http://journals.aol.co.uk/frdbrow7/FredasDiaries/Hi every one just popping back to tell you Freda has posted again .
Why dont you go and read the next thrilling episode ,Have a good evening everyone WITH LOVE Jan xxx
Fourty six years ago today, I became a Mum for the first time .Yes today is my first born son's birthday ,and the picture is at his Christening ,a little 'snap ' showing four generations ,my Granny .her son my Dad ,me and my new baby Mark ,I was nineteen and so innocent ,I had woken up in the morning with a back ache ,but as I understood the pain should be in your tummy(I'd only learned a few weeks prior that you have water ,that would break ! ! ),I tried to ignore it but ,when it got worse Mick went up to the phone box and rang the Maternity hospital ,where he was told to bring me in !We hadnt got a car ,but Micks best mans Brother was on his way into work so gave us a lift ! After I'd been admitted ,Mick was told 'Off you go you can ring up later ' thats how it was then ,how things have changed ,I was having a baby scared stiff didnt know what was happening ,Mick went to the football match !He rang from the pub were they were having a prematch drink ,to learn he had a son .When he came to see me in the evening ,he was so pleased as was all the family ,first grandchild for my Mum and Dad ,Mick had six brothers and three sisters and only his eldest sister had a boy ,the rest had girls ,So our baby was special of course ,to carry on the line ,though Mark married late and hasnt got any children ,he would have made a lovely Dad .He was always a shy senisitive boy ,and my support for many years,we used to say Mark is quiet ,because as his brother and sisters came along he couldnt get a word in edge ways lol ,He married Chrissy six years ago,and it is so nice, we see lots of them and they visit most weekends ,I rang him this morning and wished him Happy Birthday ,they are going to Truckfest ,and because Maurice is at work ,admonished me for not joining them ,well I've been before and there is only so many times you want to see these marvelous vehicles ......So here we are the end of April ,and this months batch of Birthdays and aniversarys ,when you have a big family there is always some one celebrating something ,and May has a number of dates to be remembered too . Have a blessed Sunday every one
With love from 
Good morning everyone ,fine and sunny ,but still a nip in the air today ,so far, maybe it will warm up later .
I was just about to turn off the computer last night when I noticed an e-mail from,our dear friend Sugar ,so I opened it....saw the words 'just for you ' I scrolled down and look ! Isnt he gorgeous ? he is so like Scooby,if I didnt know better I'd say ,he's been out getting his picture taken ........'Thinks' he has got a knecker chief ,and I've got a stetson type hat Hmmm! ....Thankyou so much Sugar xx
Well can you tell me what my plant is going to be ? I still have no idea !.......I know the one next to it is an aloe vera and the other next to that, I've got, what they call a money plant,you know the ones like they have in chinese takeaways usually massive ! in the lounge I have an aspidestra ,not the biggest in the world !! My Mother in laws tongues however are very big ,no comments please ! and that includes you Stuart and you too Barry !
The pretty flowers in the graphics today I know are Gerberas,incorrect spelling I'm sure .My thanks to Debbie who told me where to find them . 
Well it will soon be time for me to go and get my trusty trolley, I'm going up to the town soon ,anybody need anything while I'm there ?Wonder if there will be more Daffodils for 50p ? So on that happy note I'll leave you all ,with the wish that you all have a lovely day.....Lots of Love
Janxx
Thankyou Donna I've used this one because when Kate was born the lilacs were all out .
A very Happy Anniversary, to Catherine and Martin.
Sixteen years ago, on a lovely sunny April day my daughter Kate and her fancee’Martin got married at St Augustine’s church, because her Father had died seven years previously, she asked his older brother John to give her away, John was delighted he had no children of his own, so said he’d be honoured , I left for the church with the bridesmaids Joanne ,my sister Jeans daughter and Martins sister Tracy ,we arrived at the Church which had been beautifully decorated ,it was so lovely to see all the family waiting ,Then the organ strikes up and my lovely ‘baby’girl came into the church on her Uncles arm ,well all Mothers of the bride know that feeling ,or feelings ! there are a multitude of them ,She walked down the aisle to meet Martin ,who had been sitting quietly, sometimes chatting and joking with Tony his best ,I could see he was nervous ,naturealy,but when Kate joined him at the alter their smiles were so heart warming ,both these kids had lost their Dads early in their lives and they had suported each other when they were younger through that time, My dear Mother had died ,just three months prior to this so Catherine got married with her Nana's wedding ring .After a lovely service ,and the photographs had all been taken we all went ,to a nearby hall were we enjoyed a lovely meal together ,Then in the evening all the friends that hadn’t been asked to the main part came along ,for the evening ,where we all danced all night ,chatted to family ,Just had a lovely time .
