Village leader Ian and I painted the now defunct village telephone box yesterday. It’s faded charm now a vibrant Pillar Box Red. It’s door fixed, it’s insides all ready for change.
The Trelawnyd Community Association has bought the box for the village
Please welcome our Information Hub and mini library.
Sailor John has designed the shelving and notice boards , so soon it will be a hub for bits and pieces not covered by the hall.
Not only will it house a tiny library, there will be emergency items such as a first aid kit and a puncture repair kit, local maps for walkers, information on local sites of interest and history, a village history book
And even a small food bank.
We are also planning a little solar light inside
Sweet.
Yesterday was the day we three on our counselling course was to find out whether we’d all be on the same course in University in September or not.
The course was over subscribed over North Wales so if all were accepted after interview several applicants would have to be put back to the next course which doesn’t start until January and which is based at the Bangor campus a good hours drive from the village. Donna , Caroline and myself all wanted to be starting in September at our local campus so there was much frantic what’sapping going on before we all realised that we would all be starting together. I was rather moved by it all as were my fellow potential counsellors. I think the three of us, all more mature students , understand the significance of the path we are about to take.
Not an easy journey for sure, but an important one and one made better for us all being together.
I will leave you with a beautiful comment
A wish , of someone nearing death.
It caught me totally unawares when it was spoken to me and I hope I’ve remembered it correctly,if found similar sayings online but that doesn’t matter
“ I hope death is like being carried to your bedroom by your father, when you were a child,
Or the time he lay you down on the couch on the sofa in a darkened living room during a family party
And you could hear all of the laughter from the next room”
It’s rather beautiful .
Well done John, onwards to the next exciting phase in ‘uni’, I wish you the very best on your life choice and course. Jan in Castle Gresley
ReplyDeleteWe shall see, it may not suit me, I may not suit it, but it’s a chance to earn after I’m Finally too old to left a nurses apron
DeleteI knew a postie who offered Counselling online -At a time pre arranged - He even helped people from abroad in the early hours x
DeleteI am pleased that people are taking care of the red phone boxes. Not enough of that here in town.
ReplyDeleteIt’s like everything that been cared for, it looks proud and loved and useful ,
DeleteA beautiful wish. I hope it was granted.
ReplyDeleteAll the best for you all on the course.
Good news about the phone box..might it get a defibrillator as well as a first aid kit?
The defib is on the side of the hall
DeleteGood on you and all your hard work, both in the village and personally. I totally love that wish, and the saying really resonates with me and takes me back. Marie, Melbourne, Australia
ReplyDeleteIt was shared by someone I know who hasn’t long, he got a great deal of support from the thought of it
DeleteCongratulations, John! Ever onward. I love the phone box and it's new life. I saw a few reimagined phone boxes in Bergen, Norway last summer. Wonderful, but not all as charming as your traditional ones.
ReplyDeleteThe children of today can’t believe they were ever used….I remember queues outside the one near my home in prestatyn
DeleteOh, I do hope that death is like that.
ReplyDeleteWell done on getting onto the Uni course, and how lovely that you 3 "oldies" will be together. The phone box will be a great asset to the village. I agree with gz about the defibrillator. Something for you to look into, 'cos you've nothing else to do! xx
We have a defib already which has been attached to the outside of the memorial hall
DeleteSo, you are starting in September? With the success of the Midwife, there has to be a book in your lifetime of experiences.
ReplyDeleteOr a tv series
DeleteYES YES YES !
DeleteSorry I would not like to hear that if I was anywhere near death. Some of us have only unpleasant memories of childhood and this is like rubbing salt into a wound.
ReplyDeleteWell that’s a shame Anon, the rubbing salt comment was all a bit dramatic
DeleteThe object of the statement, I think , is about more about taking comfort from a sound of laughter from the next “room” , the child reference is incidental
Wouldn’t it be lovely to be a part of life even in death is the message I got from it
But you see what you want to I guess
There was an assumption that all children are safe and protected by their fathers. Not the case, and some trauma will stick until the victims last breath.
DeleteTrue but it wasn’t the point of the quote so it’s really irrelevant
DeleteIrrelevant? A flippant reply to a serious comment.
DeleteYou obviously have no experience or even a sound awareness of the trauma caused by a parent abusing their child.
The nuances of debate are lost on you even if you hide behind anon 2 .
