THE CIRCLE GAME ~~ SPRING IS APPROACHING YAKIMA ~~ PARTING SHOT

THE CIRCLE GAME

This past Saturday marked the wedding anniversary of Linda's parents. James Ballard and Margaret Mann were married in England on February 29, 1944. He was an American soldier in WWII and she was the daughter of the local dairyman. This past Saturday was also the day that mom's ashes went home, accompanied by dad's ashes. Wendy & Robin, Linda's sister and brother-in-law, traveled recently to England to the little town of Bovey Tracey with some of mom's and dad's combined ashes. At a graveside ceremony the ashes were interred in mom's native soil, on the grounds of the same church where they had been married 76 years ago on that day. Finally, their life together has come full circle. Also in attendance at the ceremony were Margaret's younger brother, Arthur Mann, and a host of other relatives from nearby towns in England.

Church of St. Peter, St. Paul and
St. Thomas of Canterbury
in Bovey Tracey

Jim & Margaret's Wedding Day

I used to love to sit with Linda's dad at his dining room table back in Carpinteria and listen to the tales of his time in England during the war. He was a very good storyteller, and luckily I managed to catch a few of his stories on video. He once told me the story about how he met Linda's mom, but unfortunately, that is one story I didn't get to record. But I still have it in my memory... well anyway, at least some of it has stayed there.

Wendy has been sending us pictures and video from Bovey Tracey, and I almost feel like I've been there. Here are a few of her pictures from in and around the town.

The town cemetery is a short ways down from the church where mom's and dad's ashes were put to rest. Wendy sent us a picture of the grave of Margaret Mann's parents, Linda's grandparents, who are buried there.

Grave of William and Nancy Mann

Wendy and Robin took a side trip to Plymouth, which is a little over a half-hour away from Bovey. They visited the Plymouth Distillery (website here), where they make our favorite libation, gin. This distillery was established in 1793, so it has been in business for a long time. You can see the tall spire in the background of this picture, which has "Plymouth Gin" painted on it.

Plymouth Distillery

This is a good spot to showcase our favorite drink, shown below in the new glass that Linda purchased the other day. It is the iconic Gin and Tonic. Read all about the history of this most "British" drink by clicking here.

Linda's new G&T glass

I am always amazed at how people manage to drive around in Britain. The roads are so narrow that it is scary! I would get claustrophobia driving on this street below.

Here are some more scenes from Plymouth.

We have so enjoyed getting these pictures and I am happy that Wendy agreed for me to share them with you. This one below, that was taken at a nearby dog park, gave us a chuckle.

SPRING IS APPROACHING YAKIMA

It is hard to believe that a year ago we had loads of snow on the ground, and this year we have none. But as evidenced by these pictures below, it seems that Spring is almost upon us.

Picture taken by Linda
with her iPad

Exact same flower picture taken
with my camera

Look at the difference between the two pictures above. Both taken at almost the same time of day (it varied by a few minutes), and of the same flower. I think both of them are pretty, and I guess it just shows you that there is more than one way to look at things.

PARTING SHOT

I leave you today with this very short video of Summer Girl, who found a small tumbleweed to play with while she was outside enjoying the sun.

You may be able to see a small cloud of dust waft off of her at the very beginning when she shakes. Thus her nickname "Pigpen."


That's all for this week, my friends. Join me again next week for more from the Southerner in the Northwest!