Grandma P's Ramblings Through Life

I was wondering earlier if Queen could be the basis for world peace.

Not THE Queen - but Queen, the pop group. Other pop groups could no doubt have the same unifying appeal.

We were watching a bit of a Queen concert from Brazil.

Freddie was up there strutting his stuff and singing Radio Gaga - the audience responded, as audiences all round the world would, with the rhythmical claps and hand movements that accompany the song.

I have done it myself - sadly not with Queen on the stage, but when a youth theatre group were staging We Will Rock You.

If the world can be in unison over such a simple thing, I wonder why at some other point the same Queen fans could be at war with each other.

Such is the power of money, oil and politics.

This country is at war now - but against who? How will we know if the war has been won?

At least in September 1939 the country seemed to understand what the war was for and that there would be a final outcome.

But for us the day has been one of peace.

This afternoon we walked with a friend of long standing, Marion, at Nymans - a beautiful garden. Marion and her husband Robin live in one of Nymans cottages.

We walked and talked.

We visited the rooms of the house that still stand - most was destroyed in a fire.

It was there I had a moment which adds a little to my comment about my stalled teaching career of a few nights back.

Marion greeted one of the volunteer guides. She was the mother of a girl who had been in one of my classes in the early days.

Immediately she was thanking me and saying how grateful they were for my work. The little girl had missed quite a lot of schooling in the Infants and was a bit behind with reading and it seems I got something done. I don't remember the educational bits - but I do remember the girl. I am sure I would have seen somebody with a spark of intelligence and imagination, whereas some other teachers might have labelled her as stupid or lazy. I will not label people - each one has something of value.

Anyway, how wonderful that after all these years - probably 40 years - my good work was recalled.

Later we went back to the cottage for a cup of tea. We got back at about the same time as Robin, who had been bell ringing at Slaugham (Slaffum) church for a wedding.

We talked of family of course. They had been to Italy for their son's wedding on a fantastic hillside in Tuscany.

We talked of teachers we had known. Marion has stayed more in touch with some of them and heard news of others.

There had been the obnoxious JS, who, despite being a poor teacher, knew all the right jargon and how to impress people. He moved up through the ranks and became an adviser and finally director of the government's Literacy Project. It was JS who introduced the ill fated literacy hour into all primary schools.

I thought he was the ideal I was supposed to live up to when I began with my first class!

Anyway - time for bed soon.

We will get up early and go to Ford. Fields might be a bit too wet for car boot sales in the morning. Though today has been dry.

And we have agreed to attend an athletics league meeting tomorrow afternoon - arriving a bit late.

So, athletics 2 days running for our last weekend of the season.

Now for a few pictures of us at Nymans - and the flowers - and a fountain.

Nymans of course has connections with THE Queen. Princess Margaret married Anthony Armstrong Jones, son of the owners of Nymans.