Greetings from Cranleymore

9th February 13 Good day to all family and friends, Temperature 8° and very mild, no wind for a change, and although very cloudy, no rain! The daffodils are all making heads and the tulips are not far behind! I have to do the pruning this coming week and hope sincerely the weather will allow me! The poor farmers –the fields are so wet and those who do not put their cattle in a shed finds them knee deep in mud! Not good for their hooves and bones. The Ballinasloe Horse & Animal fair, usually held in the 1st week of October were shown on TV a few nights ago and we were appalled at the condition of the animals, Most of the animals traded are from the travellers community and they do not care about the ponies, dogs or rabbits- The ISPCA equivalent to SA SPCA has a full time job rescuing animals and removing them to the veterinary department for either being put down or for treatment if possible- so very sad. Off-course the horse-meat debacle is now stretching into Spain and even Norway and Sweden- no-one knows how long this has been going on and as Gerlof says – everyone is still alive –just sell it to who-ever like horse meat – cheap- but as it is the reputation that is so important thousands of € horse contained lasagne, and burgers will land on the burning stakes rather than taking it through to the poor hungry people in Africa, and all over, for whom there is always an advert on the TV with the flies crawling around the snotty noses and in their eyes- no mother has only one hand and she can easily get rid of the flies but it seems as if they love to see the flies around these poor children who are not taken care of by their own governments –these poor people’s governments are usually in war with some other country and every cent goes into weapons and their own pockets! It is a disaster and here we destroy the meat because it contains horse meat! The lot of politicians in Dublin came to some agreement about the promissory notes given by the previous Government to pay back the money borrowed to keep the banks going, paying it now back over 40-50 years , instead of liquidating the whole lot immediately- but that would have deprived them of their share of payments due to them and therefore the working man and women had to make the sacrifice by paying Social tax, extra high tax and high interests on any money on loan(if you are so fortunate to get a loan)/ during the middle of the night- the lot liquidated the Allied Banks of Ireland and had to fly the Lepricorn(our President) back from Italy to come and sign the papers. Our grand children’s children will now have to pay the debt made by people who did not deserve to ever have been allowed to handle money! One can become very bitter because of the fact their god was, is and will forever be MONEY. The financial dilemma that is present in this country is beyond comprehension and suicides are at the order of the day- the people in general have no idea under what stress some families exist and financial burdens they carry- and living in a country where God is not an option they take their own lives thinking that is the only way out! Sad events like this never come near to you until you are shaken cruelly into realization that it is happening to people you know- The carer who worked with me on Sunday night asked in the morning, if she could leave a few minutes earlier to give her husband a change to get her home and still be in time for his job- {I know her husband – he worked for 2 years with me, a wonderful compassionate man hard working} Director of Nursing for a Nursing home in Mullingar. He was not outside when she left the building- thinking that he might have overslept, she got a lift home and as she opened the front door she saw him, hanging from the staircase! It is just such a terrible shock- hard to understand – but- we know so little about what goes on in people’s lives and who will know what drove him to do it! There are cancers and ‘cancers’ the one we try to cure as soon as it is discovered but the other one – more deadly than the 1st get pushed into the background-many a time- not to be spoken off or to deny the existence of same- bringing more heartache than can be imagined! To step away from people that speaks one language and do another........................ The birdlife in our garden is a wonderful experience of beauty and song- we feed surely a hundred birds at a time and not knowing how many come from some-where else – the numbers increase every day! We have also been introduced to baby Blackie- looks just like his father- with white dot on the chest- and all- the first time they both ate from the same bowl the little one gave dad a clout in the face and demand to have all the food for himself it was fascinating to watch how the father stood back and allowed the little one to finish the milk and all the food! We first saw this cat eating the corn on the ground underneath the feeder- very wild -he ran away when we called him but his dad must have communicated with him because he eventually had the courage to come nearer and enjoyed a meal, meant for his dad! We were watching quietly from the kitchen window. He has found shelter with his dad in the donkey-house under the black plastic! The foxiest come at irregular times and we think mother is either looking after young and cannot get away at her regular times as you all know looking after children means your time is not own any-more- or -they are coming from far away! It is my turn to play the organ tomorrow and by now I know the Hymns very well and look forward to bring glory to God for all the blessings he bestow upon us every hour of the day! The weekly nourishing food for our souls- essential for our spiritual well-being- such a privilege. Birthdays: some have had a birthday during the week- I did not get to write last week as I worked all weekend!(Bus loads of patients coming from Belfast- NHS getting rid of their patients who have been for years on a waiting list). Nine became a year older on the 5th – Kathleen in England &Belinda on the 8th (yesterday) Phillip Josling on the 12th and Brenda Dunne in England the 13th! Happy Birthday to you all! May it be a very good and blessed year! Hope sincerely that Mader get the work- although far away from Gerlof and Sandra – it is still in England! We are also sharing in the joy that Jeanne got a job and that Christiaan is now in UOVS- as I used to know it- surely something else now! Sorry to hear that MarieJanke work so hard –but there are times that we all have to do it! Hope sincerely that the dragons belonging to Devlin who laid the eggs will have off-spring very soon! We Skyped with Finbarr and family this morning and had the joy to see my grandson Lukas- could not hug him but do enjoy listening to him and looking at him! I have horrible off duties and will be working every weekend form next week until 7th March – hope to visit them then! Do remember to send photos, stories, events, family and friends experiences- as you know I regard this line of correspondence as my umbilical cord with the family and SA. I also welcome (Dr) Tertius Venter to my address list and hope that he will become part of my letter family! Time for me to get the chicken in the oven- remember if you do not want to read this- hit the delete button! May the week ahead be good, filled with the nearness of our Lord in your lives. Stay always alert and be careful on the roads! Warm regards from Cranleymore where the temperature has dropped since I started this letter! Barry and Christina