Tuesday 14th february 2017...that special day again!!

Happy Valentines Day..

 I would like to take this opportunity to say hello and to wish a very happy Valentines Day to all the women in my life. I know that sounds like a Willie Nelson song and and I don’t mean it that way. There have been many women who have played and still play a significant role in my life, I don’t want to name names but you know who you are and I thank you all for being there for me. So to these special ladies I miss you all and blessings to you.
Another reason this is such an important day in my life is that this is the day that my Mum passed away in 1995. Here we are in Bermuda you only have to check out the side burns and the crazy shirt to know this was the fabulous seventies.
This one was taken in England on my first day as a Bobby, probably 1968.
Mum and Dad had been in Portugal for 7 weeks and arrived home about 11.30pm in the evening and all was well they had a great holiday and they went to bed. They slept in separate bedrooms because of my Mum’s snoring, so as usual Dad kissed her good night and went to his room. In the morning he went into her room to find her gone, she had died in her sleep. No illness, no lingering health defects, just a weak heart, she was 75 years old.
She was the most remarkable woman I have ever met in my whole life and I am so proud and happy she was my Mum. I never heard her say a disparaging remark about anyone, she never lost her temper and had a kind word for everyone. Mum was always there for me even though we spent nearly 25 years several thousand miles away from each other. She was the only person who ever called me by my full name and when she did I knew I was in trouble and that I had better stop hanging a licking on my older brother!!!
Many years since you have been gone and Mum I love you still and miss you and wish you could have taken that ride in Ramona.


I posted the above back in 2009 and I just could not write a better tribute so here it is again and as true now as it was then



Last night in My English class I printed the below document and had the students read it and then we talked about it and then they received chocolates!!!

As usual another great class they are so enthusiastic and always willing to learn!!!

Flowers, candy, red hearts and romance. That's what Valentine's day is all about, right? Well, maybe not.

The origin of this holiday for the expression of love really isn't romantic at all—at least not in the traditional sense. Father Frank O'Gara of Whitefriars Street Church in Dublin, Ireland, tells the real story of the man behind the holiday—St. Valentine.

"He was a Roman Priest at a time when there was an emperor called Claudias who persecuted the church at that particular time," Father O'Gara explains. " He also had an edict that prohibited the marriage of young people. This was based on the hypothesis that unmarried soldiers fought better than married soldiers because married soldiers might be afraid of what might happen to them or their wives or families if they died."

"I think we must bear in mind that it was a very permissive society in which Valentine lived," says Father O'Gara. "Polygamy would have been much more popular than just one woman and one man living together. And yet some of them seemed to be attracted to Christian faith. But obviously the church thought that marriage was very sacred between one man and one woman for their life and that it was to be encouraged. And so it immediately presented the problem to the Christian church of what to do about this."

"The idea of encouraging them to marry within the Christian church was what Valentine was about. And he secretly married them because of the edict."

Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned and tortured for performing marriage ceremonies against command of Emperor Claudius the second. There are legends surrounding Valentine's actions while in prison.

"One of the men who was to judge him in line with the Roman law at the time was a man called Asterius, whose daughter was blind. He was supposed to have prayed with and healed the young girl with such astonishing effect that Asterius himself became Christian as a result."

In the year 269 AD, Valentine was sentenced to a three part execution of a beating, stoning, and finally decapitation all because of his stand for Christian marriage. The story goes that the last words he wrote were in a note to Asterius' daughter. He inspired today's romantic missives by signing it, "from your Valentine."

"What Valentine means to me as a priest," explains Father O'Gara, "is that there comes a time where you have to lay your life upon the line for what you believe. And with the power of the Holy Spirit we can do that —even to the point of death."

Valentine's martyrdom has not gone unnoticed by the general public. In fact, Whitefriars Street Church is one of three churches that claim to house the remains of Valentine. Today, many people make the pilgrimage to the church to honor the courage and memory of this Christian saint.

"Valentine has come to be known as the patron saint of lovers. Before you enter into a Christian marriage you want some sense of God in your life—some great need of God in your life. And we know, particularly in the modern world, many people are meeting God through his Son, Jesus Christ."

"If Valentine were here today, he would say to married couples that there comes a time where you're going to have to suffer. It's not going to be easy to maintain your commitment and your vows in marriage. Don't be surprised if the 'gushing' love that you have for someone changes to something less "gushing" but maybe much more mature. And the question is, is that young person ready for that?"

"So on the day of the marriage they have to take that into context," Father O'Gara says. "Love—human love and sexuality is wonderful, and blessed by God—but also the shadow of the cross. That's what Valentine means to me.

Finally received my new Canadian passport good to travel now for ten years!!!

 My tradition on this day is to release balloons in memory of my Mum and i thought the tennis courts this morning before my two hours of playing was a great place...

The owner of this car always decorates for what ever season must be a lot of work!!

The town is full of people selling flowers and balloons I have no idea what they will do with them all tomorrow as everyone is selling....

Sad but I treated myself to some roses!!!

After my workout with Joe I went for a short hike up to a cross that overlooks the Pressa

and released a couple more balloons...

A serene and beautiful place!!!

I spent a few minutes in the main square and always marvel at the church I think I read that it is the most photographed church in Mexico!!

Always hear the bells but the first time i have ever seen someone ringing them!!!!

Also bought a few more plants for my deck!!!

I was approached by a Coke representative a few days ago asking me if they could use me for one of their advertising signs.....of course I said yes and got quite a large endorsement cheque!!!

Here is the end result!!!

Do not forget it is my blog and I have poetic license!!!

Happy valentine's day...now back to the hockey game!!!

Yashi kochi!!!