Dear Heidi,
Now we have all celebrated Christmas, in one way or another. It sounds like you have all had a wonderful feast, and I do believe you are at a hotel complex today?! ( you may thank Pappa and find my iPhone for that good guess😉)
We have had a long day of teaming rain today, which has not deterred the masses of birds flocking around my feeders. Today I counted up the Christmas visitors to be blue and great tits, dunnocks, Siskins, green finches, gold and chaffinches, waxwings and nuthatches. I haven’t seen the woodpeckers since we got back though.
I have had a very lazy day, just as Boxing Day should be, and have caught up with my journal. I painted a greattit, holly and ivy and added photos from Tenerife and England.
I have also caught up with a couple of Uk tv Christmas specials, and Pappa, D, D’s friend M and
U from downstairs are engrossed in a Caucassone match. W has just come in from next door.
I am cooking a ham in cola for supper, with baked potatoes and salad, and must go and put the oven on in fact. So, love as always,
Your Mamma xx
tirsdag 26. desember 2017
mandag 18. desember 2017
December 18
Dear Heidi,
I am battling with a woolly head today, because of a throat infection, fever and cough, but I am sure I will get over it soon. I have a huge pile of laundry to do, as usual after a holiday, and I really need to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables too, but that is a job for tomorrow.
Today, we are keeping the fire burning, and I have essential oils infusing to ease the throat and make the house smell Christmassy. I hope we can get the Christmas china out of the stabbur tomorrow too, and even get a Christmas tree perhaps!
D is working in Moss, in a park, so is away long hours this week. I hope he will have a few days break over the holidays! W has gone next door already!
We have a goodly amount of snow, but also thick fog, so I am glad to be indoors.
Love you, Mamma
I am battling with a woolly head today, because of a throat infection, fever and cough, but I am sure I will get over it soon. I have a huge pile of laundry to do, as usual after a holiday, and I really need to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables too, but that is a job for tomorrow.
Today, we are keeping the fire burning, and I have essential oils infusing to ease the throat and make the house smell Christmassy. I hope we can get the Christmas china out of the stabbur tomorrow too, and even get a Christmas tree perhaps!
D is working in Moss, in a park, so is away long hours this week. I hope he will have a few days break over the holidays! W has gone next door already!
We have a goodly amount of snow, but also thick fog, so I am glad to be indoors.
Love you, Mamma
søndag 17. desember 2017
December 17th
Dear Heidi,
Oh dear Heidi, what a shocking experience for you all in Cape Verde! To have two groups of your shipmates attacked so senselessly and violently must be terrifying, and I can quite understand how insecure you feel. The whole visit must seem tainted with horror, and yet, as I understand it, nobody was seriously hurt, physically, which is a blessing. To be robbed of your possessions so abruptly and with guns and knives threatening lives, is an invasion of your sense of self and of your equilibrium, let alone the actual loss and the inconvenience caused by the losses.
You must all, as a team, pull together and learn and grow from this event. You will all come through tougher and wiser, I hope, and sadly, a little more cynical about the world.
Now, I understand that the teaching staff are going home. For Christmas? You said two other teachers are coming from Aplus staff to take the Optimised Learning course, and that your new history teacher is joining the Ship soon, but none of you know these teachers. Are none of the actual teachers staying on board? Who, then, is responsible for 60 teenagers over the 10 days you are in port, and over Christmas? It seems a bit odd to us, here at home, and not ideal, to say the least, in the light of what has happened. Hmm.
Back home, we are again four; the snow is crisp and powdery and about ankle deep, with minus 8 at the moment. The birch trees are frosted white, and the mist hung low over the fields when we came home. The sun an orange disc through the branches or pale yellow where it was obscured by the mists. The house was tidy, the animals mad with delight to see us all (well, Miss Smudge was a bit standoffish to start with!) and the kitchen was scattered with dirty dishes...oh well. It was good to be home, even if I had to pull on my apron and rubber gloves immediately.
Today is the third Sunday of advent! Three candles, burning in the night, for Hope, and Faith and Joy.
Take Joy, my dearest girl, in what you can, and give thanks to God, for all is not lost. There is still so much goodness to be found, if you can only look for it.
