Sally-Part 92. THE MOST HEARTBREAKING LETTER THAT I HAVE EVER READ !

I found this letter many years ago .

My paternal grandmother, who I never saw often enough and who used to smother me in wet kisses lived to be very old, probably ninety two and to me was just 'Grandma' .

She came from Poland and spoke with a gutteral Yiddish accent that no-one recorded so all I have is her voice in my head and images of her crying whether she was happy or sad !

Her house in High Wycombe smelt of chicken soup and baking cakes !

But Grandma Myers had been married before and had two sons by her first husband, Daniel.

My father came along ten years after this letter was written and I'm reproducing much of it, despite my lack of religious belief because I find it unbearably moving !

Daniel was obviously awaiting surgery from which he did not recover .

September 17th 1907.

" Merciful God be good to my poor little orphans. Let their lives be a blessing to them. Grant that they may not grieve for their father who had to leave them. Bless, watch and guard over them and keep evil away from them.

I leave it to you, my dear wife, to see that you teach them when they get old enough, please God,to say Kadish after me.

Let Simon know that I forgive him freely and also Moss.

Have my watch repaired, no matter what the cost and keep it until Hymie is old enough to wear it, then give it to him as a keepsake from me. It was given to me as a keepsake and that's why I want Hymie to have it.

I would like you to keep my ring for Mossy when he is old enough to wear it.

Only the Almighty give you strength to carry out all my wishes especially in regard to the children.

It almost breaks my heart to have to write to you like this but it is for the best. You or I would not be able to stand it if I were to tell you all I have written here. It would have upset us too much.

I place myself in the hands of Almighty God and hope and pray that He will see me through this operation and that I will soon be home with you all again.

If not all I can say is, His will be done.

Anyway whatever happens don't tell the children the truth.

Don't break their little hearts.

Look after them well, even if you marry again and have more children, don't make any difference between mine and the others.

Kiss the children for me very often and tell them that Daddy sends those kisses for them.

My everlasting love to you, Daniel Davidson. 17th September 1907.

Sally-Part 91. THE HIDDEN GEM OF HOWICK HALL ! NOW WITH EXTRA PHOTOS AND A QUESTION FOR THE STAFF !

HOWICK HALL IN NORTHUMBERLAND .

Suddenly after forty years of sixteen hour days without a single day off for illness or holidays and completely ignoring the existence of my wife and children, I bought myself a cheap digital camera, joined the National Trust and discovered, possibly only just in time, that there are beautiful places to visit !

Today I got up at six, not because I was desperate to work but because my two year old grandson Daniel has given me his cold and at dawn the first torrent of snot overflowed after filling my gasping mouth, ran down my cheeks, around my neck and soaked into my pillow ! I awoke in terror, choking and staggered downstairs for a cup of sweet tea !

Thankfully, Shirley, who is the lightest sleeper in the world and who, according to the reports she gives me each morning, rarely sleeps for more than three minutes a night only to be woken by a flea coughing in New Zealand, must have fallen asleep just before my attack as she didn't stir a muscle !

HOWICKS' MAP MAKERS HAVE ACTUALLY PRINTED THEIR BROCHURE UPSIDE DOWN, WITH SOUTH AT THE TOP! I HOPE THAT THEY WILL CONSIDER USING THIS PHOTO TO ADD TO THE CONFUSION !

GO ON THEN ! EXPLAIN THE LOGIC OF AN UPSIDE DOWN MAP !

When she did finally wake at ten we decided that as the weather forecaster had promised us a day full of bright sunshine, we would head thirty miles north to the little-known and rarely visited Howick Gardens.

We got in the car as the first large grey clouds started to hide the sun and getting to the end of our road noticed black clouds forming over what would turn out to be Howick !

Still, Shirley never goes back, ever, under any circumstances in any situation, and despite my wishing I was in hospital on a drip as my sniffle turned into full-blown man-flu, I put on a brave face, preparing to say that I felt fine, had she asked, which she didn't and drove on !

