General Chat

Good morning :-)


Continuing our theme for Remembrance week....


I do not know your name-
Nor for which battle you died.
I do not know your name,
Nor the tears that were cried.
I do not know where you rest-
Nor the promises broken.
I do not know your uniform
And you're fears,
They lay unspoken.
But, I know your spirit exists-
That your courage is admired,
And your sacrifice is honoured
By each soul that is inspired.
And,
I offer you from my heart
Thank you;
To guardians unknown,
For offering yourselves for us all
That we may keep freedom...
Our home.

Cx :-)

Lord, you are sovereign over the nations, and so we pray for the United States whose motto is 'In God we trust'.

As they wait to hear confirmation of their new President, we pray ..

Lord, may there be liberty
Lord, may there be hope
Lord, may there be love
Lord, may there be grace
Lord, may there be peace
We pray, Lord, above all that you will reign. Amen.

Thoughts for those in need of comfort and prayer x

Good morning :-)


As we saw with the Scouts on Tuesday, the Girl Guides too, were involved in war work in both World Wars. They carried important messages and helped deliver milk and also par-celled up clothing to be sent to soldiers at the Front. Guides learned first aid so they could help with injuries.

In WW2 Guides were earning badges as proficient electricians, mechanics, first-aiders, and signallers. The telegraphist badge required them to construct their own wireless receiver and send messages in Morse code at a speed of 30 letters per minute.

Guides knitted socks for soldiers and helped in the national campaign to "dig for victory". And refugees and evacuees were as-signed to Guide companies.

This training meant they had basic skills in many fields, which could be put to good use in the country's moment of need.

Whilst the Scouts have kept a reference to God in their promise, the Guides dropped this a few years ago.


Cx :-)

Today I heard about an acquaintance who has lost her husband very suddenly and unexpectedly. She took her husband to the hospital for a fairly routine operation, expecting to see him the next day, but sadly he died during the operation. Please remember his wife, his sister and family in your prayers tonight.

My thoughts are with them and everyone who is mourning the loss of a loved one, especially if they feel they didn't get a chance to say goodbye.

Good morning :-)


Your poor friend Vera....she must be so shocked. It is going to take her a while to come to terms with all the facts and I guess there will be lots of emotions going round in her mind. I will hold her and her family in prayer. <3


We Shall Keep the Faith
Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.
We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valour led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.
And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honour of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.

by Moina Michael


Love to all Cx :-)

Vera how sad.

My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, family and friends
at this time.

Hello all

A lovely poem Cynthia and so fitting for today 11th day of the 11th month.

How tragic Vera for your friend to lose her husband in hospital so unexpectedly.
Joining in with Cynthia and Emma and praying they all will find the strength to cope.

We are still working through hubbies pain-filled days and broken nights and praying
things will get better. Waiting now for a call back from the surgery about pain relief.
I still have no immediate plans to post here daily but thank you all for your support. xx

It is always good to hear from you Kandj; just post when you are able. I am so sorry that your hubby is still so unwell. Stay strong. Your OH and you are being held in our thoughts <3

Lovely verses all week Cynthia. Thoughts today for all who have suffered and are still suffering in world wide conflicts, including my son's new wife whose first husband, an American, was killed in Saudi Arabia thirteen years ago.

I also have loved your postings Cynthia.x

I hope your husband receives the pain relief soon kandj <3

My thoughts and prayers are with you both.

Good morning :-)

Lovely to see my friends on here this morning and I join with the others in praying that some pain relief can be sorted for your husband soon kandj. <3

Today is my husband's 80th birthday. We are not sure how it will go but will make the most of it. His brother and wife are travelling from Cambridge and our little family will gather for a meal tonight. My husband has done so well, despite almost having died when he was 49 and, given his ill-health now, to reach this age - and we give thanks to God for all His blessings. <3


For today:

Many of us remember the ‘Dad’s Army’ programmes with affection…but what are the facts behind the Home Guard?

The Home Guard was set up in May 1940 as Britain's 'last line of defence' against German invasion. Members of this 'Dad's Army' were usually men above or below the age of conscription and those unfit or ineligible for front line military service.

