Veteran's Day in Plymouth

Hello,

We spent a nice weekend in Plymouth... I needed to go down this weekend because there was a Veteran's Day Ceremony and I was laying a wreath for Canada. Plymouth was nice, and there was actually a few malls to do some shopping, so we had a nice vacation from Cornwall (Plymouth is barely in Devon).

Anyways, the service was very nice. Many WWII vets came up to us, and I think although it was easy for us to get down there, it meant a lot to them to see Canada represented. I think it is hard for Canadians to really connect to the great wars, because although we lost many men and women, our country was more or less untouched. Plymouth was levelled. Twice. The people there haven't forgotten, and it really adds something to a ceremony like that. What was really nice, is that I was able to take Lochlan and Miah up to lay a flower at the memorial after all of the other wreaths were laid.

A poem was read, which was basically an excerpt from "Celestial Flight" by Elizabeth Mackethan Magid, which I found very powerful. Here is what was read:

He is not dead - But only flying higher
Higher than he's flown before
And earthly limitations
Will hinder him no more

Thank God that now his flight can be
To heights his eyes had scanned
Where he can race the comets
And buzz the rainbow span

So all you loved ones dry your eyes
Yes it is wrong that you should grieve
For he would love your courage more
And he would want you to believe

He is not dead
You should have known
That he is flying higher
Higher than he's ever flown

The real poem is here for those of you interested:

http://wwii-women-pilots.org/Celestial_Flight/celestial_flight.html

Interesting to note that the original poem was by a WWII woman pilot, about a WWII woman pilot.

Ciao,

Mark

MY Son

Okay, up until now almost everyone has said Lochlan is a little version of Dad and how much he looks like Mark. Which may or not be true but as of late I have serious evidence that he truly is my son . Alot of people have a sweet tooth, as most of you know, so do I. I also have the habit of meeting that sweet tooth in somewhat different ways. What do you do when you get a hankering and there's nothing in the house? Some eat sugar (some icing sugar)- it's true! not me it's syrup. My old roommate can confirm it. I must confess that I have been caught having a squirt out of the syrup bottle. Recently after a breakfast clean up left behind a bottle, Lochlan was found not having a sip, but drinking it from the bottle! Oh and then there was the honey on the counter which he found with the spoon still in it (tasty) and don't for get a spoonful of PB (everyone needs fat sometimes right?) Too much sugar with no fat just doesn't sit right. Have to say I've done the PB thing too. Hasn't everyone? However, his father does none of the above. So you see.... he really is MY son.

One other thing that's really cute and that my mother would relate to is Lochlan's affinity for picking me flowers. He doesn't pass a flower without picking one for me. Today he went as far as to pick the only bloom from a longstem rosebush.....out of someone else's yard....oops! Mark didn't stick around to see if the people were home. Wonder why:)

Our wonder boy has also really taken to riding his bike lately. He wasn't really interested last summer but is flying along now. With the end of preschool and the start of school in the fall he seems like he's growing up. So here's a few picks of our sugar eating, flower loving, biking ride little man. L

Going to Plymouth

Howdy all. Mark here. Hard to believe almost a year is gone... two more to go and I am sure they will pass just as quickly. Today was a success... until now, each and every time someone from here asked me if I was "alright", I took immediate offense. Today, I found myself saying "y'alright" to someone myself. To quote Star Trek, "You will be assimilated, resistance is futile.".

Heading off to Plymouth this weekend for a few reasons. First, and foremost, I will be representing Canada at a Veteran's Day service on Sunday (Plymouth was bombed into the ground twice in WWII). Also for the shopping. Shopping in Cornwall seems a bit cute at first (all the quaint little stores) but after you live here for a while, you really, REALLY miss the good old-fashioned shopping mall. Plymouth, at only 2 hours away, is the first city which actually has one of these. Laura plans to get all of our Christmas shopping done by Sunday :)

A big hi to everyone.

Marky

PS Clay and Ev... I am already down one bottle of Clamato! Also, the chocolate syrup is getting hit pretty hard. Oh yeah, not sure if any of the pickles are left. In summary... Thanks for all the awesome stuff you sent!!!!

Happy Father's Day!

Yesterday was Father's Day here as well as Canada. We had a relaxing day, nothing too crazy. We went to church which is now at 9am (ugg). We had a nice brunch, followed by a nap for Dad and the two oldest. We then had T-bones, strawberry salad and potatoes with fresh raspberries for dessert. Yummy! So all in all melow but nice.

Jason Beschorner also arrived Sunday night. He is visiting for a few days and it is nice to see him. Yesterday we went to Loe Bar and the boys went surfing in the afternoon. After dinner at the Ward Room, Mark Spingoed him in. For those of you who don't know, it is a local beer that doesn't miraculous things to your insides:} Today we are heading to St. Michaels Mount. It is a fort built up in the middle of the sea, you can only walk up when the tide is low. We will be using our new kiddie back pack that just arrived today compliments of Clay, Eve and the kids. We love it! Thank you so much!

Rather than that Jason heads to London tomorrow and Mark heads to Torquay for a couple day conference. I'm just doing some wedding research as my sister, Paul and Kaeleigh are coming to visit in July. They will be getting married on July 11, 2009 here in Cornwall as long as everything goes smoothly. We're very excited! It's not an easy process and information has been mixed so cross your fingers.

Anyhoo that's the scoop. Hope all you Dads enjoyed your day! Here are some pics from Father's Day and Jason's visit. Cheers L

June Happenings

I've been a little slack blogging lately but the weather has been phenomenal. Who's wants to be at the computer when you can be outside? Not too much new. Been digging up the front flower bed to try and make it look presentable. Going to put a few things in there. I don't want to spend too much money as we here such a short time. However it was getting embarassing , especially as the Brits all have these nicely coiffed gardens (flower beds - not to be confused with the back yard). Rather than that Mark and I had a sitter Sat. afternoon. We went to Penzance, had lunch at a new restaurant/cafe, the food was phenomenal! We did a little poking around, some shopping and just enjoyed the time to ourselves. Sun afternoon we went to Flambards with one of Mark's co-workers and his family. We then came back here for a BBQ. They have two girls close in age to Lochlan and Miah and are expecting #3 in July. It's nice to meet someone with kids our age. He's Irish and she's Cornish. We had a good time. Tomorrow night we're having another couple in for a BBQ. Fun in the sun! It's supposed to be like this for the rest of the week. LOVELY! L

Darth Vader Attacks in the UK!

I found out a few weeks ago that there are some folks here in the UK (and actually thousands in Canada too) who belong to something called the "Jedi Church". Yes, these folks really enjoyed Star Wars, and now base their faith upon these movies. Too me, this is pretty funny in and of itself. However, I came upon a story about a drunken (and it would seem crippled) man who dressed up as Darth Vader and attacked the "Jedi's" with his crutch. And apparantly, the drunken, crippled man actually overtook the alleged "Jedi's" as they were practicing their light sabre duels... Alcohol 1, the Force 0. Funny story, please have a read:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/7360871.stm