My VERY favourite place...........

Well then peeps, my last blog before Christmas and hopefully as a business we enter a busy period - this really is my most favourite place in Salcombe - Holy Trinity Church.

The top picture is of the Lady Chapel within the Church and the 2nd picture is of the stained glass window at the top end of the Church.  The Church of Holy Trinity was consecrated to God in 1844, and I am always struck by this feeling of real history emanating from its very core. Of Salcombe people and it's visitors making memories through the years - celebrating sad and happy times. I have visited a lot of Churches through the years always seeking THAT feeling and never found it until we came here to Salcombe.   It is an absolutely beautiful Church - a Grade 2 listed building with many interesting features and memorials. In the Lady Chapel East window there is a Russian Icon designed by N.H.Westlake and the most stunning and unusual copper sheather art nouveau chancel gates beautifully decorated with enamels at the main alter. The wooden alter was made by Salcombe craftsmen in 1900 and there are 10 painted depicting angels with musical instruments - a truly gorgeous work of art.   

For those of you who've read my blog since I began, you'll know that my 'relationship' with God has not always been an easy one over the years - and it has to be said there are still times I sit in the peace of Holy Trinity and have more questions than answers swirling round my head - but on the whole I think I now understand what He wants of me and more importantly what I can do for Him.

So when I sit in one of the chairs in Church and I stare at this beautiful window, absolutely nothing else matters - all that matters is that I try to be the best person I can possibly be for Him and the world that I live in. As we enter the Christmas period full on, and we all get caught up in the whole consumer experience it's easy to lose sight of why we're celebrating Christmas at all - is it really about the amount of food and drink we can consume?? Is it really about partying and buying the most lavish and expensive gifts we possibly can't afford? Or is it about remembering the start of a magical journey.............

So, if the Church is my favourite place - then some of my favourite people just have to be Father Daniel and his lovely wife Fran......... great people who make the Church a living, breathing place of love and life and we are very blessed to have them for our guidance and our friends.

It's now onto the business in hand of running a business. We are hopeful of a busy Christmas with people visiting friends and relatives and probably an even busier New Year. Christmas Eve we still have a few tables left for you to come and eat with us, but New Years Eve we are fully booked!!  We will open for just 2 hours on Christmas Day and it's only SOH and me............... but it's usually very good fun, and better still - SOH cooks my Christmas dinner!    I'll write again if I possibly can before the start of another wonderful Year!

I'd like to say a very, very Happy Christmas to all of you who either read my blog on a regular basis or just wander by every now and then. I hope you get everything you hope to get, lots of love,laughs and kindness and hopefully the company of those you love the most. X

The Dash

Since I've been officially sworn in as Church Warden at Holy Trinity Church in Salcombe I have pottered about a bit in the Church, attended a couple of meetings, sat and had informal meetings with Father Daniel our Vicar but not much else yet really, except sadly having to 'look after' two very large funerals for local people. The Verger is the person who does the hard work of getting the Church tidy and ready - tidying and sorting etc - but I had to be around as the 'face' of the Church.  The two funerals I've attended in that capacity were for people who were much loved in Salcombe and who made great contributions to Salcombe as a small town. 

The funeral this week was for a lady called Jean Furness. I only met Jean a handful of times and found her in some respects to be a quite formidable lady - she had a great sense of humour and she was polite to me, but I always felt she was also a little guarded with me.  I suspect that this guardedness was about us being outsiders coming into her beloved Salcombe, but the one thing I think we both had in common was our love of her home town - Salcombe!  As well as a wife and mother she had been a councillor for many years, Vice Mayor and Mayor of the town and was instrumental in homes for local people as well as other important town decision making.  

But until the tributes were read out I was unaware quite what part she'd played in the traditions of Salcombe and it's young peoples welfare. She'd been part of the Regatta committee ( a massive part of Salcombe tradition) since she was a very young girl, and played a huge role in making sure the event happened year in and year out as well as numerous other activities including the local swimming baths and the local Brownies etc.

It got me thinking about what small communities will do as the stalwarts of our communities start to disappear through age and death.  Who will take up the mantle of ensuring that traditions carry on for generations to come. Does anyone care enough to step up to the plate and take on the responsibilities??  My own Church is a very good example of this (as I expect it is up and down the land) the average age of the congregation can't be much under 55 and for tasks around the Church I seem to be calling upon the same people time and time again - for that, I guess we need to look at how we get younger people to attend the Church - but is there that spiritual draw for people? I don't know the answer - do you...??

Anyway, back to the funeral - of course a very sad affair but with a Church absolutely full of people eager to show their love and pay their respects to Jean and to support her grieving family.  I was reasonably detached through out the proceedings until a poem was read out called 'The Dash' by Linda Ellis, which moved me to tears with it's beautiful, simplistic message. 

