Friday 27 January 2023

Gather ye rosebuds.

 'Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

  Old time is still a'flying.

  And this same flower that smiles today

  Tomorrow will be dying'  Robert Herrick

An old friend came to see me yesterday.Although we live only six or so miles apart, I can no longer go to her (can no longer walk or drive) and she is in many ways more handicapped physically than I but can still drive.

So after a gap of three years or so she rang and came to see me yesterday.   Although  a little younger than me (early eighties) her health - which has  been poor since early  middle age when she had to retire - is far worse than mine.   We both have carers and we both 'soldier on'.

We are both well-travelled -she adores Shetland and has been every year for I believe fifty years or  so  - finally having to stop because her health would not allow her the long journey.   But she has many friends there and is in touch with them regularly.   The same goes for South Africa and Namibia where she has travelled extensively and has friends who are in regular contact and also The Netherlands.

We are both great believers in travel and have spent any spare money on it.

Now of course we are past it so what have we got to show for it? a) a much wider knowlege of the world.   We can look at our photographs.   At the weekend I got out the Atlas and sat with my Grandson and together with our fingers we explored where he had been and where I had been.|Now I can get out my Atlas any day I wish and look up! b). wide circle of friends of many nationalities - we learn their customs, bits of their language  (ni hao, Hallo, Zdravstvuyte - Chinese, Dutch and Russian for hello).  And most of all we see the world - the people, the places, the customs - we gain a wider knowledge of the world and what goes on in it.   There is no better thing than ending up like this - although the information we gain and the understanding die with us.

Now in my case I can add to this the fact that I blog with all of you.  I can 'walk' round the countryside with John and his brother (by Stargoose and Hanglands), visit Trelawnyd with John and 'meet' some of the village characters, (Going Gently), look at the countryside in Germany or USA and various other countries thanks to you all).   And even meet people I blog with or welcome them to my home when they travel near.  Some years ago the farmer and I  met Elizabeth when we went to New York and she took us out for coffee in Manhattan.   My whole world has opened up with all the travel I have done (both physically and virtually).

Listening to my friend yesterday talking about friends she has made while travelling in South Africa, looking at photographs they have sent her of their family as they grow up.   And listening to her talk of the wild life she has seen and made contact with (she has stroked a cheetah)'.

Now all that is left is memories, photographs and chats with friends (not talking to and boring our friends with the details) -and same applies to you dear readers.   I have gone on long enough so will leave you with just a couple of memories that I treasure and think of often:

Flying over the 'bottom' of Iceland on our way to US and seeing a glacier as it met the sea;  and standing on the Athabasca glacier drinking a whisky as our coach waited for us.   Timeless memories especially now that my dear farmer has gone and all his memories with him.


 

 

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved reading this - thank you
Alison in Wales x

Gillian said...

I look Daily to see if you have written a new post, I'm thrilled when you have as your attitude to whatever life throws at you is inspiring and such amazing memories x

jinxxxygirl said...

I too loved reading this Pat... and i think at 55 i have many memories to look back on too and enjoy... I have pet a Tiger... I've had a kiss on the Eiffel Tower, skied in the Swiss Alps, I've seen the wonder of the Milky Way while camping in TX, walked through the sugar white sand of the Gulf of Mexico, and many more and even more smaller moments i treasure.. As long as some awful disease doesn't rob us of them we shall always have our memories Pat.. Hugs! debs

Ellen D. said...

What a lovely post! I am glad you have enjoyed your travels and have so many lovely memories to share with us.

Librarian said...

It is lovely how you still take so much pleasure from all you did and saw in the past. Some people, once they can not travel anymore (or do other things they enjoyed when they were younger), become bitter and moan about how they are now so limited. You, in contrast, relive those good times and enjoy them again by talking and writing about them.
Good of your friend to have come visiting!

Derek Faulkner said...