On 14 May 1940, Secretary of State for War Anthony Eden made a broadcast calling for men be-tween the ages of 17 and 65 to enrol in a new force, the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV). By July, nearly 1.5 million men had enrolled and the name of this people's army was changed to the more inspiring Home Guard.

The Home Guard was at first a rag-tag militia, with scarce and often make-do uniforms and weaponry. Yet it evolved into a well-equipped and well-trained army of 1.7 million men.

Men of the Home Guard were not only readied for invasion, but also performed other roles including bomb disposal and manning anti-aircraft and coastal artillery. Over the course of the war 1,206 men of the Home Guard were killed on duty or died of wounds.

With the Allied armies advancing towards Germany and the threat of invasion or raids over, the Home Guard was stood down on 3 December 1944.  We thank God for these brave men.



Cx :-)

Happy birthday to your husband Cynthia :-)

I hope he has a wonderful day with you all x

A very happy birthday to your husband. I hope he has a lovely day with family around him.

'Last week’s photograph of Pope Francis embracing the female leader of the Church of Sweden, Archbishop Antje Jackelén, was a stark reminder not only of how close the Catholic Church has come to other denominations like the Lutherans, but also how far apart they still are.

The same could be said of the Pope’s meeting with Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. In both cases, the issue of women’s ordination to the priesthood stands like a locked gate on the path to further church unity. Is there nothing else that could be done to narrow the gap between the denominations?

This year, when the 500th anniversary of the Reformation is being commemorated with such warmth, there is one other source of division that could be looked at again – the Catholic Church’s rules regarding the admission to Holy Communion of members of other Churches.

The line drawn now looks somewhat arbitrary. Permission may be given as a one-off on uniquely special occasions, including for instance when a Catholic and a non-Catholic are marrying during a nuptial Mass. Such an example raises the obvious question – why only then? Why does the theological iron curtain, lifted just for once, descend on the same couple the next day?

The same applies to funeral Masses, where permission may be granted for the non-Catholic partner of the deceased to receive Communion, but only on that occasion. A similar case arises during, say, an ecumenical conference, where Catholic and non-Catholic Christians have shared in communio but are then told they may not share in Communion.

Regarding Eucharistic teaching, the test applied by the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission in its agreed documents on the subject is surely the only one necessary: “Before the Eucharistic prayer, to the question ‘What is that?’, the believer answers: ‘It is bread.’ After the Eucharistic prayer to the same question he answers: ‘It is truly the body of Christ, the Bread of Life.’” That must be enough. It is understandable that those unable to make such a declaration should not receive Holy Communion on such terms, but nor would they want to.

It is also relevant that the Church no longer regards members of other Churches as formally guilty of the sins of heresy or schism. Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’ exhortation regarding marriage and family life, declined to repeat the traditional bar to receiving Holy Communion applied to couples in irregular marriages, provided they were in good faith. Why should non-Catholics in good faith deserve less?

The statement of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, One Bread One Body, issued in 1998, is still the standard guidance, but it recognised that norms can be changed. The statement also declared that the Catholic Church needed to repent of its own contributions to Christian disunity. It is fair to ask whether the continued ban on members of other Christian denominations receiving Holy Communion might have become one such contribution'.

(*Copied from the Editorial of this week's ‘The Tablet’ magazine.)

Happy 80th birthday blessings to your husband Cynthia. I hope he has been well
enough to enjoy such a very special day today. xx

Good morning :-)


To day is Remembrance Sunday and, across the globe there will be services held to commemorate the fallen.

When you go home, tell them of us and say
'For your tomorrow, we gave our today'.


My husband had a lovely day despite having to go and rest through the afternoon. It was wonderful to have our little family with us with lots of shared memories and laughter.

Dermot, re your article, you may be interested to learn that my husband received the most amazing present from our close friend who is an RC priest. He handed my husband a large envelope which, when opened, we found contained a papal blessing from Pope Francis. This will be a treasured possession and is surely a sign of good ecumenical unity :-)

I now have to decide where to start in putting things right again. My family did what they could to help get things straight again but it still looks a bit of a shambles :-D


The Collect for today:

Heavenly Father,
whose blessed Son was revealed
to destroy the works of the devil
and to make us the children of God and heirs of eternal life:
grant that we, having this hope,
may purify ourselves even as he is pure;
that when he shall appear in power and great glory
we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom;
where he is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The gospel for today teaches us about the destruction of the Temple.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


During the last week we have been remembering those brave men and women who fought and died for our country in warfare.

