Subject: Parting
Source : Poem by Joyce Grenfell

If I should go before the rest of you
Break not a flower, nor inscribe a stone
Nor when I'm gone speak in a Sunday voice
But be the usual selves that I have known
Weep if you must
Parting is hell
But life goes on
So sing as well

Subject: Gone from my sight
Source : Poem by Henry Van Dyke

I am standing upon that foreshore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says: "There, she is gone!!"
"Gone where?"
Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her. And just at the moment when someone at my side says: "There, she is gone!" there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: "Here she comes!"
And that is dying.

Subject: Death
Source : Steven Cummins, a soldier killed on active service in Northern Ireland, left in an envelope to be opened by his parents in the event of death

Do not stand at my grave and weep; I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die.

Subject: Death is nothing at all
Source : Poem by Henry Scott Holland

Death is nothing at all.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
I am I , you are you.
Whatever we were to each other, that we still are.
Call me by my old familiar name,
speak to me in the easy way you always used to.
Put no difference in your tone, wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Let my name be ever the household word it always was,
let it be spoken without effort,
without the trace of a shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you, for an interval,
somewhere very near, just round the corner.
All is well.

Subject: Children
Source : "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran

AND a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of to-morrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the Archer's hand be for gladness ;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Subject: A simple philosophy for life, but full of wisdom (sometimes entitled "Desiderata")
Source : Found in Old St Paul's Church, Baltimore. dated 1692

Go placidly amid the noise and the 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 vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself to 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 career however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not 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 as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the councel of the years gracefully surrendering to the things of youth.

Nurture the 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 labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be careful. Strive to be happy.

Subject: My time has come — for those who believe
Source : Unknown

I’m Free

Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free
I’m following the path God has laid you see.
I took His hand when I heard him call
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day
To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way
I found that peace at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss
O yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life’s been full, I savoured much
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your hearts and peace to thee
God wanted me now; He set me free.

Author Unknown

Subject: Death
Source : The Mystery of the Cross by Cardinal George Basil Hume

The human mind cannot understand death.

We face it with fear and uncertainty, revulsion even ; or we turn away from the thought for it is too hard for us to bear.

But faith gives answers when reason fails.

The strong instinct to live points to immortality.

Faith admits us into death's secrets.

Death is not the end of the road, but a gateway to a better place.

It is in this place that our noblest aspirations will be realised.

It is here that we will understand how our experiences of goodness, love, beauty and joy are realities which exist perfectly in God.

It is in heaven that we shall rest in him and our hearts will be restless until they rest in God.

Subject: She is gone
Source : Poem by Anonymous (to whom we owe so much)

You can shed tears that she is gone
Or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all she has left.

Your heart can be empty because you can't see her
Or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her and only that she's gone
Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
Or you can do what she'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

Subject: Remember
Source : Poem by Christina Rossetti

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far that you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

Bigger
Bubbles

Dear Ruby

When you open the box of presents that we sent, you will find that there is a small bottle of glycerine for Mummy.

You can use this for making very large bubbles. The glycerine makes the bubbles stronger — so they can be MUCH larger.

If you enjoy making bubbles (as I do) then you could follow the instructions that I have copied below.

We hope that you enjoy your Christmas presents.

Lots of love from Grandpa & Grandma

INSTRUCTIONS for making HUGE BUBBLES

• Make a soap solution with washing up liquid (10%), water (89%) and glycerine (1%).

• Mix the solution carefully – and don’t whisk it hard or you’ll get lots of small bubbles appearing that make blowing larger ones difficult.

• Use a simple hoop of wire to test out your bubble mixture.

• Now design different hoops to make a square bubble – can you do it? (Six bubbles together will make a square bubble in the centre). If not, make one huge bubble.

Different Dippers :
Take a short piece of pipecleaner and form a loop in it about 4 cm in diameter.
Dip into the bubble solution and gently blow.

Drinking straws make fairly good bubble blowers.
They will hold more bubble juice if 4 short slits (about 5cm) are cut at the bubble end.

The big bubble loop :
Slide two drinking straws onto a piece of string about 1m long.
Tie off the ends to form a loop.
Hold the straws apart to form a big rectangle.
Bring the straws together to close the rectangle and dunk it into a bucket of bubble juice.
Pull it out again and slowly separate the two straws.
A film should form around the loop. If it doesn't break, pull the loop through the air to form a giant bubble.

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CREATING YOUR OWN SEARCH ENGINE

You may already know that there are several free web broswers available, each offering a slightly different layout or facilities. Perhaps you have already tested some alternatives to Microsoft's Internet Explorer — and therefore know that it's quite safe to do so and doesn't stop you from switching back to your normal browser, which remains unaffected on your computer's hard disk.

The FIREFOX web browser is considered to be one of the best, though you may not understand why until you have tested some of its 'add-ons'. It is very easy to get hold of these extra facilities : FIREFOX provides a convenient box on the top righthand corner through which you can get immediate access to 'engines' such as GOOGLE, YAHOO and eBAY.

It also invites you to add umpteem extra engines of your choice. For example, if you live in the States you might wish to have weather reports at your finger tips (from weather.com). And once you have selected your choices these powerful tools are available to you at the click of a button.

For your convenience, here's a list of extra engines that are currently on offer :

One further option is ' ROLLYO ' , which offers you the ability to search the content of a list of specified websites. Think about this one : if, for example, you wanted to see if there is any mention of a particular White Father on any of the following sites, this option would do an immediate search of each site for you:

To create this powerful option all you have to do is itemise the sites you wish to search (on a regular basis or whenever the whim takes you) and give your search engine a name.

That's it. There's nothing more to do. Any time that you want to use it, just click on your search engine's name and type in the 'search word/s' — just as you do when using Google.

And it's free. If you've ever wondered what Heaven is really like, this should give you a feel for it.

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