For me personally, this poem has been a sure sign from God that He is watching over me, as in the last couple of weeks when I've been mulling (short hand for worrying/anxious/stressed!) over various financial, business and personal matters it has put my life completely into perspective - and I'm really grateful that I was able to be at Jeans funeral to hear this poem.    So there is no more in this blog post except for this short poem that I want to share with you, and I hope it moves you to reflect on what your life is and what you can do with your 'Dash'! 

The Dash

by

Linda Ellis 

I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth and spoke of the following date with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all was the Dash between those years.

For that Dash represents all the time that she spent alive on Earth,

And now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own, the cars, the house, the cash,

What matter is how we live and love and how we spend our Dash.

So think about this long and hard; Are there things you’d like to change?

For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough to consider what’s true and real

And always try to understand the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger and show appreciation more

And love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile,

Remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read with your life’s actions to rehash

Would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your Dash?

Wedding - Part 1

Well what can I say and where do I start other than hello from Mrs Elizabeth Hore........and to let you know that I have sooooooooooo much to say about the events of the last week I'm going to split it down into sections - and with lots of photo's!! The first section is about the day itself. The first photo you can see here is from our very dear friend Lisa Beaney - http://www.lisabeaneyphotography.co.uk/ I just know that we're going to love all of her photo's and we'll have one heck of a job choosing 'favourites' for an album - but I can hardly wait to see them........

Anyway, to the day itself...... I hardly know where to begin really?? It was certainly a day full of excitement, joy and happiness.... my very best friend Tanya helped keep me calm - bacon and eggs at Captain Morgans helped(!) and the dress fitted perfectly!! I was the recipient of huge compliments, my hair (big thanks to Leah at Floc in Kingsbridge) also looked fantastic but I was very pleased to get the three dozen odd pins out of my head at midnight!!

The weather was rotten - with driving rain at some points, but it really didn't matter to the day. Mr Smith - Smee to his friends - DID turn up with a tractor (a long running joke with everyone in on it bar me!!) giving me a little bit of a shock as I wondered momentarily if that really was my transport - but luckily SOH had arranged a proper car - an Austin Chalfont 1934 with chauffeur etc......... Mark, resplendent in his kilt 'gave' me away and held my shaking hand as I waited to get to the church. Loads and loads of people waved as drove past in the car, and I was really humbled to think they had stood in driving rain just to wish me well.

When I got to the Church, all I wanted to do was get out of the car safely (it was very wet and slippery on the cobbles outside of the Church, and my trembly legs weren't helping matters) get in the dry and look my best for SOH. I could see all our friends and then I could see him, SOH .......... with his glasses on his head! Bossy to the end I sent a message ahead to get his glasses off - I saw Tim laugh and quickly remove them!! With that laugh - I was absolutely ok!! Tanya helped get my dress arranged properly (she's the blonde in the hat in the photo's at the bottom of this blog) all nerves went, the entrance music 'Pie Jesu' resounded around the Church, Mark and I waited about 30 seconds and we were off - processing (as slowly as we could!).

I honestly felt like a complete and utter Princess as I walked down the aisle smiling (a smile that never left my face for the next 10 hours!!) and then I saw Tim properly - so very handsome in his suit and after that - well, it's all a bit of a blur really....... I remember stumbling through the words of the first hymn as my voice was a bit croaky and I was thinking of saying our vows, Tim smiled at me loads and we kept muttering little things to each other, I turned round and smiled at my son and was rewarded with the smile that said - 'love you Mum'.

I almost cried twice - once as Tim's eyes never left mine as we exchanged vows and then again at the reading from Captain Corelli's Mandolin. The wedding ceremony itself was hugely special to us - and since then we've had lots of our guests say how much they enjoyed the service itself.

One of the best memories for me was sitting on our chairs as the reading were happening and looking at all these friends and family smiling at US, and twee as it may sound you could really feel the love in Holy Trinity that afternoon. All of the most important people in our lives were there, friends old and new, family, work and business colleagues and then also people from the congregation at church as well.

But it's the coming out of the church I hope I'll remember for ever - we literally danced out to Nat King Cole singing L.O.V.E - and that kickstarted the party good and proper for the rest of the day. The assembled audience were completely surprised and seemed to really enjoy this twist to the day (Tim's idea I have to say!!). Tim looked so happy and gave me 2 good 'twirls' in the aisle and before we knew it - we were done!!

In the next blog post I'll write about the rest of the day............. so keep looking, I'll try to write it in the next couple of days, in the meantime - enjoy some of the other photo's!