Welcome to the Sunday Scene

27 January 2008

Greetings,

Today I entertained fourteen family members, spanning six decades, to lunch and a housewarming. The sun shone, it was mild over the noon period and we opened the patio doors, giving us a taste of spring and summer days to come. My sister brought a small posy of spring flowers picked this morning from her garden - snowdrops, polyanthus, grape hyacinths, pink hellebore purple hebe, winter jasmine and a single miniature daffodil. What a joyful sight they are!

Thoughts of spring, not to mention a substantial lunch, have also made me concious of my spreading waistline and I determined that I shall have a walk or a cycle ride every day. I'm already getting a fair bit of cardio-vscular exercise running up and down three floors - yes I do mean running! It's so easy for the pounds to creep on over long lonely winter evenings, especially after Christmas when chocolate seems all to ready to hand. Time I think to get back to the hearty vegetable soups with a few lentils for protein, some crisp and crunchy winter salads and lots of warm water to drink (think what cold drinks must do to fat in the digestive system!). I have several favourite cook books of 'meals for one' and enjoy preparing something nourishing and appealing just for me before settling down for the evening.

Last evening, along with twenty of our club members I went to a delightfully intimate period theatre for a production of Mike Harding's 'Last tango in Whitby'. Performed by a local amateur dramatic company it tells the tale of a group of friends including some couples, who go by minibus every year to the same hotel in Whitby for a holiday. This time, in the intervening year, one lady has been widowed and we see how she decides to take a very positive approach to her situation, ends up falling in love with the ageing entertainer, casts aside all opposition and goes off with him into the sunset. Needless to say there is much controversy along the way and poignancy that touches the heart and emotions, but with so much humour, it's a very entertaining play. Another wonderful portrayal of a widow's situation was Penelope Keith's role in 'Entertaining Angels' written by Richard Everett. Married for many years to a man of the cloth, she discovers many skeletons in the cupboard after his death, not least an illigitimate child. And then of course there is the hilarious film of the 'Calendar Girls' based on a true story of how, because of her husband's death and with the help of her inspirational Women's Institute girlfriends, they raised thousands of pounds for charity. Whether fact or fiction and when we're ready, these plays, films or stories can put our own grief into perspective, help us to come to terms with our situation and bring us to a greater understanding of a major life transition.

Our latest clubs newsletter will soon appear on the website so do have a look. Soon we plan to offer training and start-up packs to anyone, anywhere in the country who would like to start something similar themselves. Send us an e-mail at editorial@sundayscene.co.uk if you'd like more information.

Wishing you much success with everything you've chosen to achieve in 2008,

Jacquie