Kate and Martin are still as steadfast in their love and lives together as they were ,obviously they have had ,setbacks ,but they have given me two very precious Grandsons in Matthew and Samuel,They now own their own house and work hard ,Iam so proud of them ,Ilove them dearly and am truly blessed .
With love to every one Jan xxx
Garden feature today ,both from Donna and myself ,I finally managed to down load some pictures,You can see (Ihope) my dear little Magnolia tree ,and the pink flower ,which I believe is from the Primula family.They are the ones we bought at the open day at the exotic pet centre.....The stones in the front of the pink flower are what Kate bought Maurice for Christmas ,and as you can see are really lights ! will be lovely when we can sit out side when it gets a bit warmer,Maurice goes back to his three days tomorrow, so has been in the garden today he has managed to move the little shed over abit ,to accomadate the wheely bins between the shed and fence ,out of sight ! and then in the space between the shed and the summer house,he plans to make a little quiet sort of area to sit ,crazy pave it ,he has bought me a dear little table and chair ,wrought iron effect that will fit in that area ,he had to empty the shed in order to move it ,Whoo hoo ,the contents of a fellows shed ! mainly fishing equipment ! some stuff for the dump ! that old sewing machine I told you about , anyway I took a picture will put it on here at some stage.The sun is shining brightly and its quite warm out ,how nice ,just the day to do abit of tidying up in the garden today .Maurice has actually come in now and is watching 'The 39 steps ',the Kenneth Moore version ,how many times have we seen it ?a really good oldy ........So I'm going to toast some currant bread and butter it ,make a drink ,so I will finish here for today.I hope you are having a lovely day where ever you are ,With Love From
Thankyou for this one too, Donna,Donna can be found in my side bar ,Where I have put the lovely sewing machine so I can look at it often
Isnt she lovely? Donna called her evening Butterfly and it rather appropriate for a late entry .I am late posting ,we went into Huntingdon today ,we had a look around the market ,then I bought a new lead for the printer I kept getting the message cant connect to the printer ,reconnect the ...USB lead ,so we've replaced it, so I'm up and running again ,Thankyou all for all your good wishes for Edward on his Birthday ,I emailed him ,he rang me back ,very impressed he said 'its cool Gran ',and put a message on there himself ,Then I got an email this evening telling me how he loved the journal ,and that the entry was gr8!,...Oh did you know our friend Freda has posted ,I didnt get an alert or even a wirelees thing for it !!!..good entry Freda ! ! ! ,Freda like Donna is in my side bar .
I had Sugars permission to snag this dear little Scooby ,isnt he sweet ?Well I'm off to watch Murder city now ,So enjoy whats left of the evening everyone ,With Love From Jan xx
Another lovely design from Donna of D's designs for all occasions ! Today is the thirteenth Birthday of Edward Peter,Ed is the second son of my second son Derek and Trisha ,and he is a teenager now ,He has an older brother Mick and a younger brother Christopher ,This boy has such a lovely nature ,I dont see them as often as I would like,because they live in Dorset ,quite a distance from us , but Eddy often IM's me ,and is the first one to give his Gran a kiss ,he will chat on the phone too and is very tolerant about answering all the questions Granny's ask ,like hows school,hows your rugby going ?I am having problems with this entry ,and have tried for ages to put the pictures in ,now it wont let me in to put subtitles, so Ill just explain the first pic is of course Edward ,the others I know youve seen before. Eddy is in the middle ,and no3 pic Ed is standing next to me in the blue shirt A Very Happy Birthday , big fellow .I hope you have a lovely day ,give Mum and Dad a kiss for me,and a hug for Mick and Chris cause I know you wouldnt kiss them lol
So everyone ,lets all have a piece of Edwards cake ,Hope everyone has a nice day with love from Granny/Jan xxxxxx
I snagged this graphic this morning ,I dont know who I should credit it to,but its very clever and lovely to look at.Its also a fitting picture to use ,as Maurice fitted the Roman blind in the study ,Its beige cord,and picks out the colour in the rug .Mark and Chrissy came over yesterday ,and Mark gave me the two pics above.As we sat in the sun enjoying a salad roll and coffee for us tea for Maurice (at the exotic pets open day last Sunday )Chrissy asked Maurice could he make a wishing well like the one near the monkey house ,so Maurice suggested Mark took the picture ,to get an idea of size etc...we were laughing yesterday when he said the well part had to be knee high ,their knees all come much higher than mine lol ,any way its not a bad snap (SNAP!those were the days we took them to Boots and waited days to get them back !)and it shows those culottes I bought at Christmas with my vouchers ,remember?The other picture I thought was quite good ,Mark captured Pete Maurice and I,being entertained by a Wit ! member of the family! Talking of pictures did anyone realise I'd added pictures of Ernie ,underneath the picture of St Georges Flag,just that no one commented, I didnt know if you missed them lol ........I'm still not getting journal alerts ,coming through ,so every so often I have to pop back to my entry to see if I have any comments ,its often a nice surprise ,to find more each time I visit ,its a good job I have disregarded my hit counter though, as I'm adding to the visits ! Well I have waffled enough for a Monday ,have a good one every one,and I make no apologies for using this lovely graphic by Dear Donna again I love it! Donna is in my side bar .