DeleteChild trauma is irrelevant to the discussion which was about death. I’m not saying it doesn’t exist it’s just irrelevant to this subject….now don’t be dim and jog on
Not hiding behind Anon 2, simply exercising my right to call myself whatever I choose. What difference does a made up name make? The majority of comments on blogs have a fictional name. Ok what would you prefer, Tom, Dick or Harry? Wanderer? Baggy pants wearer? Scottish Lassie? All seen on blogs and if you look at your commenters you'll see similar. Hardly anybody discloses their real selves and could be absolutely anybody. How do you know any of those fictional names isn't one of your neighbours? All "hiding" behind a name. So for today I'm Anon 2 but I could easily be any of your readers or aquaintances.
DeleteMy point stands
DeleteMy name isn't made up. Why bother to hide? If one hasn't anything constructive to say nicely why bother commenting unless to be nasty.
DeleteJo in Auckland
I think of death as just going back "home" to the endless oblivion that I came from and, so far as I recall, was completely untroubled in, so nothing to fear there, although I do fear the possible journey home. Mind you, I might get a surprise at the end of it, like awakening from a long mad dream...
ReplyDeleteAnother mark Twain fan …
DeleteI agree. But I wish I didn’t
I don't get the Mark Twain reference, having never read any of his words.
DeleteAh... investigated... Now I see.
DeletePhone booth is a treasure brought back to life.. our ugly old boxes thankfully were removed years and years ago,I do hope the village youth will respect it..congrates on Uni in the fall with your other mature colleagues. We have little libraries around us built like little bird houses and you never know what books you will find.. I got rid of all my pocket books while decluttering and now I read books on my phone, easier for me to hold. I had a good week, cleaned my crystal ornaments and filled a garbage bag of clothes to drop off at the donation box.. I had my carpets cleaned and was amazed at how many of the dog pee stains came out! You motivate me.thank you John.
ReplyDeleteLol this made me smile.
DeleteWe have installed a lock on the box, so it will be locked at night . Its overlooked by one of the TCA members too who will keep an eye out
I like the idea of a phonebox library with second-hand books for exchange, but I'd be more sceptical of a food bank and any items of value.
ReplyDeleteWe had problems with the food bank idea before but we will try again, there is a need in the village ,some people are struggling
DeleteA post of inspiration and positivity covering an endless range of futures. Somehow this is the entirety of Going Gently. And of our author. Enough said.
ReplyDeleteI saw an old friend today who is grieving , I asked her to help me with the flower show and she leapt at the positivity of it.
DeletePositivity and warmth attracts doesn’t it
Sometimes people want to participate but are too timid to.come forward. Its nice that you asked her.
DeleteWow, the telephone box has it ALL! Glad you and your fellow students will be starting your course together in September. And what a lovely quotation about death -- a friend of mine died a couple of weeks ago in palliative care -- I hope that's how it was for her.
ReplyDeleteI watched coco the Disney film the other day , and the clip of the dead meeting up one one night to revisit the living , also moved me greatly , especially when they all held hands to cross the bridge
DeleteGood news about the course, and a great job on the telephone box too.
ReplyDeleteIt looks rather splendid, with its wonderful “ information” sign
DeleteMine would be subtly different - back in childhood, resting head on mums lap having my forehead stroked while she gently gossips with my aunts x
ReplyDeleteSo glad it worked out for you on the course x
Alison in Wales x
The image you describe rather moved me
DeleteThe power of matriarchs
I am glad you get to continue your course with your friends. What a relief! I like the phone box - a great use for it!
ReplyDeleteI just want to die in an instant so I don't know what hit me...
I want to fade away like Beth in little women , with someone who loves me stroking my hair
DeleteBeautiful phone box! You guys did a great job and I love how it will be repurposed.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course- congratulations on your acceptance to September's course. This is such a beautiful thing you are doing.
It’s a new challenge and I’m not “ too old” , in the last two years two women in their seventies completed the same course
DeleteHere's a quote from Mark Twain that I like: "I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it."
ReplyDeleteNicely put …..Twain was a crowd pleaser where quotes were concerned wasnt he
DeleteI don't know what Trelawnyd is like really, quiet it seems and lovely, would a narcan kit be something that would be useful in the new phone booth? Here the kits are given away for free.
ReplyDeleteThe booth looks lovely.
Yes, I’m sure we could look into that.
DeleteI make the place sound very 1950s sometimes, but real life, drugs and the works all happen here just as they do everywhere else.