We arrived in a torrential downpour which thankfully only lasted an hour, ate our sandwiches overlooking the North Sea, had a little walk and decided to go home !

MY RED-HOT-POKERS FLOWER IN JUNE !

 But then the sky lightened up and we went ahead with what turned out to be a marvellous few hours, which although not in much sun, turned out to be a revelation !

So much so that we have taken out membership of Howick as well as the National Trust and all I have to do now is balance those two with Ardwell House and the static caravan in Dumfries and Galloway, my three children, my two grandchildren, work and my market !

And in a fortnight I've got to go to Egypt for a week's babysitting for my horrible grandchildren whilst Shirley relaxes at home, undisturbed by my foul habits and free to follow not only every move Josh Groban makes but now Ben Forster and the crew of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Her laptop will probably suffer meltdown as there are several million reviews on JCS and she tries to read them all !

THE SUN DID  EVENTUALLY PEEK THROUGH AND IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT !

She's actually probably hoping that that Icelandic volcano erupts again like it did when I last went to Egypt and couldn't get home for a few days but this time permanently, so that she can report my desertion or more likely make a false death claim on my Life Insurance Policy !

Anyway, here are some great photos which show just how splendid the place can be even without much sun.

PEOPLE KEEP ASKING ME WHAT PROFESSIONAL CAMERA I USE ! THE ANSWER IS PENTAX OPTIO M90 !

STUNNING ? I'D SAY SO !

NORTHUMBERLAND ? YEP !

FRANKLY A MASTER-LESSON IN PHOTOGRAPHY !

YOU MAY FEEL THE URGE TO GO AND SEE FOR YOURSELVES ! I HOPE YOU DO !

SNOWBERRIES .

And then we took tea in the restaurant and for those of you who don't know, one former owner was Earl Grey of Earl Grey Tea !

NO COMMENT NECESSARY !

Well done everyone who works at Howick ! We can't wait to come back time and again !

And now, 20th October and two weeks later we've been back and no-one in the restaurant knew about the Blog ! So I gave them the information and hope they've read it !

Now staff, here's a question for you. What tree produced these incredible fruit ?

Answers please through the 'comments' at the end of the Blog or on my email..davidnash@live.co.uk !

WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS ?

WOW!

UH?

AND THESE WONDERFUL TOADIES !

WHAT A PLACE YOU WORK IN !

Sally-Part 90. WONDERFUL WALLINGTON HALL IN NORTHUMBERLAND ! FOR OLGA ! NOW WITH EXTRA PHOTOS ADDED ON NOVEMBER 15TH AT THE END !

ME ? OR A TELETUBBIE  UNDER A TREE IN THE STUNNING WALLED GARDEN !

You might live on a yacht in St.Tropez or a penthouse overlooking Central Park but you don't have what we have and that's Wallington Hall !

WELL! DO I NEED TO WRITE ANYTHING ? Well actually yes because when I was snorkelling recently in The Red Sea I was amazed to see that when I put my head underwater the sun's rays focused to a point beneath me ! I know it's all to do with refraction or something but it was weird !

From the friendly staff who welcome you in , to the volunteer gardeners and the staff in the restaurant, everyone smiles !

EVEN STINGING NETTLES ARE BEAUTIFUL WITH THE AFTERNOON SUN BEHIND THEM !

And I smiled when our 'Buy nine and get one absolutely free !' tea and coffee voucher got stamped for the very first time in twelve visits !

And no wonder everyone's happy ! All the children have gone back to school and left the place to the old pegs who stumble their way between toilets shouting " What d'you say ? " at each other as they take up residence on the benches and spill their Thermos flasks all over the paths before they even get a cup of tea poured !

And if they do walk around the grounds you can watch them all nicking cuttings and stuffing them quickly inside their 'poacher's coat' pockets !

SHIRLEY ACTUALLY ASKED, " IF THE SUN DIDN'T SHINE HOW WOULD THEY KNOW TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO WHETHER 'DEAL OR NO DEAL' HAD STARTED ?"

