Leverton

Forgiveness

Alan — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:16:00 +0000

A sunday School teacher had just concluded her lesson and wanted to make sure she had made her point. She said, "Can anyone tell me what you must do before you can obtain forgiveness of sin?"

There was a short pause and then, from the back of the room, a small boy spoke up. "Sin," he said.

My Online Friends

Alan — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:06:49 +0000

Every single evening

As I'm lying here in bed,

This tiny little Prayer

Keeps running through my head.

God bless all my family

Wherever they may be,

Keep them warm

And safe from harm

For they're so close to me.

And God, there is one more thing

I wish that you could do;

Hope you don't mind me asking,

Please bless my computer, too.

Now I know that it's unusual

To bless a motherboard,

But listen just a second

While I explain it to you, Lord.

You see, that little metal box

Holds more than odds and ends,

Inside those small compartments

Rest so many of my friends.

I know so much about them

By the kindness that they give,

And this little scrap of metal

Takes me into where they live.

By faith is how I know them

Much the same as you.

We share in what life brings us

And from that our friendships grew.

Please take an extra minute

From your duties up above,

To bless those in my address book

That's filled with so much love.

Wherever else this prayer may reach

To each and every friend,

Bless each e-mail inbox

And each person who hits 'send'.

When you update your Heavenly list

On your own Great CD-ROM,

Bless everyone who says this prayer

Sent up to God.Com.

Amen.

Anonymous

About the Author

Alan — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:04:16 +0000

Jill was born in Sedgebrook, Lincolnshire, in the Grantham area. She attended Sedgebrook School until she was 11 years of age. Her Parents are Ray and Gladys (Gladys, nee Davey; originally of Leverton) Maplethorpe, who, along with other members of the Maplethorpe family, decided to emigrate to Canada, and did just that on 15th July 1968. Ray farmed there until his death in 2001.

Gladys, Jill's Mother, is the daughter of George and Mary Davey. They were of Leverton but soon after they married, moved away from this area and eventually lived for the rest of their lives in Grantham.

George's family are the Davey family of Leverton who lived in one of the then, Council Houses in Oldfield Lane, near to the Lodge Farmhouse, in the village. This is on the Leverton Marshes area.

Mary was the daughter of Philip and Edith Parker and was born in Poor Row off the Outgate, Leverton. Mary's Father was killed during the battle of the Somme, in France in 1916. Mary's Mother, Edith, remarried in 1918 to Mr John James Tosney who was also a serving soldier working on the land in the area in an Army detachment.

Jill met and married Ken Windsor who was born in Stamford, Lincs. They met while at St. Hugh's school in Grantham. They married at St. Wulframs Church in Grantham on the 18th September 1971, then they, too, decided to move to Canada doing so on the 29th March 1981.

Jill has written several poems and has had verse published. She is also a keen amateur photographer and has a collection of lovely images of the area of Canada in which they live and further afield. Husband Ken works on one of the local farms in their area in Alberta, Canada.

Our English Memory

Alan — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:54:02 +0000

When I think of England over the ocean far

It brings back memories of who we are.

Of strong minded folk with an opinion to say

Who liked to share a joke in a dry kind of way.

School days when teachers had to have respect

And if you didn't apply the cane you would get.

The views of villages nestled here and there

On hillsides and valleys, so picturesque you had to stop and stare.

The seasons of summer days in fields we played

Endless when you thought this was where your life would stay.

Autumn's falling leaves we'd gather in a heap

Then jump in them together in a giant leap.

Winter nights of smoking chimneys scenting the air

While inside glad we were there.

Spring, looking out for the first flowers growing

And the joy of seeing Tulips and Daffodils glowing.

Churches and castles standing strong and tall

Built long ago in times too hard for us to recall.

Sundays were a day of rest

When families came together and life wasn't such a quest.

Seaside holidays when we played in the sand

And we ate fish and chips; it was grand.

Rainy days of splashing in puddles with friends we met

Then going home in trouble for being wet.

Neighbors who gave a helping hand

And shoulders to cry on, as they would understand.

Frienships in our past

That remains to last.

So much to recall of England it is true

Before our life in Canada was brand new.

Now equally our home we still recall places and people

With pride

In a country where once we did reside.

© Jill Windsor (2004)

Echoes from an English Lane

Alan — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:51:46 +0000

In silent whispers

I hear echoes from a distant lane

And in my mind I'm a child again.

For on the breeze of voices is a place I once knew

In a village of my youth where I grew.

I hear children playing with spirit of sound

As I see the walls of the old school ground.

Joyous is their shout

When after the learning they happily run about.

