'I Vow To Thee My Country'

Hi Guys,

     I wasn't sure about writing happy and jolly 'stuff'after seeing Shane on the day he died, his wife very graciously allowed me to come say goodbye in person, I held his hand and he squeezed my fingers when I told him how much we all loved him and how he would be sorely missed. I even managed to make him laugh. (I can't say how but it was funny!) Then later that day Jane let me know he had gone.  I wasn't going to write this post, in fact I had something entirely different in mind  for today but as soon as I sat, well... you know how it is.
     His  funeral was amazing  and I suddenly thought he would want the world to know we were all there, that most of us were dressed in VERY bright colours and 60% of the mourners were dressed in pink, Shanes favourite colour. Personally I wore a bright Orange Jacket, a white boob tube and a pair of high waisted very wide legged brown, orange, yellow and green trousers.
     Family and friends from outside work attended and so many older friends from Heathrow's old Terminal 2, as well as many of his new friends from Terminal 5, I hope the attendance did both he and his wife Jane proud.
     The hurst arrived attended by a couple of Harley Davidson bikes, a roar of goodbye from the engine revs could have been heard for miles and seeing big ruff tough bikers in tears was a very touching indeed, it shows how much Shane was loved. The coffin itself was covered in a Union flag and all his medals were displayed on the top. We even sang 'I vow to thee my Country' as his goodbye hymn. We listened to tales from his military service history, learnt about his affinity with horses and his love of family, of Mrs Wabbit, and could see her love for him! I think he would have been moved to see us all there for them both.
     After the ceremony, we all traipsed down to the pub where we laughed and joked, some of us cried a little too, all reminiscing,  anecdotes about the old 'silver fox' were on everyone's lips on every corner of the field.
     So this is my last post about Shane and my last Goodbye to a very special man who touched many lives and many many hearts.
     Today his eldest boy has his 'passing out' parade and I'm sure Shane will be there watching to ensure his son starts his military duties in style.  So Good Luck Jack, I'm sure you'll make everyone proud!  

love Dede xxxxxxxxxx

Goodbye My Friend.

Shane Leggott, My Friend.

I sat last night thinking of you, of  the lives you had touched and the pain you'd gone through.
What will you miss most? My man said to me, he'd sat in the car park whilst I said Goodbye,
he'd allowed me to waffle, allowed me to cry.

So I sat there on the sofa just thinking of our years...

I was with Pauline and Michelle the first time you met me,
my test was due and Leslie was late, I was scared, full of tears and in a real state, so you took my hand and gave me a hug, 'it's a bag of shit,' you said, 'just tell her what you see.'

Next time I was alone with a radio and you, '926#' you said, 'and press that button there, no swearing or joking and no using names,' you smiled as I tried and fluffed up my line and you made me do it again until I got it right.

Time went on and we became friends, you'd tell me tales of your past, like your nan and her boarding house home, of the two little boys peering through glass, both of them trying to see the wrestler behind the mask.

I remember seeing you sad and feeling so low, 'I'm alone,' you said, your eyes full of pain and fear. We were sent down to pier 2 where you hugged me and cried. I hugged you back and told you to wait, that there would be someone there.

So I joined the team like you suggested and we chatted every day, we talked of family and home and you taught me your way. 'Make the tea woman, get in the kitchen,' you'd say and I'd cringe and moan but I'd never gainsay.

Then my man was ill, his operation near, again I was scared, didn't know what to do. You held my hand and hugged me and said, 'he'll come home again princess, he'll come back to you.'

I remember another twinkle in your eye, 'I've met someone,' you said, 'but I can't tell you when and I can't tell you who.' It was enough to see you happy, to see the joy back in your eyes, then when you told me it was Jane I must say I wasn't surprised.

Then the sound of the bagpipes that heralded a call.

I saw the love you shared grow, watched your pride in your home, you talked of your boys and the love that they showed. Your beautiful wedding, how both of you smiled, the photo's and the chocolate fountain that I stayed beside.

The sound of the bagpipes that heralded a call, the smile on your face as you'd answer and say, 'Ello Mrs Wabbit,' before you turned away.

The pride you showed as the boys grew strong and tall, your astro turf garden and the tanks against the wall.

I'll remember a lot, I know that I will and I'm grateful you called me a friend, but now that you're gone, your battle fought and lost, my man asks,'what will I miss?'
For me, it will always be the bagpipes that I heard every day, the bagpipes that heralded a call, the 'Ello, Mrs Wabbit,' as you turned away, the love you both shared, evident to all. The 'love you, love you,' as you told her goodbye and the smile on your face as the phone went down.

We were privileged to know you and feel the love you both shared, we'll miss you my friend, your laughter and strength touched us all.

We'll all miss you and remember the things that you taught and the things that you're teaching us still.

.-.-.-

Tempus Fugit!

Hi there,

I try to post at least once a week but sometimes time seems to fly by so quickly that it's 10 days before I log in! I'm sure most busy folk can understand, between working full time shifts and overtime, plus washing, cleaning, cooking, writing, family and gardening (I should say snail hunting at this point, hate 'em with a passion!) I find my time for the computer is limited. If anyone has a shortcut to the next lottery number draw please share... :)

Gardening and A Mini Geocache Adventure!