And I've just learned the blind is by Chriss ,CABS Creations ,thank you Chriss xx
Windsor Castle .A favourite home of her Majesty.I dont usually do two entry's in one day ,But I have been watching the service from St Georges Chapel Windsor on BBC 1 on the Television,and so enjoyed it I thought I would share ,I know many of you will have watched it too,the Queen was joined by all her family ,to celebrate both her 80th Birthday ,and St Georges day ,She looked so lovely in what I thought was a dove grey coat ,with matching hat,the inner brim of which was a light coral colour ,and a flower of the same colour on the outer brim ,When they later gathered on the steps out side the chapel ,I think the colour was more a pale duck egg blue,it looked really lovely anyway ,How come she always looks so nice ,but on special occasions manages to look just that bit more special .As I said all her family ,The Duke of Edinburgh ,Prince Charles and Camilla ,Diannas boys then Prince Edward and his wife Sophie ,behind them I saw Princess Margarets son ,across the aisle Princess Anne and her husband ,with her children ,beside them was Prince Andrew and his daughters ,Beatrice and Eugene.The kents were there and the Gloucesters ,and I even spotted Charles the Earl Spencer ,Dianna's brother. The hymns ,prayers were splendid ,'Thine be the Glory',, a special anthem was written and sung to commemorate the birthday ,and another anthem'Oh Harken Thou' which was sung at the Queens fathers coronation was also sung ,as well as the lovely'The King of Love My Shepherd is '(we sang that at my late husbands funeral service )The sermon given by The Rev David Connor was wonderful he was full of praise for the Queen who had given her life for our service ..she sat through it with a quiet dignity,though I did notice David her nephew slightly nodding his head in agreement , and as we do, during the singing of the last hymn the Queen fumbles ,as we do ,for her bag to find her collection! After the service they all left the chapel led by The Military Knights the oldest est,in the army list ,all retired Amy Officers,and waited at the West door to greet the Queen and the Duke as they were escorted out of the chapel by The Dean of Windsor,whilst the other Cannons escorted the other members of the Royal family.They all gathered on the steps before going off to a reception at Windsor Castle,to no doubt celebrate some more ,the birthday of our Dear Queen .
Have a good Sunday evening every one Jan xx
The Beautiful Cathedral,In Peterborough
As you know today is St George's day and I'd like to share a memory ,with you .
In more modern times, St George was chosen by Baden-Powell, its founder, to be patron of the Scouting Movement, and on St George's Day, scouts are bidden to remember their Promise and the Scout Law. Baden-Powell recounted in Scouting for Boys that the Knights of the Round Table 'had as their patron saint St George because he was the only one of all the saints who was a horseman. He is the patron saint of cavalry, from which the word chivalry is derived'.
