Thursday 24 May 2012

A Moment enjoyed is never wasted.


A cousin has died this week at the age of eighty-eight. She went gently after some months of deep confusion and everyone is relieved that it is all over with no suffering. She had a good life; she never married and had a career as a Headmistress - devoted her life to it in fact. She had many interests - in particular Italy and all things Italian - she became a fluent Italian speaker.

But her death has underlined, as death always does, the need to enjoy each and every day. I have a little 'motto' on my wall with the saying of the title of this piece. Today was a day for doing just that.

The weather here is absolutely lovely. In the fields of Wensleydale the farmers are silaging and the air is full of the smell of cut grass. The lambs are getting a bit bigger and they are gambolling around enjoying the warm weather, as are the dairy cows, glad to feel the sun on their backs at long last.

Four of us - W,S,L and myself, set off for Simonstone Hall Hotel on the Buttertubs Pass for an eleven o'clock Poetry reading by local poets, as part of the Swaledale Festival. The event was a sell-out. About fifty people - mostly ladies of a certain age but with one or two brave men amongst them - in a room set out with round tables laid with coffee cups ready for the interval.
Lovely poetry from a local poet, Ann Pilling and a lady who used to be local, Sue Considine, plus several others. Lovely poetry, lovely company, lovely surroundings and - the icing on the cake - a stop off on the way back in the pretty village of Askrigg for sandwiches and a cool drink in a roadside cafe.

Back home the farmer and I had an hour clearing out the garden shed and doing odd bits of gardening here and there. So there you have it - no time wasted today and every moment enjoyed. Hope your day was as good.

I surreptitiously took a quick photograph in the interval. I thought it was too intrusive to take one of one of the poets doing a reading. (I should have asked before it started). Hope you get an idea of the nice informality of the occasion from the photograph.

12 comments:

ArcticFox said...

sounds nice and relaxing. Sometimes you can turn off all the camera noises so nobody would know you were taking a photo!! My grandma had a motto on the wall that I still remember....

Yesterday is gone... forget it,
Tomorrow never comes.... don't worry about it,
today is here.... celebrate!!

mrsnesbitt said...

This time next week pat we'll be all packed up and ready for the Friday morning journry over to Heysham - we'll be passing through your neck of the woods! Recognise the place names mentioned in this post!
Ooooooooooooooooooooh!

Take care
Denise xxx

Heather said...

There is much to be thankful for when a loved one passes away peacefully after a long and full life.
Everyone in your photo looks to be enjoying herself in that lovely venue for the poetry reading.
Hope you didn't get too hot clearing out the shed.

mumasu said...

Sorry to hear of your loss and glad she went painlessly.

It looks like you're all having a good time at the poetry event, so no moments wasted there.

We are moving soon so unfortunately I spent a lot of today's good weather indoors packing boxes, but there's always tomorrow.

John Going Gently said...

going gently is a wonderful thing
for the rest of us who want to "go gently" doing so with a smile is the best we can ask
x

Gwil W said...

Pat, you're a wise old bird and I do like your motto! I think I'll even make it my own ;) g.

Gwil W said...

ps - Congrats, you are now deservedly in the "quotes for our times" section at the foot of my Poet-in-Residence page.

Cloudia said...

Bless you for mirroring the truth beautifully & richly.

Your particular day was lovely, and sharing in it this was is appreciated. I will take your post with me in some authentic way the rest of the day.

Friendly Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral

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=^.^=

Robin Mac said...

I am glad your cousin passed away peacefully. Your poetry morning sounds very interesting, but Askrigg is the name which really caught my attention. We stayed there for a few days in the mid-eighties and were amazed to look out our bedroom window on morning to find an episode of 'All creatures great and small' was being filmed next to our hotel! We Aussies aren't used to having that happen, so it was the highlight of our visit to that lovely place - and we had to watch every episode when we came home to make sure we saw it on the small screen. Cheers

MrsL said...

Lovely post :)

MrsL
x

The Weaver of Grass said...

Not so much of the 'old bird' Gwil!!
The motto hangs on my wall - a little plaque given to me in lieu of a birthday card many years ago - it is good to remember it.

Thanks for visiting.

Mary said...

Sounds like your cousin knew how to enjoy those moments, especially the Italian ones! Always sad to see a dear one leave us - hopefully we too can go peacefully when our precious moments are all used up.

Like the ladies group.......looks so English of course! Know you enjoyed the company and the poetry.

Thanks Pat for the lovely descriptive piece on the Wensleydale countryside - I can see it so clearly and it makes me want to come home!

Mary