Hi Guys,

     For the last few days, here in the UK it has actually felt like summer!  The sun has been blazing away in a nearly cloudless sky and its been lovely and warm.  So, because of this unnatural event I have been rather busy for my last two days off trying to make the most of it, both in my garden and rushing around on a series of mini adventures with my eldest daughter and grandsons.

     If you have read my profile you will know how I love my garden.  I am actually lucky enough for it to be quite large and have given it two aspects, a gravel garden, which during family parties and bbq's tends to be hogged by the grown ups and therefore more sedate, this area also claims to be home to my small veg patch and a more open green area with a patio, a fish pond, some bushes, small fruit trees and shrubs.


At the moment the laburnum is in flower and looks beautiful.  Someone once wrote "A garden path where flowers unfold, a slim laburnum dripping gold!" I have no idea who wrote it but it always comes to mind when I see a flowering laburnum, it really does look as if it drips gold, the long yellow flowers move gently in the breeze and reflect the sunshine, giving them that golden glow.

Anyhoo...
 
     I spent my first day off repainting the wooden furniture in the gravel garden, I choose a really lovely shade of green garden paint this year, it blends in with the natural feel of the gravel and the shrubs. (actually I didn't realise quite how hot the sun was and burnt my shoulders!) I must own though, there is nothing natural about the hidden stone Gargoyles or the weathered Meerkats that peep out from behind the odd bush as you pass by.  Although the gravel garden is nearest the road you don't really notice the traffic behind the fence (not that there is much and it's also a sun trap and quite tranquil, in fact  I wrote a lot of my notes for my book 'The Tessellation Saga' here.

  There's even have a stone Beethoven head sitting proudly watching over my veg patch, not that he keeps the slugs or snails away... Grrrrr!

     The second morning I spent typing and doing my usual chores, I got up really early to type as once I start the time tends to fly by and before I know it the day has gone! After lunch I went to my daughter's home where she, her two sons and I began our adventures...

Hendry's first 'Cache' find!

     In a magazine, she had read about an activity called 'Geocaching.' Knowing absolutely nothing about it she did a wee bit of research on her trusty pc and we gave it a go.  The idea is you hunt for a 'Cache', a small trinket of piece of treasure, using the GPS on your mobile, write your name on the list inside the 'Cache' container ( a watertight one is best!) and let folk know you have found it by uploading that you have.  Before moving on to the next hunt however, you must leave a little something in the pot yourselves for the next Geocachers to find.  For example, my grandson found some plastic figures in one and a train ticket to Glasgow in another.  In return for these goodies we left a 50p piece for the next players in each one we actually found.  It was such fun and I would definitely recommend it. Its a worldwide phenomenon and the best thing is it is ABSOLUTELY FREE. You can choose a suitable difficulty level for the type of hunt you want to do and the participants ages.  (My grandsons are 3 and 1.)

We spent a lovely afternoon checking out the local countryside and parks all for free.

Well, do I like butter?

Mum, theres nothing here!

    Its easy to get started, go to      http://www.geocaching.com and check it out!

     GEOCACHING is a free real-world outdoor treasure hunt. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using a smartphone or GPS and can then share their experiences online.

There are 2,101,836 active geocaches and over 5 million geocachers worldwide.

Based on excerpts from
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching, Second Edition

  http://www.geocaching.com

Its a HUGE game suitable for all ages and abilities, (my grandsons are 3 and 1) There is even an idiots guide which if read my stuff regularly you will know is an absolute must! lol

My beautiful baby girl is all grown up!

This is my baby, with her baby and I can't tell you how great a time we had on our hunt. I'd like to wax lyrical about how great a mum she is but then... I'm probably biased! lol 

So now, I'm off to work. Yes I'd rather stay here and type with the four fingers that actually do all the work, no, I must correct myself I occasionally use six and I will get around to using the 'Teach Yourself To Type' facility on my pc but until then, my family, my garden and the government's demand that I actually pay my bills stand in the way!

London Heathrow... Here I come.

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeee     till next time.   

A Small World

Hi there,

First a really big Thank You, I had a really tremendous response from 'my letter to Shane' (my last post) I really didn't expect it and have passed on all the kind messages, through Facebook, g mail and private messaging, to Shane himself, some from people who don't even know him, so thank you again from the bottom of my heart. He is and will always be an inspirational figure to all who know him. We had coffee again today, he's still at work and still laughing!

The title of this post is, 'A Small World' mainly because I just happened to see the world wide statistics for my blog today and was amazed at the countries where people actually read my ramblings. I must own I didn't know how to do it until my beautiful blogging niece, Sylvia, (who just happens to be the new costume designer for 'The Nightmare Realm', in Cork, Ireland, no excuses for name dropping here) showed me how to check.