Whilst I was working at the Tudors, my Daughter Sharon was helping run the cub scout troop, and on St Georges day, they would all would take part in the St Georges day parade, which is held in Peterborough Cathedral, I remember going one year, the parade and service was in the afternoon ,and as I was on duty in the evening I wore my uniform and went straight to work after the service . Ernie, a dear old gentleman, an old soldier, who had been captured by the japs, but had escaped! He was fiercely patriotic, and when later I spoke to his Granddaughter I learned that the big portrait he had of the queen, hanging in his room, used to hang in the living room in his old home, and as a little girl she had to curtsey to the picture .Well when I got to work I gave Ernie the programme, He read it and then said I would have liked to gone with you ,oh I Didn’t think ,Well next year I promise I’ll take you ,Ernie was extremely frail, he had tattoo’s that were now dark blue where they had shrunk on his poor shrinking frame ,He was so thin,he must have been a big sturdy man when he was younger , no one expected Ernie to live but he made it to the next year ,So I chatted up my son in law ,he took me to the Tudors ,where we managed to get Ernie and a walking stick and then his wheel chair into the car (I had of course obtained his families permission)Phil helped me get Ernie out of the car and into the wheel chair ,and arranged to pick us up later .Well we found a nice spot where we could watch the parade, we had a ciggy while we watched the cubs ,scouts sea cadets and various bands march past ,Then made our way into the Cathedral, we sat in some seats of the nave ,me on the end with Ernie’s chair in the aisle. He loved it he joined in the singing,as best he could ,though I did end up with a lot of soggy tissues in my pocket ,mostly Ernie’s tears though have to admit I shed a couple my self !I should have also told you he was sporting a chest full of medals! What a wonderful time we were having until the end and the magnificent organ struck up the national anthem …..Well this old soldier wasn’t going to remain seated, he never stood for long nowadays, but that was beside the point! Up he got, somehow!!Helped by me and his stick I locked my self into position and held him up and I had never realised how long the national anthem is ….all three verses. But we did it! And he took home his own programme that year .Sadly Ernie died later that year, and I was honoured to nurse him to the end, and indeed perform the last offices for him .
Have a good day Every one ! from Jan xx
For those of you who are getting a feeling of Deja' Vue,you are quite right yes I did post the sewing machine,the entry before last ,but it was filed incorrectly (by moi !),so it didnt work properly showing off Donna's skills, SO ! I make no apologies for posting it again,the one above Donna(of D's Designs) she called sewing room ,and since I love both these graphics ,you may well see them over again at some point,especially as I may have a sewing story to tell ,But not today !
Maurice has gone off to do the first of his three night shifts again, so here I am posting my entry ,a bit later than usual but no matter .Its a lovely evening as I sit here in the study ,beside the window ,I can see my new little Magnolia tree,out there in the garden ,and hear the bird song ,I have fetched in all the washing I have done today,all dry and sweet smelling ....but have absolutely no intention of ironing it tonight !
Hey,did you know Freda,from Freda's Diarys has posted another episode ?she's in my side bar ,go and visit her.Another interesting read if you havent already done so is Jeannettes account of her bad hair day ,more a horror story really ,but so well told by our friend at Jeannettes Jottings .
I went shopping this morning with my trusty trolley,it was pleasant to be out ,I bought a number of items from the little market ,that is on the main street on a Saturday ,before buying food items from Somerfield ,on my way back I put 50p in an old tobacco tin that stood outside someones gate ,and helped my self to a lovely bunch of cocoa.... No ! Daffodils ,and thought how nice people still have that trust ,a nice big bunch ,all tight buds ,I bought some last week and they lasted well ......There is football on the Tele at the moment so I think I'll go and make myself something to eat ,Casualty is on later this evening so I will ,look to see if I've got some thing taped I can watch till then , It all sounds a far cry from the Saturday nights of our youth ,in the days Freda and Jeannette were talking about ,about now we would be getting all glammed up ready to boogy all night long .
Have a lovely evening With Love from Jan xx
Wishing her Majesty,Our Dear Queen Elizabeth a very happy 80th Birthday .
The sun is shining for you Ma am ,we all hope you have a lovely day ,
Today is the day ,the pound coin came out twenty three years ago,So its that long since you had a note in your purse or wallet ,But not if you live in Scotland !
And how do I know this ?Well today is the Birthday of my dear Eldest Grandson Iain Michael ,yes he's twenty three today ,so as you can see I found a few,pictures of him growing up ,sadly we dont see too much of him now he lives and works in London ,and I understand will soon be making a career move to Germany ,go for it Iain !!although we dont see him,he rings me up ,recently to ask about his 'family tree'I was able to take him back to my Great grandparents ,so that was a good result for him.One memory I have of this young man was when he was about eight and a Michael Jackson fan ,his Mum had bought him a video,and as I was baby sitting ,he asked would I like to watch it ? Oh yes please ! we did THREE times right through ,Sharon laughed when they came in ,said you should have said no after the first time ,Arent Granny's soft ?...and then as a little fellow we walked into town with his new buggy ,he would be about 18months old at the time ,I stood in the bus depo ,and missed three buses I couldnt collapse the wretched buggy , another young Mum helped me in the end ,when we got home and I told Sharon she said he could have done it for you Mum !!
