The Christmas Wreath on the front of the cottage
The day before my wedding my sisters gave me a series of gifts
Something old , something new
Something borrowed
Something Blue.......
The something old was my grandmother's wedding ring, one of the very few bits of jewellery she ever possessed.
I found out this morning that I had mislaid it.
And I was distraught.
Click here to see original blog
After turning the cottage upside down without success and feeling somewhat jaded, depressed and still full of cold
I left the mess to it's own affair and went out to deliver the Village Christmas Cards thinking this mundane job would blow away the cobwebs.
Our choir concert takes place tomorrow night and I am in no way prepared for it. I doubt I shall be able to sing properly given the nature of my man flu but I am determined to give it a go,so I picked one song that I have not been able to practice yet, downloaded the bass section of it onto my phone , put in my earphones and marched around Trelawnyd trying to sing the harmony of You raise me up! as I went....
I almost nailed the first verse when Trendy Carol ( in a very nice cream ski jacket) caught me for a chat. I'd sung it twice more when David from Well Street stopped his van to ,tell me I looked " hip" with my earphones in and one look at Jo's three legged whippet in a pair of hot pants on at the old policehouse made me totally forget the difficult bit where the basses have to La La as the Tenors belt out " on your shoulders!"
( the hot pants, I was informed , were an effort to stop mini accidents around the house)
A car stopped on London Road just after I dropped Hattie's card at her tiny cottage and two sopranos from the choir waved excitedly, they live in the next village along
" Are you ready for tomorrow?" Soprano 1 asked
I told them both I was heavy with cold
Soprano 2 looked worried after I asked if they could suggest anything would help, and she turned to her friend saying " What would Josh Grobin do at times like this?"
" Mime " answered Soprano 1
It's an option, I thought as I walked for home
In all it took me almost 90 minutes to deliver all 50 cards and when I got back home I was Cold but certainly feeling less stir crazy than I was even though I was faced with the depressing mayhem of untidy drawers and hastily searched boxes and files.
I'd just started to clear up my ring searching mess when the phone went.
It was my sweet natured Welsh solicitor in her best sing song voice.
" I've rung you several times John " she explained and my heart sank thinking what else can go wrong in one day
" I opened some documents you sent me the other week and found a small gold wedding ring tied with a blue ribbon tucked away amongst things "
She had found my grandmother's wedding ring!!!!
Ive learnt never to look for anything lost as it tends to turn up without all the worry.
ReplyDeleteWell that never works in my house
DeleteI keep my dad's signet ring and my wedding ring in a dish next to my toothbrush. It's a good place.
ReplyDeleteI'll remember that
DeleteExcept if it goes down the sink drain :(
DeleteSuch a great story! And all's well that ends well.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that your solicitor phoned you just in time to prevent more fruitless searching at the cottage! That is a lovely wreath of greenery on your door too.
ReplyDeleteShe's had the envelope since Thursday
DeleteDid you inadvertently place it in the envelope????? We do the nuttiest things this time of year.
ReplyDeleteThe ring was kept with my marriage certificate as both were so important ! Go figure
DeleteSo glad it turned up John. Now the cold has to clear before tomorrow night and then Christmas has got to be better than you anticipate. A New Year, a new beginning - we are all going for you. xx
ReplyDeleteI'm drinking lemon and honey right now Mariah Carey swears by it
DeleteI like your wreath. So glad the wedding ring turned up.
ReplyDeleteThat is so nice the wedding ring turned up. A big relief for yours well. I hope the cold clears a bit for you. All the best,John.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to do a good job so I'm very frustrated
DeleteThank heavens! And I love the wreath. I do hope you can sing tomorrow, and not have to do what Josh Groban would!
ReplyDeleteHe could stand in for me.... we could pad him up
DeleteHad the ring raised her hopes and did you let her down gently?
ReplyDeleteAdie
I'm not her type
DeleteRemember the zip line? You'll sing in the choir concert, do better than you imagine, Christmas will pass and before long, this terrible year will fade into memory. Then, like the ring turning up where it wasn't expected, GOOD days will pop up and surprise you.
ReplyDeleteI've hated this year so very much
DeleteLike Elise said.
ReplyDeleteHugs!
I hope Dr. Theatre will come to your aid for the concert.
ReplyDeleteWhat great timing the phone call was. xx
I've been so absent minded recently . I lost my wallet recently too
DeleteSo glad the ring turned up! I also love the idea of miming the song if your voice isn't working. You'll still be participating.
ReplyDeleteI've just practiced in the bath , it was dreadful.