                               Sylvie is a clever girl, very 'arty crafty'

This is us, earlier this year though strangely I don't remember her growing to be soooo tall, bless, she is even bending down somewhat!

Anyhoo...

Back to the 'Small World' thing. I ramble on about stuff that I feel is important, to me anyway, or on my mind  at the time and people across the world read it! I was astonished when I read the countries list...

United Kingdom, United States, Russia, Greece, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Germany, Bahrain, Canada, Poland, China and Croatia.

He has the whole world in His hands

So another big thank you to everyone who reads my 'stuff'. I don't claim it to be clever, inspirational or worldly but it is how I see things. From how my garden is doing, loath the slugs, through how much I am loving the characters in my book, The Tessellation Saga, Prophecy's Heir, as I read and re-read to get the editing right, to world wide news events like the terrible murder of Lee Rigby, the Drummer mown down and hacked to pieces in front of his barracks. I cried when I watched the TV footage.

Not every Muslim is a terrorist or a fanatic, I work at London Heathrow and many of the folk I work with are Muslim.  All the people I know are kind, generous, open and friendly, respecting my beliefs as I do theirs.

The world is a small place people, why can we not live in it together as one, we are all human after all, we are all one.

Thanks again for reading...

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeee til next time,

P.S.

England football team are playing the Republic of Ireland tonight, personally, I don't mind who wins... I have family in both countries.

A Letter for Shane, my Friend.

Hello there,

A friend of mine has Cancer with a capital C, he was diagnosed  last year and after a rigorous course of chemotherapy his entire stomach was removed and a new one built.  (Which in itself is amazing!)  After tests he was told everything was OK, his cancer was gone.  Now, less than six months later its back.  He knows he has only months to live and whilst myself and his other friends feel helpless and scared for him and angry at the wrongness of such a charming, kind and funny man having this thrust upon both he and his lovely family, he himself, is still coming into work, living each day to the full and promising himself a 'wing walking' experience next month when he goes on a final holiday with his beautiful wife!

Typical Shane!

Last week we had coffee together, "I'm sorry Dede," he said, "but I may not get to finish your book and I want to know how it ends, I'm enjoying it so far, you write well!"  I nearly burst into tears right in front of him, his bravery and stoicism in the face of his prognosis, humble me.  He is loved by not just his family but also by his many friends, all of whom look up to him with both admiration and respect, this clever, knowledgeable man whose humour is renowned, trained not only me but I imagine a quarter of the officers at London Heathrow.

Shane, my prayer for you is that a miracle will happen, that your months will become years and you get to spend more time with your lovely family, doing exactly the things you want to do.  Maybe even taking Jayne on the back of your Harley Davidson roaring along the entire length of Route 66!  

I want you to know you put me to shame my friend, I am ashamed for worrying about the stupid stuff, you know what I mean, family, relationships and things like my smile, I don't smile as often as I could because I don't particularly like my vampire teeth.  I don't like the wrinkles that mean I'm getting older, I complain about my 'baby belly' the stretched skin most mums have around their middle that's hard to lose and I moan because I'm 'vertically challenged' as you say, 5'2", well 5'1 and a bit!  And although I love my job I'd rather win the lottery and stay home to write full time...

Today though and because of you I will smile, I promise from today and everyday forward I will count my blessings, today I will give grateful thanks to 'whomever' is out there that you are still my friend, that I am alive and that I can feel the wind in my hair and the sun on my face, even if it has to travel further to reach me. 

You trained me way back then Shane, you are training me still... 

Always,

Dede X

A teeny weeny moan!

Hi,

I've been reviewing 'The Tessellation Saga,' with a view to re-publishing.  Obviously I've always known it's a long book but reviewing it again and again makes it seem twice as long and trying to get the punctuation right, with the correct number of spaces between words and apostrophes in the right places is a nightmare.  I'm the type of writer who just stares at the keyboard and uses between five or six of my fingers to actually type, so my thoughts flow quicker than my fingers can record them.  If I'm on a roll, so to speak, I might not actually look at the screen for a number of minutes and by then of course my punctuation is shot!  This is probably why professional editors and proof readers are soooo expensive, it's a time consuming and tedious task.  As for the story itself, I love it and am loving Tess 2, 'MeGath' even more but again I'm going to have to go over and over the story lovingly trying to get the copy right.  I really did pay attention during my many English classes at school honestly, but if there is such a thing as 'Punctuation for Dummies' I probably need it!  My favourite English teacher was a Mrs Head, I expect she'd shudder to read some of my stuff.  Sorry, Mrs H.  

'BLUE'

When I start to feel like I'm losing the will to breath, let alone add or remove another apostrophe or semi-colon, I look at the drawing of 'Blue' the wolf in my story, drawn by my beautiful and talented daughter in law Franci.  The drawing took patience and time and she must have had to know the wolf itself in order to re-create him  so wonderfully from my words.  So, 'Blue', back to the drawing board, or keypad in my case. 

Oh just a thought but I'm sure there's an old English study book about somewhere...  perhaps I should venture back into the Attic! lol

Byeeeeeeeeeeee........

:)