THE CHALLENGE!

Lady M loves champers!

 Hello Everyone,

Lady M here. I, like all I you, watch the news and feel over emotional, afraid, disbelief, sadness and despair. As I wrote last week, I just cannot believe what is happening in the Ukraine 🇺🇦 and my heart goes out to its people who are ‘lost’. Today, I shed tears as I saw a teenager being interviewed in Poland. Her father had spent 24 hours driving her to the border and safety. He was forced to return and fight for his country. They had said goodbye and she does not know if she will ever see him again. What if this were you? Could you bear it? First Covid restrictions and deaths, now this. Sadness permeates the world. We need happiness and positivity in order to survive.

With that thought in mind I am offering you THE CHALLENGE again.

                                                       ***********************

So what makes you smile? What makes you happy? What do you enjoy? What makes you get up in the morning? What makes your life worthwhile?

Here are Lady M's favourite things that make her smile and decide that life is worthwhile and then she will challenge you. Think about Maria in “The Sound of Music”, when she is sad she thinks of her favourite things and then feels happier.

Tram riding, watching peeps and the world go by and book signing

First, beautiful books. She has the Charles Dickens collected works; the green leather bound edition bought in the early seventies. They were the first items she purchased when she started teaching, She paid for them over a period of time at £2 a month. She has not read all of them yet but they sit on the shelves in her lounge and she adores just looking at them. Then, there are all her other books amassed over the years in her upstairs library. They make her smile each morning. She loves all of her books especially the ones she writes. The proof copies all sit on the shelf by her fireside chair where she can admire them and smile at the achievement. There are peeps who say that books are a waste of money. She says, Philistines!


Then, there are childhood memories. It seems the older she gets the more she remembers them. She was brought up on a hundred acre country estate. Life in such a situation is hectic; always too much to do... livestock, gardens, the country house, land. All always needing attention and it was a case of all hands on deck 24/7. It's only in recent years that she realises how fortunate she was to have that experience and the memories.  Walking in the private woods. Rearing the pheasants (her responsibility!) Later she would hear the shooting and know they had met their fate; that was the way it was. Sitting by the boathouse reading books, (her favourite place.) Her lovely Jack Russell Terrier, Sally. Lambs taking their first bleat. Birthday parties and fun. The annual week's holiday at the seaside. Village life. Brownies. Guides. Sunday afternoon cricket matches. Chorister. Church bells on a Sunday morning. The smell of freshly mowed grass. The hum of the combine harvester.

Watching her father wash sheep here

Plants! In his latter years her father would bring her plants each time he visited. She now spends hours each spring, repotting and taking cuttings to keep his legacy alive. She still has one of the original plants from 1986 which refuses to die. It has been repotted three times, grows, is cut down and then regrows. Such fond memories of a devoted and perfect father. A man she idolised.

Other things which make her smile in her retiring years are the thoughts of ice cream, chocolate, pizza, chips, paninis, wine and more wine! Lattes, sunny days, warmth, jewellery, new clothes, bubble baths, candles, music, flowers, reading, board games, birds chirping in the trees heralding each new dawn, butterflies

What does she enjoy doing? Visiting the cinema, libraries, taking afternoon tea, tram riding, art galleries and museums. She has a thirst for knowledge and loves quizzes, learning anything new. She spends hours watching the pigeons and other feathered species feeding from her bird table. It is strategically placed so that she has the perfect view from her chair.

Food? Yes, please!

Holidays? Yes please. She hates the hassle of airports and getting to places but adores it when she reaches her destination. She loves experiencing foreign cultures. Her favourite place is Paphos and the harbour. It is her second home. Souvenirs? Oh yes. She buys fridge magnets from every place she visits. Then, in the mornings at home she can remember the wonderful places when she staggers to the fridge for milk in her coffee.

   

Paphos sunset

Another thing she likes is her little red car. It lives in its own apartment. Others call them garages. They have travelled many miles together and seen many beautiful sites.

She is a great believer in taking new experiences and adventures.

 

So, now that she has shared her personal delights with you she offers you... THE CHALLENGE!

Until next week, enjoy whatever it is you enjoy and tolerate the rest of your life.

Yours, Lady M