This week, we will take a look at what was going on at home during WW2. If anyone has any memories or handed on stories you would like to share with us, please do so - it would be lovely to hear them.

Today……..The wartime kitchen

Most kitchens had a gas cooker though some had electric cookers.

As not many folk had a refrigerator, people went shopping to buy fresh food most days but they often had to queue because of shortages. Rationing was introduced in 1940.

The Ministry of Food issued leaflets to help hardworking housewives utilise what little food there was available and they were encouraged to grow as much of their own produce as they could. One pot meals and steamed puddings were often on the menu.

You could only buy fresh fruit grown in Britain, such as apples or pears. Fruits that had to come in ships, like bananas, vanished from the shops. Many ships were being sunk by enemy submarines, and precious ship-space was needed for war materials (such as oil or guns) not bananas.

We thank God for the abundant supply of food which is available to us now and pray that we may use it wisely and well.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)



This week we continue to remember those who were left at home during WW2........evacuations

The British evacuation began on Friday 1 September 1939. It was called 'Operation Pied Piper'. Between 1939 - 1945 there were three major evacuations in preparation of the German Luftwaffe bombing Britain.

1. The first official evacuations began on September 1 1939, two days before the declaration of war. By January 1940 almost 60% had returned to their homes.

2. A second evacuation effort was started after the Germans had taken over most of France. From June 13 to June 18, 1940, around 100,000 children were evacuated (in many cases re-evacuated).

When the Blitz began on 7 September 1940, children who had re-turned home or had not been evacuated were evacuated.

By the end of 1941, city centres, especially London, became safer.

From June 1944, the Germans attacked again by firing V1 rockets on Britain, followed later by also V2 rockets. 1,000,000 women, children, elderly and disabled people were evacuate from London.

We thank God for the families who opened their hearts and homes both then and now, to care for those fleeing from dangerous situations.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Continuing our look at those left at home during WW2, today we take a quick look at those in Reserved Occupations.

The job of most men during World War 2 was that of a soldier.

As so many men were called up to serve, Britain depended on women to carry out much of the war work. Some jobs, however, were protected occupations meaning the men doing them were exempt from being called up to join the army (important skilled jobs needed for the survival of the country).

Some men were not fit enough or were too old to join the army so they volunteered as fire fighters (fire workers), ARP wardens or joined the Home Guard.

The list of Reserved occupations was quite extensive and included (though these were subject to review):

* Dock Workers
* Miners
* Farmers
* Scientists
* Merchant Seamen
* Railway Workers
* Utility Workers - Water, Gas, Electricity
* teachers and university lecturers
* Doctors (Unless in the Territorial Army)
* Police officers
* Certain Civil Servants
* Students (Only for the duration of their studies. Undergraduates were deferred, but not fully exempted. They could be conscripted at the end of their studies, unless they had a criminal record or ill health)
* Priests, monks, nuns and anyone in Holy orders
* Journalists (Though they may have been sent to the front, even running the risk of being shot or held by the enemies as spies)
Some artists involved in propaganda work

We thank God for these people who helped to keep our country running as well as possible during wartime.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Looking at those left at home during WW2.....Women and the war.

Women weren’t allowed to join the army, but the war still completely changed their lives - in some ways, for the better!

Before the war, a woman’s role was in the home. But with the men away at war, help was needed in the workplace - and so millions of women went to work in offices, factories, shops, transport and on farms.

Many men were horrified by the idea of females working and, even worse, wearing trousers! Even the then Princess Elizabeth served in the WATS and trained as a mechanic and truck driver.

Women proved that they could do the work of men, and do it just as well. Without the women of Britain growing food and making weapons, the war could not have been won.

We thank God for these brave and hardworking women and the legacy they left for future generations.


Love to all Cx :-)