Well, the weather may have been a trifle wet - like constant downpour and huge flooded roads puddles wet - but a special, late birthday treat for the Babe Magnet took us to Oswestry to see the place where poet Wilfred Owen was born - and (almost) to mark the centenary of his death on November 4th 1981. So desperately sad to walk through the quiet streets of this small town and think of where he was born contrasted with the horrors of the 'front' where he died. There was a tragic letter to his mother saying that he was not 'at the front' but 'in the front of things'. I couldn't bear to read the rest of the description of the 'sucking mud' and the other miseries he and others endured. Another strong reason to mark the coming Armistice Day and to wear a poppy, not to glorify war but to mark the sacrifice of so many, so young.
After that, a wonderful long weekend with dear friends in a 'Coach House' on the Welsh Borders. The rain may have kept lashing down but inside we were warm and dry - with friendship and laughter to share - and much talk about writing and books. The weekend passed in a flash and I can't really believe we're home again and catching up.
Back home from Oswestry and the long weekend away - today was the day to celebrate Ruby's 5th birthday. Is it really that long since I visited the Cats' Protection League rescue shelter and a tiny black and white creature threw herself into my arms declaring loudly to anyone who would listen
that she didn't belong in the shed, but was coming home with me! She found her way into our hearts and has been there ever since. To mark her birthday portrait, she settled herself on top of the suitcase as a sit-in protest so that we can't go anywhere else and abandon her again!
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