It’s been another sad day today, as just 5 weeks after saying our final farewells to my Dad, we said a final farewell to my Aunt Mae, Mary Waddell Gilchrist (23/10/1922 – 03/04/2013).
My intention again today, just at it had been on the day of my Dad’s funeral (see the blog post Farewell), was to write a tribute to my Aunt Mae, but I’m afraid again it’s just too soon for me to be able to write anything that would do her justice. At some point in the coming weeks I hope to write tributes to both Dad and Aunt Mae, but for today I simply want to say thank you.
Thank you to so many of you who have offered words of comfort and solace to me, Mum and Sandy over these last few weeks as first we lost my Dad, and then my Aunt Mae. I really can’t express strongly enough just how much your support in person, by phone and/or card, has meant to us all.
To those of you who have helped us get everything sorted out for today, I’d like to say a huge thank you to you.
To the many of you who shared with us today at Rutherglen Salvation Army for the service of thanksgiving, then at Rutherglen cemetery, and then afterwards back at Rutherglen Salvation Army for refreshments, thank you for taking the time to support us on this most difficult of days, as I’m sure it was very much appreciated by all my family. I’m sure my Aunt Mae would have been embarrassed by all that has been said about her today, but as far as I’m concerned, it simply shows the huge impact and influence Aunt Mae had on the many people she met during her lifetime.
I’ll miss you Aunt Mae, and just as I said about my Dad a few weeks ago, I will never ever forget you.
Rest in peace Aunt Mae xxx
For many of us “Home Sweet Home” will be a phrase I’m sure we will have said or thought many times.
There’s also many people in countries ravaged by war, poverty, natural disasters who find themselves with no home. It’s sad and a disgrace that other countries don;t do more to assist people in these countries.
I know in my places these days, these are a “Churches Together” group where different religions/organisations come together to share views and exchange ideas of how we can best use our resources in our community.
When a new motorway (or extension to an existing motorway) opens, how do they go about opening the new bit of roads and all the associated on and off-ramps to the mew road at the same time?
Since those days, further discussions have obviously taken place, the motorway’s route through the city has been amended slightly, and the go-ahead has been given. The result is an additional five miles of motorway which will provide an alternative route for traffic travelling north on the M74 to the far side of 
Today in the 
Mum phoned me after I got home to see if I was OK. She kept apologising for Dad even though I told her she didn’t have to, and it wasn’t Dad’s fault anyway it was simply his illness. Wednesday was a tough night, I was upset all night and slept very little as I kept thinking about Dad and how much Mum had to cope with.
In February this year the nephew of one of my managers was murdered in 
If I’m honest I must admit that I stopped praying specifically for her, her family and Reamonn’s friends a number of weeks ago. It’s almost as if just because the immediate aftermath and media attentions, the funeral etc were all over, so the events of that 
I’d heard a number of people talking about this series…not always in the best light, so I thought I should check it out for myself. So on Monday night I watched the final episode in the series…and boy did it pull at my heartstrings. The reminder that there are so many people so close to home living below the poverty line, feeling as though they have no hope for tomorrow, really troubled me.