Know that you are loved, so very much.
Your own Mamma.
Oh dear Heidi, what a shocking experience for you all in Cape Verde! To have two groups of your shipmates attacked so senselessly and violently must be terrifying, and I can quite understand how insecure you feel. The whole visit must seem tainted with horror, and yet, as I understand it, nobody was seriously hurt, physically, which is a blessing. To be robbed of your possessions so abruptly and with guns and knives threatening lives, is an invasion of your sense of self and of your equilibrium, let alone the actual loss and the inconvenience caused by the losses.
You must all, as a team, pull together and learn and grow from this event. You will all come through tougher and wiser, I hope, and sadly, a little more cynical about the world.
Now, I understand that the teaching staff are going home. For Christmas? You said two other teachers are coming from Aplus staff to take the Optimised Learning course, and that your new history teacher is joining the Ship soon, but none of you know these teachers. Are none of the actual teachers staying on board? Who, then, is responsible for 60 teenagers over the 10 days you are in port, and over Christmas? It seems a bit odd to us, here at home, and not ideal, to say the least, in the light of what has happened. Hmm.
Back home, we are again four; the snow is crisp and powdery and about ankle deep, with minus 8 at the moment. The birch trees are frosted white, and the mist hung low over the fields when we came home. The sun an orange disc through the branches or pale yellow where it was obscured by the mists. The house was tidy, the animals mad with delight to see us all (well, Miss Smudge was a bit standoffish to start with!) and the kitchen was scattered with dirty dishes...oh well. It was good to be home, even if I had to pull on my apron and rubber gloves immediately.
Today is the third Sunday of advent! Three candles, burning in the night, for Hope, and Faith and Joy.
Take Joy, my dearest girl, in what you can, and give thanks to God, for all is not lost. There is still so much goodness to be found, if you can only look for it.
Know that you are loved, so very much.
Your own Mamma.
fredag 15. desember 2017
December 15th
Dear Heidi,
Now you are close to Cabe Verde, and I suspect the weather is much warmer than even Tenerife was.
I wonder how your shoulder is, and if you are able to start working it gently?
We are still in England and have had a few days with Aunty S. We did not go to Wales because of the snow in the Uk and because of Pappa’s illness. He is slowly getting better. Now we are in Cannington and have been in to school to help W pack up. The school has a sick bug going round, so there are over 30 boys sent home already. I really hope W is going to be ok, at least until we get home! Tomorrow is the carol service at church and then we are off to see Grandad for supper and on to Gatwick for the night at the bloc. We have had all sorts of weather here, sun, snow, monsoon rain and wind, hailstones and mist! Time to go back to the frozen north😉
I am looking forwards to hearing all about the Cape and what all you get up to there, so talk to you soon,
Love you, mamma.
Now you are close to Cabe Verde, and I suspect the weather is much warmer than even Tenerife was.
I wonder how your shoulder is, and if you are able to start working it gently?
We are still in England and have had a few days with Aunty S. We did not go to Wales because of the snow in the Uk and because of Pappa’s illness. He is slowly getting better. Now we are in Cannington and have been in to school to help W pack up. The school has a sick bug going round, so there are over 30 boys sent home already. I really hope W is going to be ok, at least until we get home! Tomorrow is the carol service at church and then we are off to see Grandad for supper and on to Gatwick for the night at the bloc. We have had all sorts of weather here, sun, snow, monsoon rain and wind, hailstones and mist! Time to go back to the frozen north😉
I am looking forwards to hearing all about the Cape and what all you get up to there, so talk to you soon,
Love you, mamma.
mandag 11. desember 2017
December 11th.
Dear Heidi,
We had such a good time with you in Tenerife! We love how calm and confident you are, and how well you are doing on the Ship. You are working hard and this shows in the praise all your teachers have for you, and of course in your grades. Well done!
Whilst you were here we did so much, and saw So many of the aspects of life here in the Canary Islands. From the churches and nativities, the historic town centres and the ghastly touristy south side, the mountains, desert landscapes and forests to the volcanic summits and the sandy beaches.
I hope that your shoulder has responded well to the treatment from the physio, and the strapping is helping. Don’t forget to do your exercises!
