Some years ago, I was in the UK for my friend's wedding & after a week there, went on to see some parts of Europe on my own. It was safe. It was a tour bus so I wasn't really on my own.

I met with an American Chinese lady & her teenaged son in the tour group. Sherlyn & Victor were really sweet & let me hangout with them on the tour. Actually, they watched over me & protected me from a slightly lecherous (when he was drinking) man from India. He wasn't that bad (I think ?) but I didn't want to find out lol.

Anyway, Sherlyn & I kept in touch for a while. When hubby, kids & I were in LA, I should have contacted her & gone to San Fran to meet with her. But we were a little pressed for time, wanting to do so many things...Disneyland, San Diego, Universal, sightseeing, shopping etc etc. Then we lost touch cos I messed up with my address book.

While rummaging through some old stuff, I came upon on an email address.

Took a chance & sent off an email last night. Today I received a reply from Sherlyn. Awesome !

She has retired from teaching & now runs th Purple Silk Music Education Foundation in Oakland, CA USA. Read about it on www.purplesilk.org It is impressive.

The friend's wedding in the UK I mentioned earlier...she was my penfriend since I was 12. Lynn lives in Manchester which isn't as dreary a city as most people make it out to be. We have kept up with the writing though a little less frequently these days. We were doing weekly letters before. Anyway, I like emailing while she doesn't. She prefers the old fashioned way of communicating by letters.

From penfriends, we went one step better & met. Lynn & her now husband Martin came to Singapore twice. Met our families, kids & friends. I went to their wedding as their matron of honour. Though that was the first time I'd met her family, I felt like I knew them because of the many years of writing. And who said that the British were aloof. They are warm & friendly, treated me like one of their own & were definitely party animals at the wedding. Lynn's mum is one mean singer. The Connie Francis type & genre.

This got me looking for old photos...

An English wedding in Manchester & William Wordsworth's Dove Cottage in Grasmere, Lake District.

My knights in shining armour & delicious fish n chips.

Versailles & gargoyles at Notre Dame.

Luxembourg & Lucerne.

San Diego, Disneyland & Tijuana.

Hubby with friends & fishing in Perth.

Gold Coast. How little the kiddos were.

Lament for the day : I saw a photo of my friend's son & he is now a grown man. Where have the years gone !