All Saints Day

Greetings to you on All Saints Day.

This is the other side of the Hallowe'en festival. I was brought up in a very traditional Staffordshire village, and attended a very traditional (tiny) Church of England primary school. Ours was All Saints Church and we were very aware of its heritage. I'm old enough to remember before Hallowe'en became a commercial and "fright night" festival. We wouldn't have dared "trick or treat" - or even venture out. But then I always was a wimp.

All Saints Day (Wikipedia version)

I mentioned my next adventure yesterday. Yes, I am off again very soon, taking advantage of a super budget deal - and going to a part of the world that, at the moment, others are less keen to visit.

My brother-in-law is quoted as saying, "What war zone is she off to next" - and I definitely don't seek out danger - but there are so many parts of the world that I would love to see, and things change so rapidly that I may not be able to get to so many of them.

I had a wonderful holiday in Syria some years ago - a beautiful and friendly country - tragically suffering so cruelly now. One of my big regrets is that I missed seeing Leptis Magna (in Libya), one of the (then) best preserved Roman cities. I didn't go while my Mum was alive as she'd have worried and later I didn't get there in the very few years between it being unsafe and then unsafe again.

On the Iceland trip, I found out that one of the friends I made had paid well under half what I had. Under such circumstances, you either get angry - or you find out how she did it. Well, she phoned me a couple of months ago, with news of a totally irresistible deal. And, well, it would have been churlish to have said no.

So, I'm off down to Gatwick tomorrow, for an early morning flight on Monday morning. I'm getting stressy (but is that because of the destination or because of old age - I used to dash off after work without a thought !!!!!)

For now, here is a rose, one remaining, with some of the raindrops from last night.

Enjoy your day.