We waved you off (eventually) and then Pappa and I drove along the front. You remember the white concert hall like a cobras head? Beside that there is a rocky hill that is covered with palm trees and other tropical plants. It is a botanical garden, and we raced along its pathways to the view point looking out over the sea. We got a lovely last view of you all, disappearing into the misty horizon.
Later on, back at the villa, your shipmate C’s father from Quebec came to dinner at our lovely restaurant, and we had such a friendly evening with him. We all three got on so very well. We are looking forwards to seeing him again in Miami.
The next day, Pappa was ill. He had sunstroke, I think, from standing watching the ship depart, and had a fever and chills and now has a cough. So we didn’t do much for that day, certainly not going to the English church as I had hoped. But never mind. We just rested quietly, and had a light lunch in the terrace cafe. Today we have bought more painkillers and a ventolin inhaler for him, and then had a quick trip into the city, where I bought the last pair of slippers the same as yours, but a paler grey, I think. We had some pasta for lunch and then headed back to the villa. On the way, however, Pappa diverted to visit a little vineyard he had heard about. ( The one here, Casa del vino, is shut on Mondays). It was well worth searching out, as we were personally shown around by the owner, who is producing the same wines as the original vineyard owner ( the first governor of the island, a Conquistador in the 1500s) so we really did find the “ Canary wine” that I was hoping to taste, that is written about in Shakespeare, and other classic literature.
So now we are all packed up. The fircones weighed nearly 4 kg and took up a whole side of a suitcase! Oops! Apparently the UK is totally snowed in, with minus 6 to minus 13 depending on the area, and icy as well. So we can only hope that our plane will arrive here tomorrow and that the roads will be cleared by the time we land. In the mean time, the grey clouds and morning drizzle here have turned into pouring rain, and we are ready to say adios to Tenerife.
With so much love my darling daughter,
Mamma.
We had such a good time with you in Tenerife! We love how calm and confident you are, and how well you are doing on the Ship. You are working hard and this shows in the praise all your teachers have for you, and of course in your grades. Well done!
Whilst you were here we did so much, and saw So many of the aspects of life here in the Canary Islands. From the churches and nativities, the historic town centres and the ghastly touristy south side, the mountains, desert landscapes and forests to the volcanic summits and the sandy beaches.
I hope that your shoulder has responded well to the treatment from the physio, and the strapping is helping. Don’t forget to do your exercises!
We waved you off (eventually) and then Pappa and I drove along the front. You remember the white concert hall like a cobras head? Beside that there is a rocky hill that is covered with palm trees and other tropical plants. It is a botanical garden, and we raced along its pathways to the view point looking out over the sea. We got a lovely last view of you all, disappearing into the misty horizon.
Later on, back at the villa, your shipmate C’s father from Quebec came to dinner at our lovely restaurant, and we had such a friendly evening with him. We all three got on so very well. We are looking forwards to seeing him again in Miami.
The next day, Pappa was ill. He had sunstroke, I think, from standing watching the ship depart, and had a fever and chills and now has a cough. So we didn’t do much for that day, certainly not going to the English church as I had hoped. But never mind. We just rested quietly, and had a light lunch in the terrace cafe. Today we have bought more painkillers and a ventolin inhaler for him, and then had a quick trip into the city, where I bought the last pair of slippers the same as yours, but a paler grey, I think. We had some pasta for lunch and then headed back to the villa. On the way, however, Pappa diverted to visit a little vineyard he had heard about. ( The one here, Casa del vino, is shut on Mondays). It was well worth searching out, as we were personally shown around by the owner, who is producing the same wines as the original vineyard owner ( the first governor of the island, a Conquistador in the 1500s) so we really did find the “ Canary wine” that I was hoping to taste, that is written about in Shakespeare, and other classic literature.
So now we are all packed up. The fircones weighed nearly 4 kg and took up a whole side of a suitcase! Oops! Apparently the UK is totally snowed in, with minus 6 to minus 13 depending on the area, and icy as well. So we can only hope that our plane will arrive here tomorrow and that the roads will be cleared by the time we land. In the mean time, the grey clouds and morning drizzle here have turned into pouring rain, and we are ready to say adios to Tenerife.
With so much love my darling daughter,
Mamma.
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