Memories

I did watch Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's State Funeral yesterday. It was perfect I think; so very meaningful and perhaps the most beautiful his granddaughter's song of love for her beloved grandfather. It is the hardest thing in the world I think for children to give up a parent and for grandchildren to let go of a grandparent. It wrenches the soul and tears it apart just for a little while until the healing starts. I must admit as I watched the funeral I remember that my husband would have preferred having all of his friends about him for a funeral but he did die during COVID but we actually did not have a funeral until over a year later. But I just couldn't budge myself from that very private place I had moved to and as it turned out we all wanted it to be a very private goodbye with all of us there - the priest, organist, children (including our son in law), grandchildren and myself. The organist was simply wonderful picking everything himself except I did ask for the 23rd Psalm which we all sang. The memory did come back to me as I watched and I have said to my children that when we finally pick a burial spot at Beechwood where he wanted to be buried they can do whatever they want when I pass away. A joint service if that is something they want as it was what he wanted for sure. But if they decide private is what they want then they have my blessing for that as well. Whatever suits them; to me funerals are for the living to commemorate those who died but in a way that reflects the living family. The State Funeral was perfect for Brian Mulroney; when the history books are written (and already he is in the history books) he will be one of Canada's best Prime Ministers. Could he have done more for his country; I am sure he would have said yes but he did so very much to bring us right out of being mentally attached to the British Isles (although I am very much in favour of our King and Royal Family and hope that that is also a forever part of Canada) to standing up on our own two feet as he negotiated NAFTA and tied us economically forever to our great neighbour to the south. As Canada grows and at 40 Million plus we are growing we may one day be a much much larger neighbour than we are now and I am sure that linking ourselves together will prove to be the best forward plan there could have been. Thank you Brian Mulroney. I also feel the same way about the GST; it has done Canada a lot of good; taken the strain out of running government as no need for supply bills constantly getting debated at the last minute. The government has money to fund it. Thank you Brian Mulroney for that and for Nunavut and fighting acid rain and so much more.

A lovely walk again yesterday, two days in a row. I do enjoy a good walk around the block. I did not accomplish very much on Pencombe yesterday. My mind didn't seem to settle to it. I am still perplexed about Philip Pynkeham. Who is he? Is he a Tynkeham? Why is he at Tawstock? I likely do need to do a little more searching to see if I can discover anything more. Of course he was born before the Parish Registers were kept by the Parish Priests for all the inhabitants of the parish so no help there.  I may though, check the 1524-27 Lay Subsidy for the parishes where the Tynkeham/Tinkham family lived. Perhaps then I will feel satisfied leaving him out. It does seem like I should do that. 

We were meant to have snow but the snow fell on Montreal complicating the travel from St Patrick to Notre Dame for the funeral but as usual our honour guards did a perfect job in spite of the weather. The 19 gun salute rang through the cold air and Canada said goodbye to Brian Mulroney while his family took him for a private time and burial. Brian Mulroney was proud, I am sure, of his family standing through all those hours welcoming all the people who came to say goodbye. They did it so very well.

Minus eight degrees celsius, clear and will be sunny. Another crisp winter day with no snow. We are in drought for sure and will be a rough summer perhaps of forest fires. Time will tell. Hopefully everyone will be especially careful to keep them to a minimum. 

Sunday, Palm Sunday, and Church on You Tube. I am looking forward to being at the Cathedral once again. It has been a thoughtful Lent and the Lenten Readings have been most thought provoking particularly as they have very much brought my thoughts to Israel and Gaza. A solution is there but Hamas destroys any solution because they are evil thinking only of themselves and their greed and their hatred for the Jewish people. They desire to commit genocide against the Jewish people and it really must end; they must be sent somewhere where they cannot hurt the Palestinians or the Jews. 

Prayers for the people of Russia, those killed in the attack by ISIS and those injured and fighting for their lives in the hospitals. May God be merciful and help them through this tragic time. 

God bless the world. 

Teatime and Latin. It is a day of rest for my eyes.

The United Nations is our Solidarity

 Reading through the "Lent without Borders" email today and the theme this year for Lent is "Love that Heals and Empowers." Dr. Evrard Nahimana has chosen "solidarity" as his topic of value today. What came to my mind was the United Nations. Formed after the Second World War it was meant to be and is a place for everyone to talk. As one of the founding members, Canada my country, I learned as a child that this was to be the organization that would save mankind. With 51 members initially who attended the 1945 Conference in San Francisco it now has 193 members which is most of the sovereign states of the world. The United States of America gave land on Manhattan Island and declared it an international site which they have honoured to this day. It was to have world peace that we, the founders, established the United Nations. The Objectives of the United Nations include maintaining international peace and security but we always need buy-in to have that happen. And so once again we sit on the sidelines as the people of Ukraine are butchered in the name of Nazi Psychopathic Russian greed (the Ukrainians have a right to their freedom; to self determination). But Dr. Nahimana reminds us that the solidarity that is being discussed rejects blaming or judgment. Deep in my heart I do blame the Nazi Psychopathic Putin and his enablers for all the deaths in Ukraine and it will be hard to step back and once again when the war is done and peace restored to our world and the criminals prosecuted for their wrongs then God will help us to forgive. Knowing that gives hope because hate destroys. 

Although China is a supporter of Russia; China could also be a peace maker that preserves our world if they so choose. We are at a precipice as we wait and watch. Thank you Dr. Nahimana for your words of wisdom and for reminding us that this Lent the theme is "Love that Heals and Empowers."

Rudyard Kipling's poem always comes to mind in times of conflict:

The Ballad of East and West

 Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth! 

We can do this World; we can have peace but the price is so very high every time. 

One day of cleaning and the second is today. There is a calming effect in cleaning. Something that needs to be done. I take it in lengths of fourty five minutes and then a rest for thirty minutes. At 77 one can not keep up strenuous labour for long periods. In between my research which yesterday included going through the Hundreds of Devon Subsidy of 1524-7 looking at all the names and collecting the ones that interest me as well as understanding my Pencombe ancestors. Again at Gidleigh, Chagford and Tedburn St Mary in the Wonford Hundred I found the Tencombe and Tynkeham families. Also located on the Protestation Returns, this family is said to have derived its name from the River Teign and comb refers to valley in old English. So once again I will pass by this group and see them as an independent family line. It is interesting that the two spellings occur Tencombe and Tynkeham much the same as Pencombe and Pynkeham in the 1542 Devon Lay Subsidy. 

Breakfast awaits and one wonders will I ever tire of cooked oats. Probably not I am a person of habit. It is very appealing to have my oats cooked in milk with cranberries and raisins, then wheat germ, wheat bran, chocolate and blueberries added in at the end of the cooking. I look for it every day. Edward preferred just the oats cooked in mostly water to which he would add a heaping spoonful of brown sugar and perhaps some fruit. But not every day, he liked variety.