I see homes where Mother's wait

With old fashioned warmth I still can relate.

Inside coal fires burned with a warm glow

And through the door a welcome; hello!

Smells of fresh washing from a busy day

While the scent of cleaning in all its array.

Natural baking filled the air

As nothing like it could compare.

While neighbors chatted to each other

And watched out for one another.

Friendships were made with ties to last

And on the winds of time the echoes are from my English past.

© Jill Windsor 2005

Lincolnshire Lass

Alan — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:49:29 +0000

A Lincolnshire lass I was born

In the wee hours before dawn.

To start life in a county

Where its land is its bounty.

In acres so diverse, from cabbages to peas

While wheat and barley grow in a coastal breeze.

Fields of potatoes then handpicked

Until our Mothers' backs were totally licked.

All day we played near

And the smells of the tractor and earth are still clear.

Sandwiches packed in grease proof paper

And packets of crisps with a blue pouches really made us caper.

There were sunny days to make us brown

And damp ones to make us frown.

Tough was the life of working on the land

But for some it was written in the sand.

Flat landscapes of daffodils and tulips danced in the sunlight's ray

As buildings and folk with character still mentor me in Canada today.

So to Lincolnshire from many generations is where I came

And the love for you will always remain the same.

Great Grandparents of Laceys Lane, Leverton

Alan — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:45:38 +0000

Upon a hill in Canada I sit

Flickering in thought like a candle lit.

Days of my childhood in the UK

When we visited Great Grandparents, on a Sunday.

Travelling by car past the old Boston Stump

And Dad making us giggle going over a bump.

Reaching Leverton, the place of their home

Near to the marshes where one could roam.

Remembering Great Grandma cleaning with pride

Not a piece of dust anywhere left to hide.

Looking from the window she'd watch for us coming

Then down the path would wave as we were running.

Inside Great Granddad smoked a pipe

With tobacco of his favourite type.

The fragrant smell would fill the air

While inquisitively at him we'd stare.

Great Grandma from the kitchen would make tea

Then afterwards, there was other family to see.

On lucky days we'd fetch ice cream from the shop

Having to be quick over the road we'd hop.

From Wrangle and Leverton with cousins we played

While our parents talked until the sun began to fade.

A calm feeling we always seemed to leave behind

As the church bells rang, still ringing in my mind.

Days now long past

But in peaceful moments, the memories last.

© Jill Windsor 2008

Dedicated to my Great Grandparents and relations of Wrangle and Leverton.

Thank you for the memories .

Two views of Alberta, Canada, above, where Jill lives, and the hills where she sits and, no doubt with the beautiful view to help, writes some of her poetry.

Also, a view of the bungalows in Laceys Lane, in one of which, Jill's Great Grandparents lived in their retirement.

On Green Pastures

Alan — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:31:51 +0000

On green pastures where violets grow

We walk together after the winter's snow.

All around us nature resides

As we trek along together side by side.

A hawk brings delight to our eyes

As we watch as it circles in the sky.

Then a woodpecker echoes through the trees

Tapping out his sound in the cool breeze.

A squirrel rests upon a branch

In confident ease he gives us a sporty glance.

We startle a deer, with a flick of its tail it hops off with a prance.

Across a beaver dam we stop to ponder;

"what other creature could there be

To make a home so strong out of a tree"?

Moose tracks and ducks and geese a swimming we've seen on this day

While mending fences for the summer cows and calves to stay.

And now our work is done we both agree

There isn't a better place to work than on the Alberta prairie.

© Jill Windsor

One of Jill's pastures in Alberta, Canada

Desiderata

Alan — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:37:24 +0000

The following verse was sent by Jill Windsor of Alberta, Canada.

As you know, Jill has contributed to this section previously by submitting her own poems.

DESIDERATA

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant;

They too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain and bitter; for always

there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Excerise caution in your business affairs;

for the world is full of trickery.

But let not this blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the council of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with GOD, whatever you conceive HIM to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be careful. Strive to be happy.

The above was found in Old Saint Paul's Church, Baltimore; Dated 1692.

(Desiderata; plural/Desideratum; singular: something deemed to be desirable or essential)

Within the Church

Alan — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:30:03 +0000

Total peace and inspiration
envelop me; keep me safe.
Promises of yester-year remembered,
etched into the atmosphere;
whispered from corners
where no darkness finds no place.
Only light, Pure Light, exists
in these surroundings filled with Grace.
Serenity is within my grasp.
I gaze in silent awe
at the gentle eyes of Christ,
in a picture way above.
His message,
so needed by the world today,
quite simply
….peace and love….