As we mourned our well loved queen, I was reminded of how she enjoyed her long life. From a small child she always had a smile on her face. She had an enjoyable childhood, she enjoyed her marriage, her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her life was based on her Christian faith but also her service to the country. She was truly an example to everyone and will be sorely missed.
We are now moving into a new era – we have been set free from Covid, had a new Prime Minister, the loss of our Queen and now we have King Charles III. We have to change the words of the National Anthem, get new stamps, coins etc. For older people it will take some getting used to but the younger generation will take it all in their stride.
When we have Bingo at St. John’s we don’t play for money, we play for prizes. The caller does the usual banter about the numbers and some of these you wonder where they came from e.g. ‘number 9 doctor’s orders’. This came from the Great War and the Second World War when “Number 9” was the name of a laxative given to soldiers. There are lots of explanations but Bingo comes from an Italian lottery game which spread to France and on to England. It was originally known as Beano because beans were used as markers, but someone accidentally called out “Bingo” and the name stuck.
I cannot believe that here at the beginning of October I am still picking Runner Beans and Tomatoes from our garden and the Petunias and Begonias are a real picture in the tubs. Also we bought a Hibiscus early on in the year which was knocked down in price because it looked as if it was dying but after some tender loving care and putting it out of the wind, it has been a sight to behold.
What a beautiful month October is with leaves starting to fall. Not yet too cold and not too warm. The nights are drawing in as our mother would say, but lots of sunshine along the way.
Marie Cove.