One of those "I wish" posts that you can only truly make when you get to a certain age, when the memories come flooding back, when memories become valuable chapters along the long road of life.
I enjoyed this post Pat, I could feel your enjoyment at what had been and gone, sense the frustration that it would be no more. Your writing has been really thought provoking just lately.
As a true Cancerian who is never happier than when in his shell, who has rarely felt that urge to be somewhere else or to travel the world, my favourite memories come from closer to home but you make me feel that I missed something.

Susan said...

Living a life filled with friends and family as well as being well traveled is clearly one of your many secrets to a good life. Thank you for sharing. I agree entirely with your lifestyle. It works superbly well.

Barbara Anne said...

What a wonderful and inspiring post, Pat! It was a treat to read and "see" the sights you've seen.
My cousins always traveled and from each trip chose one photo of the many they took, had that photo enlarged to 10"x14" and framed to hang on a wall in their sitting room. You could do that with your favorite photo(s) from your life and travels.

Hugs!

di said...

And here I am writing to you from South Africa! I am on the southern tip ,in cape town. Hello !

Ruta M. said...

A lovely post, thank you. I sometimes feel sad that even though we moved to the edge of Snowdonia my husband (72) doesn't seem to want to go anywhere so now I go out with a local walking group and like you I have memories of past travels. Sometimes I re-visit places using Google maps street view where you can 'walk' along roads and look from side to side as well. That's also very useful when I'm driving out to the Welsh hills to unfamiliar places or seeing where friends and family have moved to.

wvhiker said...

Very envious of your travels. Sounds like a wonderful existence.

Mary said...

I feel so at one with you and your thoughts on travel in this wonderful post dear Pat.
I have traveled the world's seven continents, and have so many memories of amazing times, people, animals, oceans, scenic landscapes etc. in places so different from home. Travel is part of an education, so inspiring seeing things very different from our everyday life and home. Aging does cut down on certain types of travel such as expeditions to far away wild places (my favorites) - ideally that should be done when younger - but still just getting out and about, traveling around even if within the confines of one's town or city, there is still excitement available if one takes the time to make a wrong turn, get lost for a short time! Then come home to one's own bed and safe place. . . . can't be beat that really!

Heather said...

All those memories mush be so precious to you both. I have travelled very little, but am thrilled to be able to tell you that i have walked to the edge of the Athabasca glacier - from it's carpark I hasten to add. After which I encountered a mild dose of altitude sickness!

Anonymous said...

Enjoyable post, thank-you Pat. - Pam, Aust.

Linda from Alabama said...

What a wonderful post.....by reading your blog alone ...I feel like I have traveled!

The Furry Gnome said...

The travels we have done, including decades ago with our children, were the best thing we did in life.

marlane said...

Did you know that you can also "travel" from youtube on the computer. I enjoy going to different countries that way. I type in the name of a city or anyplace really and see what happens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUeOdtkwdWg you may have to copy and paste, but here is a link to the town where I was born Hereford.England.

Anne Brew said...

The country I feel sad about now is Russia - such an interesting trip some years ago to Sakhalin Island and Kamchatka on the east coast. A country closed to us for generations now I think.

Red said...

You were on the Athabasca glacier? That's close to me and I've been there many times. I would take students in behind the Athabasca glacier to the Saskatchewan glacier.

Cro Magnon said...

My oldest wanted to take me to India in a couple of weeks. I just couldn't face all that travel. I've always wanted to see India too; too late now.

Tom Stephenson said...

I sometimes forget how well travelled you are, Weave. I met Britta when she came to Bath once a few years ago. It was a pleasant meeting.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thank you for your comment Red. My husband later in the holiday went canoeing on the Athabaska - not my cup of tea so I walked around the town where we were staying and I bought a small wooden canoe which sits on my window sill as I write this
Mariane I know Hereford weoo and have been many times..
Derek - not at all - each to his own. My son has no desire to travel - once to the U S, once to Sweden and once to Ireland and no desire to go anywhere else.


Thank you all doe youe comments.