I will look into it
Your phone box looks great and it will make a good resource center for the community and visitors alike. All of you going to Uni in September together is excellent. You must celebrate!
ReplyDeleteBoth of my parents thought death was not the end - I have dreams - My feet lift from the ground - I tilt and float- then fly - I believe that will be x
ReplyDeleteI have seen made “ odd” things at the time of death of literally hundreds of patients in my career
DeleteI have an open mind. The description told to me in the above entry moved me greatly for some reason.
Almost ghostlike I thought
I also fly in my dreams flis... above places I have been and places I have lived in my life... it is really an odd sensation to just fly silently about.
DeleteJo in Auckland
When I sense I'm leaving I am disappointed as I want to continue flying x
DeleteI have the flying and floating dreams too. They seem so real to me and I hate when its over.
DeleteYou and Ian did a wonderful job painting the phone box! And the repurposing is a splendid idea.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations & best wishes to you, Donna & Caroline! So lovely that you 3 will be together in September.
We are all reinventing ourselves , and it will be interesting if we all get through the challenge , out of 18 students in the last intake only 2 remain
DeleteThat speaks volumes
Brilliant use of the phone box and hope there is a local map posted on the wall somewhere - with grocery, petrol, and medical help marked on it. Great paint job, too!
ReplyDeleteI;m so glad that yoy, Caroline, and Donna will all start together in the fall.
I picture death as it is depicted in the last book of 'The Chronicles of Narnia', "The Last Battle", by CDS Lewis.
Hugs!
Of coourse that should be CS Lewis. Sigh!
ReplyDeleteI’m not a reader , how was death depicted??
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI’m not giving this comment an airing as it neither warranted, wanted or invited. Your assessment on my capabilities have no power or interest here.
DeleteIt just surprises just how much time and effort you invest on feeling entitled to comment on someone else’s life, their abilities what what they planned to do.
Stop your worrying if counselling is not for me then the training, the supervision and the self reflection will show that. Not the bile filled , acid tongue of an anonymous commentator on a bog standard blog
I was suggesting that you may like to consider having a more fun old age.
DeleteNo you weren’t …..and I intend to have more fun, something I doubt you will experience.
DeleteI honestly think that your self awareness is lacking . I have a good family, supportive and honest friends, good self awareness and qualified tutors and mentors who will inform me if I’m not right for the next adventure.
I don’t want your thoughts or opinions
I don’t need them
Any more boring comments will he HAPPILY deleted
DeleteNow go and get a life of your own and stop talking about mine
You have too much patience John!
DeleteI love the dying quote, It kind of gives of gives my cynical brain a little hope.
I would like to “ Talk” to you but cannot find your email here ( I know you’ve given it out before)
Keith
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteJohn, I’ve found your email reply in my spam
DeleteThank you for your words, it was helpful.
I cannot fathom the replies you’ve had tonight and why this woman keeps on at you.
Can’t you complain to blogger?
Keith
The very idea of being with a parent floating through sound to the next room or whatever it was made me cringe. Do you think your brother was floating through to the next room with your father and listening to sound of laughter in another room? Oh my god that sounds so awful. Just die.
ReplyDeleteI won’t even bother answering this one
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DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteA great use for the old phone box, well done! Lovely poem. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd common sense returns lol sigh
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DeleteI can understand what anon 1 and 2 were saying far up above. My father was an alcoholic and I was scared of him. At age 67 I still have nightmares and he has been dead for 35 years. So while I personally do not identify with your quote John, I still find it quite lovely and can see the thought behind it.
ReplyDeleteNo I get it too,but the subject wasn’t about dad abuse it was about dearh
DeleteI remember as a child exactly the one about lying on a couch in a darkened living room listening to the party in the next room.... drifting off to sleep whilst listening to laughter was very comforting to my 8 year old self. Love the phone box. I really miss seeing them; in NZ they are boring glass and square boxes. Congrats on being with your buddies going forward in September; an exciting new chapter in your life.
ReplyDeleteJo in Auckland
I love that quote.
ReplyDeleteI do love that quote, never had a father in the house, but plenty of carries by my mother and Great Aunt. Also, the library/notice board in the phone box is a excellent idea.
ReplyDeleteA similar phone box was recently restored in Brighton. The box sits quite close to where we live, and the very next day it was covered in graffiti. I do hope yours stays as it is.
ReplyDeleteNice job on the phone box.
ReplyDelete