DeleteGreat news about the ring. Maybe a corner had been turned John, but if not mime like crazy and tuck away in the warm afterwards. The door wreath looks lovely, you see - slowly Christmas is coming together yet in a different way this year. Sending hugs from Cornwall.x
ReplyDeleteCorner? I suspect I've got more shit to come
DeleteGlad you found your grandmother's ring John. I'm still waiting for my mom's eternity ring to show up. Who knows! Isn't Josh Grobin fabulous. I first fell in love with him when as a VERY young man he was called in to help Céline Dion rehearse The Prayer. He was amazing.
ReplyDeleteHe is
DeleteAll's well that ends well! I'm glad the ring turned up again. As for the singing, anyone singing as they walked down our street would be seen as totally eccentric!
ReplyDeleteThe Christmas wreath is lovely.
I was miming in the street too
DeleteI love the wreath. Such a beautiful wall and wreath together make such a lovely Christmas moment. Such good news about the ring.
ReplyDeleteSometimes Christmas gets messed up, like mine this year, and you just have to work for the best.
cheers, parsnip and badger
Plain simple and classy
DeleteGlad to hear the happy ending regarding the ring!
ReplyDeleteI like Josh Groban's voice, when I posted one time about O Holy Night being my favorite Christmas song but must be sung by someone who can hit all the proper notes, he is one of the people that does it well.
He has. Alovely sense of humour too
DeletePity he's straight
Sometimes your descriptions of Trelawnyd make it sound rather like Llareggub in "Under Milkwood". What a relief that the solicitor found your ring!
ReplyDeleteFannarh fannarh
DeleteJohn, Blessings on you. Thank God the ring was found and now you will feel better about it and hopefully other things.
ReplyDeleteI think the wreath is beautiful, love to you and the fur babies.
This can be a difficult time of year, hoping all goes well for you.
Joyce
Joyce xx
DeleteI'm glad the post ended on a happy note with the finding of the ring!
ReplyDeleteYour mention of a "on legged Whippet" has me intrigued. It reminds me of :
Uncle Harry had a dog with no legs. He called it Woodbine because he'd take it out three times a day for a drag.
I meant to thoe three legged
DeleteThat makes a lot of sense. I couldn't get my head around a one legged dog. It would fall over when it needed to pee.
DeleteMime seems like a good idea. I myself did just that when, in high school orchestra, I was called upon to perform a violin number from unfamiliar sheet music in a competition. I took a clue from the finger and arm movements of my fellow violinists and mimed my way through. LOL.
ReplyDeleteLbullshite
DeleteSmile glide and mime
Mime as long as you haven't got a solo bit! Good news from the solicitor - it must have been a huge relief to know it had been found.
ReplyDeleteThe wreath looks great
ReplyDeleteTraveller
I also have a few piece of my grandma jewery.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
I like mine strong
DeleteThat's such good news and another reason to trust your solicitor who sounds great! I am also full of snot (occupational hazzard of working in the NHS?). Hope you feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteYou too VC XXXX
DeleteI love your wreath, really elegant. So glad the ring has been found. At school I used to mime in assembly if I had a cold. Perfectly acceptable I think.
ReplyDeleteI'm a classy bitch
DeleteFabulous wreath, very stylish. What a lovely Christmas gift to hear that the ring is safe :) Agree with VC that your solicitor sounds great, how synchronistic was that phone call!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have your singing voice back in time, otherwise I would go for miming. You want to be there after all the effort you've put in, and soak up the experience and the atmosphere.
We all have a meal before hand so I'm having a few drinks too
DeleteWONDERFUL news about the ring.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, mime if you need to. Other celebs do it, why not you.
I can reach the low notes pretty well
DeleteFunny how things turn up when you stop looking.. hope the voice returns..or at least that you enjoy joining in in mime!
ReplyDeleteI'm a good actor
DeleteThis story sounds like it came straight out of a feel good Hallmark Christmas story,
ReplyDeleteWe all need Yuletide stories at this time of year
DeleteI love this story. x
ReplyDeleteIt got better
DeleteOne fall I joined a brass and reed band to learn to play the flute I had bought with my first paycheque twenty years before. Our first public outing was a Christmas concert and I didn't know all the music. The other flute player kindly told me to come along anyway, play the parts I could, and fake the rest. So do it :)
ReplyDeleteTruth is stranger than fiction sometimes, is it not? And no one can tell a story in just the way you do, John. I'm so glad that one ended like a lovely Christmas movie.
And it's all quite true
DeleteReminds me of the time when airport security found our missing house keys. Well,not as sentimental but still a big relief.
