Ashes to Ashes

What stunning weather we had on Saturday when we visited what has to be one of my favourite places in the UK - Daymer Bay in north Cornwall.  This is where we laid Mum to rest and where she requested in her poem.

Just ten minutes walk away is St Enedoc church where John Betjeman is buried and I went in there to say a prayer for Mum.  It was decorated for Harvest Festival the next day and was looking so lovely.

(From the 16th century to the middle of the 19th century, the church was virtually buried by sand dunes.  To maintain the  tithes required by the church, it had to host services at least once a year, so the vicar and parishioners descended into the sanctuary through a hole in the roof. By 1864 it was finally unearthed and the dunes were finally stabilized).

Cornwall

This weekend we will be scattering Mum's ashes where she requested in north Cornwall. 

I thought I would post some photos of Mullion in south Cornwall where she once had an antiques shop.  These photos were taken the evening before her funeral earlier this month.

Treats

This week I have been enjoying some treats.  On Tuesday I had a day out with my daughter and she treated me to afternoon tea at the Chichester Harbour Hotel.  After a glass of Prosecco we had dainty sandwiches, scones, clotted cream and jam followed by a variety of tiny homemade cakes.  We had already spent the afternoon scouring a salvage yard and lovely shops in Christchurch and it was such a lovely day together. 

Then on Thursday I went out to lunch and a shopping trip with a friend.  We have an outlet shopping place in Portsmouth and I found a skirt I had previously tried on in White Stuff, reduced from £49.95 to £19 and these amazing (well, I think so) Radley shoes reduced from £150 to £44.  They are actually half a size smaller than I usually take and I don't think I could wear them for long periods but I just had to have them!  My friend said I shouldn't buy them if they weren't comfortable but that didn't come into it; they just had to come home with me!

It rather reminded me of the clever Edward Monkton card.

Blue and White and Copper

I just love the combination of blue and white china with copper.  I am waiting for husband to put up some shelves so that I can display it all together in the kitchen.

This is a copper goose carving tray

and below is an escargot pan.

I love this pretty little saucer with its picture of a damsel with her sheep (or is it a goat?)

And lastly these are the last of the flowers from the garden.

Downton Abbey

I am so looking forward to watching Downton Abbey this evening.  There was a lot about this series in one of the Sunday supplements last weekend and I was interested to see this photo of Downton's drawing room which had been converted into a dormitory for convalesent soldiers.  I was particulary interested to see the bedspreads as I have the exact same for sale on my website.

MIZPAH

Thankyou so much to those people who left a comment following my mum's death.  I have been overwhelmed by people's kindness and thoughtfulness, not just from family and friends but messages and cards from people I hardly know.  It is VERY comforting to know that people genuinely do care.  One blogger sent me a beautiful poem which I shall treasure.  The last few lines are

Be still.

Close your eyes.

Breathe.

Listen for my footfall in your heart.

I am not gone but merely walk within you.

My mum loved poetry, both to read it and write it.  After she died I found Christina Rosetti's poem 'Remember' bookmarked in four of her many poetry books she collected.  My daughter, Rosie, read this at her funeral.

In 2000 Mum had her poem 'Last Wish' published in a book.   We also read this at her funeral.  The Camel estuary is in north Cornwall where she served in the Wrens and she loved so much.  She requested that her ashes be scattered here.

LAST WISH

Lay me down in the Camel river

Where there's a sight of the sea,

And I shall rest

In the waiting west

Where I belong to be.

Let me lie in the Camel river

When the tide is easy and slow, And I shall sleep

In the dreaming deep

When it is time to go.

No mournful songs or sermons,

Only the sound of the sea,

And if larks ascending

Sing at my ending,

There's Heaven enough for me.

We also had Vaughan Williams' 'A Lark Ascending' played at her funeral.

I have titled this post MIZPAH.  Mum often wore a ring with these words on it.  Mizpah is an emotional bond between people who are separated (either physically or by death). Mizpah jewellery is worn to signify this bond, and the word "mizpah" can often be found on headstones in cemeteries and on other memorials. From Genesis 31:49 of the Bible "And Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another."









My Mum

My lovely mum died last Tuesday  Here are some pictures of her.

She joined the Wrens at age 17 and was a Plotter and a Bomb Range Marker during the last war.

This is the last photo I have of her which was taken in March.

She was born in 1926 and died on her wedding anniversary aged 85.  She was a remarkable woman and I shall miss her so terribly.