Arent Birthdays Fun ,Shall we all have a slice of cake ?
There we go ! that should be big enough for us all to have a piece,Have a lovely day everyonewhether its your Birthday or not ,With Love from Jan /Gran xxxxxx
Donna (D's designs) called this one Hope ! She said when she offered it that I would like it ,How right she was ,I think its lovely and so much like my first sewing machine , And Hope is what we sew into each item we make ! My Dad got it for me ,although unlike this one mine was a treddle .When I was twenty one Mick ,my late husband bought me a new more modern one ,and I had that one too for many years .I made many of my childrens clothes and indeed my own.Years later ,I graduated to an electric sewing machine,and for a time I worked at home making Padders ,(baby shoes)
My daughter Sharon was a profient needle woman too,and when she first left home ,when she got married ,she would often Borrow the sewing machine until she got her own ,I was pleased when she did because you could bet your life if I wanted to use it ,it was at Sharons!
When my Granny died ,my Aunty Emily asked me if I would like Grannys sewing machine,since I was most like her ,she would sit for hours at her sewing machine ,sewing for people in the village I would spend many hours turning the handle for her ,and learning from her,though I dont think I realised it at the time ,I asked Aunty Em could Jean have it because Dad had got me one ,I think Jean has Granny's sewing machine to this day ,and its served her well .
Granny also taught me to knit ,Now that was a painful saga,it was towards the end of the war ,she started me off on sock needles ,you know very fine ,with points at both ends ,steel!!! and because I was left handed it was ,agonising I would do quite abit ,then take it back to show Granny,and she just ripped it down and made me start again ,until it was perfect ,I hated it at the time but have to be eternally grateful now .I love my knitting and am always making something My Mum taught me to embroider ,Granny didnt hold with fancy things !and again because I'm left handed,I taught myself to crochet ,in the mirror ,thus reversing everything !
I was given an old sewing machine in its own wooden box case ,its in the shed at the moment ,But I watched a programme of some ladies collecting these up and taking them too third world countrys and giving them to women there ,and teaching them to sew ,in order to support them selves and their families ,and they had to be hand sewing machines as they had no 'leccy ,I wish I could donate that one,but dont know who to get in touch with ,it seems such a good cause ,and I would love to give some poor lady the pleasure I have had .
The other picture ,whilst I was in the kitchen with the camera,was of a present from Kate on Mothers day ,she bought me a pretty nighty ,and the red pot complete with a bag of 'muck'and this corm with little tiny green shoots ,she said 'I'm sorry Mum I dont know what it is I've lost the label !!well I ,of course planted it and it is growing ,the only thing is I dont know into what ,but I will keep you updated .
Well there you go some of my hobbies ,if you can get me away from the jolly old PC !
And how about this one to finish off with Thankyou Angela ,of lil courntry charm xx .
Donna whos in my side bar made this lovely graphic ,she called it sepia rose ,its lovely isnt it ?
Not a long entry today ,I've had a busy day cleaning up the computer ,getting rid of masses of unwanted stuff typical of me ,save everything ,Dont throw anything away,(its the born during the war syndrome ) Maurice is at home and has spent his second day in the garden ,We bought a lovely Magnolia tree from the plant stall at the exotic pets open day ,on Sunday ,we all enjoyed it ,Mark and Chrissy came along as well ,we dropped Charlotte back after wards on route ,she really enjoyed her unexpected break ,so did I but oh she does natter !lol she loved reading the journals and soon found her way around them ,she even did the comment on Debbies,thanks for her email Debbie she took that home ,what a treasure (the e-mail ,)Well and Charlotte !have to be careful what I put know she'll be reading ,me at Aunty Kates lol
The party,went with a swing for everyone except poor Kate whose Back ,was still hurting her and she had an abcess in a tooth that had been drained two days before ,so she gave it her all getting things ready for the party but had to go home before the end ,she felt really poorly ,she felt bad about it but folks understood ,I rang her again today and she is feeling alot better ,thankgoodness
The photos I think you know everybody with the exception ,of Jo and her husband Tony ,Jo is Jeans daughter ,and Gary is Jeans son with his fiancee' Holly .....The lady Charmaine adopted us lol .Martin was 40 and his brother Jon was 30 hence the joint party ,Kate had the tee sirts made with their ages on them !well I think that covers it for today ,have a good rest of the day everyone
And the lovely sig was made for be by CAB,Cacklin rosie ....Thankyou Chrisxx