I took NOTHING and left only well deserved money in the restaurant till after feasting on a really excellent beef casserole, cake and huge mug of filter coffee...... and quite a large amount of urine,caused by the generous mug the coffee was served in, in the copiously provided toilets ! ( Too much info !--editor )

MY FAVOURITE GREENHOUSE IN THE WHOLE WORLD !

So here are some more stunning photographs taken with my brilliant £69 Pentax digital camera !

APPARENTLY, BRACKET FUNGII ARE DELICIOUS !

SHIRLEY ! SHIRLEY !WHERE AM I ? WHO AM I ? IS THAT YOU UP THERE ? WHERE'S MY BLOOMIN SPECS ? SHIRLEY ! I'M DOWN HERE SHIRLEY ! HAS ANYONE SEEN SHIRLEY ?

AND ARE THERE CRUMPETS STILL FOR TEA ? APPARENTLY RUPERT BROOKE'S WORDS WERE, "AND IS THERE HONEY STILL FOR TEA ? " AT LEAST I HAD READ IT ONCE EVEN IF I COULDN'T QUITE REMEMBER IT PROPERLY ! STILL THOSE WHO PREFER MY INTERPRETATION CAN SAY SO WHEN  THEY COMMENT ON THE BLOG ! I WILL TRY TO ANSWER YOU IN PERSON IF THERE ARE NOT TOO MANY OF YOU TO REPLY TO !

IT'LL BE CHRISTMAS SOON ENOUGH AND YOU'LL BE WONDERING WHY YOU NEVER WENT TO WALLINGTON WHILST IT WAS STILL IN FULL BLOOM !

OH MY GOODNESS !

PERFECT !

AND EVEN MORE PERFECT !

GO ON ! SOMEONE EXPLAIN EVOLUTION TO ME !

And now for some more taken on the 15th of November 2012.

I realise that this is probabaly NOT the sort of writing that the bosses at THE NATIONAL TRUST would choose to use as publicity but they are welcome to reprint the entire Blog for FREE and use it to attract even more people in ! Go on, I dare them !

ARE THERE FAIRIES AT THE BOTTOM OF WALLINGTON HALL'S RIVER WALK ? yOU'LL HAVE TO USE YOUR EYES TO SPOT THIS !

RIDICULOUSLY WONDERFUL ENOUGH FOR ANYONE ! BRACKET FUNGUS ON A STUMP.

THE MEXICAN CIGAR PLANT IN THE GREENHOUSE. I'VE ACTUALLY SEEN PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO GIVE UP SMOKING PICK THESE AND DRAW DEEPLY ON THEM !

I BELIEVE THAT IT WAS THIS VERY IMAGE THAT WAS USED IN JO BRAND'S FANTASTIC SERIES 'GETTING ON' AS THE INAPPROPRIATE CHRISTMAS CARD PICTURE ! BUT YOU'LL HAVE TO WATCH THE SHOW FOR MORE DETAILS !

 A CLOSE-UP OF LICHEN ON AN ANCIENT TREE. THIS IS AN INDICATION OF JUST HOW CLEAN THE AIR IS !

I'VE TAKEN TO WEARING MY NATIONAL TRUST ( SCOTLAND ) CARD AROUND MY NECK ON PERMANENT DISPLAY BECAUSE THERE ARE BLOODY GUARDS EVERYWHERE FOLLOWING YOU AROUND AND CHECKING THAT YOU HAVEN'T SNEEKED IN WITHOUT PAYING !

 AND NOW ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GO AND SEE THE GLORIES OF NORTHUMBERLAND FOR YOURSELVES !

Sally-Part 89. IN THIS LIFE THERE ARE LIES, DAMN LIES AND STATISTICS !

And here are mine from yesterday ! An exponential growth since changing to 'DYNAMIC VIEWS' ! And although there are cynics who don't believe them, I DO !

