96 Gun Salute

Hubby and I were in Wales when the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was announced on 8th September 2022.

We felt honoured to be able to be at Cardiff Castle the following day to witness the 96 Gun Salute tribute to our late Queen. 

It was carried out with such exact precision, an insight into the amazing professionally duties carried out on the day of her State Funeral. 

My words will never fully show just what the surreal moment in time it was ... my photos hopefully will.

God bless the Queen 

Thank you Ma'am for everything

I, like many, have found the last two weeks unbelievable. It is still find it hard to believe that Queen Elizabeth II is no longer our Monarch. I have served her all my life from the age of seven as a Brownie, then as a Guide, and currently as a Scouter for more than 40 years. 

We all have times to remember, stories to tell: I remember standing by Nuneaton train station waiting to see her, our daughter a baby in my arms and our son a toddler sitting high up on my late father's shoulders.

I remember being at Buckingham Palace when my step-dad received his MBE, mum and I seated in the Ballroom just five rows from The Queen, it was a very surreal occasion.

I also remember sitting in St George's Chapel with my late Dad on St George Day when he received the Silver Acorn for his service to Scouting, and later lining the quadrangle at Windsor Castle to watch the Queen give awards to our amazing young members. 

Yesterday Hubby and I watched all the coverage of Her Majesty's State Funeral, my eyes with continuous tears and my heart heavy. It was a poignant day, the perfect tribute to a wonderful lady who dedicated her life to serve us. 

These are a few special moments:

The precision and grace of all those on parade, the absolute astounding job of the pallbearers from Queen's Company 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards and the Royal Family's dignity and stature whilst obviously in greatest grief made me proud to be British... I felt very humbled. 

Over these difficult days I have been touched by how King Charles III has managed to carry out all that has been required of him: one moment a grieving son, the next the King touring our country's four Parliaments. 

Princess Anne has hardly left her mother's side, escorting her on all journeys. I sincerely hope our Royal Family now have time for themselves and aftering leading us in our grief can grieve in peace for their personal loss, a dearly loved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. 

Hubby and I paid tribute to Her Majesty by beginning the day with marmalade on toast. Later, when the days events had come to a close, we enjoyed Coronation Chicken followed by my slightly adjusted Platinum Trifle accompanied by a glass of Regent wine.

A day we will never forget: an historic day when we said a fond farewell to our Queen and raised a glass of Royal Lochnagar to our new King

God bless the Queen - God save the King

Brinklow Scarecrow Trail

Monday was a Bank Holiday here in England, we had no real plans as every day is a holiday now we are retired ... hee hee 

But we did decide to go out for a walk and as a local village had a Scarecrow Trail we thought we'd go and have a look, it's the first one aince 2019. 

Brinklow lies on the Fosse Way, a Roman Road, and also has a moat and bailey castle. Wewalked up to the castle but I decided not to climb to the top as it's very steep, more a worry of coming down than going up. It looks a small mound in my photo but look at the trees to get a perspective.

We also popped into the church, it's the only church I know that slopes upwards. 

We had a two mile walk around the village looking at everyone's scarecrows, such great ideas. It must take hours to construct them. 

My favourite was The Queen and Paddington. My other top ones were The Repair Shop and the Bowling. There were many more, we didn't manage to walk the lower part of the village so missed quote a few; these were my highlights.

Over the weekend the village had had events on including a vintage car show and a Lancaster fly past. 

It's held every two years so next time we might go on one of the activity days although it was nice to see the displays without crowds.

Ansley Flower Festival

Summer Bank Holiday is traditionally the Flower Festival at my family church. I have in the past taken part with a floral display but it isn't really something I'm very good at so I haven't recently. 

However this year I did take part. Every Christmas I take part in the church's tree Festival decorating my tree with cross stitch ornaments on various themes. My theme for 2020 was a Bouquet of Flowers, a choice I made in January before the world turned upside down. 

During the very worrying and difficult months of 2020 I stitched flowers for my tree ... and so did many of my friends from around the world. There was only a virtual festival in 2020 but the flowers were displayed at the 2021 Christmas Tree Festival. 

My December 2020 blog post is all about how the Bouquet came about with the link to the virtual festival, and my December 2021 blog post is all about the festival back in church.

What has Christmas to do with the Summer Flower Festival? 

Well this year the Bouquet of Flowers is on display as part of the church's beautiful flower display. The theme for the 58th Flower Festival is 'Journey' and the gorgeous collection of stitched flowers certainly tells of my journey through recent years.

So many people are involved in the Flower Festival. It isn't just about putting flowers in the church but involves cleaning, making structures, sourcing the flowers and display items, preparing and printing the booklet, being at church to greet visitors, making teas and coffees, and of course clearing everything away afterwards.  The beautiful displays this year are again a tribute to all those who work so hard at St Laurence's Church.

The remainder of my post is photos of the beautiful flowers, each display reflects a journey. They are all so poignant especially the two in the porch; the bicycle is on the left side leading you into church 'one more step'...

... footprints is on the right of the church as you leave showing God is always with us. 

I hope you have enjoyed seeing the beautiful displays, maybe you are near and can visit in person but if far away I hope they have given you a smile ... God bless.