ReplyDeleteThe ring I placed with my marriage certificate for safety ...the certificate had to be forwarded on
DeleteI'm so glad she called when she did!
ReplyDeleteSo was I
DeleteSo glad the ring has been found. Sweet relief. Lovely wreath.
ReplyDeleteMinimal and unglitzy
DeleteHappy for you that your Grandmother's ring was found. I can remember at primary school, being asked to mime by the music teacher, such was my talent for singing. Might be a good idea if your throat is feeling dodgy.
ReplyDeleteI've just sung Old Lang Syne in the bath
DeleteDreadful
I've just sang OLD LANG SYNE in the bath...dreadful
DeleteMy heart goes out to you John.
ReplyDeleteLX
It could have been a whole lot worse
DeleteI'm so glad that the ring was found.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a bit of Josh Groban. A treat.
It's a song that reduces people to tears
DeleteHallelujah!!!
ReplyDeleteI lose my prescription glasses at least every other week. When that happens, I can't see to find it. Son and daughter begin the search in the oddest places as I think to myself 'Why are they looking there?!' They find my glasses on a shelf in the storage shed, or on a table in the back yard. They even look in my eye glass case and find it. They threaten to put a beacon on the glasses that would blink bright red and make a siren noise LOL That way they don't have to drive out to my house to help search.
ReplyDeleteAfter several very expensive pairs went missing I only use 1£ reading glasses from poundland
DeleteGlad the ring turned up, it will all be okay, great things come to good people
DeleteCheer s David
DeleteGeez, John, you bring me to tears about every other day. I am so invested in you and your happiness and oh, so glad I found your blog. How I wish I could give you a 'real' hug. I am sad that we are oceans apart. I don't mean to be intrusive, but may I ask how many years you and the Prof were together? I think it's many?
ReplyDelete18 years Dianne 18 years
DeleteOh my gosh, John. Such a long time. Such an investment in love. Such a long time until marriage. Such a hope after all that for forever. I am so, so sorry. Such a rotten end to it all. Love you. And there is such a future of love and happiness waiting for you, I just know it. You just wait and see!
DeleteYou have a true gift for story-telling. Thank you for sharing it with us. xo
ReplyDeleteI lose things constantly and it is so frustrating to me. So glad you found your grandmother's ring. Wish I could click my fingers and fly across the pond and listen to your concert!
ReplyDeleteAll’s well that ends well.
ReplyDeleteThe ring found its way back to you. I love a story like that. I think it's a sign that next year will be better.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that wreath did you buy it or make it?
Your lucky stars. Thank them, too.
ReplyDeleteA very strong mint will also help - it will help clear your breathing a bit, and prevent you from coughing temporarily. One brand is called Altoids, but I don't know if you have them there. (Many moons ago I belonged to a choir and many singers used those prior to singing, especially if they had a bit of a scratchy throat). I'm so very glad you managed to solve the ring mystery. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteSometimes a good, heavy cold is a help. It's a fucking good excuse to shut down.
ReplyDeleteI adore your wreath !
ReplyDeleteNice. Your grandmother was looking out for you.
ReplyDeleteThe gods are on your side, and they've just sent you a message!
ReplyDeleteA nice happy ending to your story, John. Josh Groban would sing with delight. x
ReplyDeleteSadly also my wedding did not endure but it holds the best of times from my 25 years and 25 years from my dad’s union past on as something old. My daughter recently engaged is yet to receive this gift, I hope she realises that enteral love transcends the generations and carries forward all that defines us. Emma
ReplyDeleteI loved who said that the ring found its way back to you. Lovely story John. Also loved who said you're a great story teller. I see another career in the cards for you. A great story teller needs stories to tell - you have them, some happy, some sad. WE love reading them. Give a novel a go, John. It's a way to run the motor out. Sending love.
ReplyDeleteSo very glad it is found. Love the comments too. Sing what you can and mime the rest.
ReplyDeleteAnd who better to have found a lost ring ! I am so glad for you !
ReplyDeletemy computer died .. this is my excuse for being lax on comments and posts and rotten spelling .... and dinner being take out ) might as well blame everything on it...
I am glad you got your precious ring back. I think you will find your singing mojo for the performance and all will be well. Good luck and have a stellar evening.
ReplyDeleteThe wreath is very pretty. I am glad you got the ring back.
ReplyDeleteI like the WWJGD? It seems he would mime and smile and carry on as you have done. Best of luck at the concert!
💕
ReplyDeleteMardy🇨🇦
Hope the concert goes/went well.
ReplyDeleteYay for the surprise ending of the grandma's wedding ring found.
ReplyDelete