. So if you are in England pull out the sledges, batten down the hatches and keep warm. Sending you warm wishes.

England my home.

The other week someone asked me about England and added "surely you don't miss the rain". I added "It's the people that make you call a place home". It's friends having a cup of tea, walking into town and sharing Christmas meals. It's the market places and the banter of hearing the stall holders cry out. The panto's and the smell of fish and chips and the pouring of vinegar and salt over them and then eating them in the freezing cold. It's the squeals of the wheels and bustling in the airport and the realization that the place you just landed is your home and that there is just none like it. It's the laughing with friends that remember you at school, or a sister remembering you keeping her up at night. There's the nicknames that only your family know and there is that kettle in the kitchen which calls your name and says Your home. So England may have rain, it maybe damp,

but to me it is oh so much more than that to me. It's My home. Hope you all are enjoying the snow.

2013 Here we are.

Well I stayed up to see the New Year in,on the East coast of USA. Many New Years Day's in Aylmerton would be, us all waking up to snow and going for a walk in the woods. My Dad which I probably quote every New Years Day would say that the snow wiped the world clean. It has stuck with me ever since he said it.

Dad in his own way said something true. That bringing in the New year gives us all a chance to make dreams come true. It is a shame that a snow falling can't wipe a world clean as beautiful as it is, I sure wish that was true. It rained today where I live and in a small way I thought of the rain as the many tears I have cried and that today was a new day of hope. So let's hope I get to come home to England this year. To all of you Start a new page and a new chapter and Dream ever so big Happy New year to you all It's going to be a good one..