Thankyou everyone for reading them and I'm sure that you'll be delighted to know that there's NO END IN SIGHT !

It all started with a scrap of an idea in late February this year !

AND HERE'S WHERE MANY OF YOU ARE ! THOUGH ALL IN THERE ARE 60 COUNTRIES WITH READERS IN !

Sally-Part 88. EVERYONE SHOULD GO TO CRAGSIDE ! FOR NATIONAL TRUST ANDY !

I've been pretty horrible about some places and justifiably so !

I've named most of them and removed all references to ISLAY and replaced it's name with a '?' after a certain 'negativeness' turned up on the comments and I thought it unfair that ISLAY should be treated so unkindly !

CRAGSIDE HOUSE IN EARLY AUTUMN SPLENDOUR

Whoops, there I go mentioning ISLAY, I mean '?' again !

But Cragside in Rothbury, Northumberland is magnificent, especially in autumn, which is where we went a few weeks ago.

Gemma and her friend Emily and their monstrous children had gone ahead and we'd said that we would meet them them 'later' , which to us meant just before closing time !

So you can imagine the utter horror of parking the car at midday and walking into the beautiful formal gardens only to be instantantly ambushed by your foul small grandchild and his mate who both whooped with delight when they saw the best playmate in the world arrive unexpectedly !

OH FOR GOODNESS SAKE SHIRLEY ! I THOUGHT WE WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO MEET THEM 'TIL LATER !

Anyway, we never got a chance to visit the house and it's stunning art collection as I was busy playing hide and seek in the fifty acre forest !

DANIEL WHO IS MINE AND NATHANIEL WHO THINKS HE'S MINE AND WHO I LOVE AS MUCH AS ANY GRANDCHILD PLANNING A CAMPAIGN OF DESTRUCTION !

Unfortunately I didn't manage to lose either of the two horrors and we had to bring them home again !

Here are some of the photos which should make you want to go and see the estate for yourselves .

YOU HAVE TO LOOK UP SOMETIMES BUT HOLD ON TO AN OLD CODGER FIRST OR YOU'LL FALL OVER !

AUTUMN POPPIES

ONLY TWO HUNDRED YEARS OLD AND ALREADY TWENTY MINUTES OUT !

PERFECT DAHLIAS IN THE FORMAL GARDEN !

JUST BRING A BOOK !

AN ABUNDANCE OF RICHES !

OF COURSE BLUE SKIES HELP !

ORANGES, LEMONS, FIGS, APPLES AND PEARS, ALL GROW IN PROFUSION IN THIS GLASS PALACE !

So if you have never been, go, because the whole experience is wonderful !

And now on November the 17th on a bright late autumn afternoon we have been back and I captured these following stunning shots ! It's the camera and not really me, though of course a creative eye does help ! It's a £90= Olympus with 16MPS and 12.5 zoom from Jessops.

TAKEN FROM THE SURFACE OF THE TOP LAKE RETAINING WALL.

BLINDED BY THE LOW SUN I JUST POINTED AND SHOT AND WOW!

HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THAT ? WET AND COVERED IN FINE WEBS !

THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD BOOKING TRIPS SO THEY CAN GET TO CRAGSIDE AFTER SEEING  THESE PHOTOS !

 AN AMAZING BRACKET FUNGUS ! I JUST POINT THE CAMERA ! NATURE DOES THE REST !

BLINDED BY THE SUN CAUGHT IN A STREAM !

WHERE A STREAM GUSHES INTO THE FLUME !

STUNNING ? I SHOULD SAY SO !

A SUNLIT MOUNTAIN ASH REFLECTED IN A MUDDY OLD PUDDLE !

STOP IT ! I CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE !

NO-ONE'S TOLD THIS RHODODENDRON THAT IT'S NEARLY CHRISTMAS AND THAT IT'S NOT THE TIME FOR IT TO BLOOM !

Thanks to Lord Armstrong and his gardeners for having the vision to plant this wonderful place two hundred odd years ago !