About the last episode of Downton

Husband and I sat and watched our recording of the very last episode of Downton, minus the adverts, on Sunday evening.

What a masterpiece of knots unravelled and loose ends tied up, either in the 'there and then' or, if not, in the suggestion of happy endings to come. Just what you want from Christmas television; well, what I want anyway and is that so terrible! The last series was terrific too, in my estimation, after, I felt, some of the over-melodramatic scenes of former episodes.

Reading some snooty reviews in our otherwise excellent Catholic Herald magazine, I feel that I want to tell those critics that they've entirely missed the point of Downton. It was not, essentially, an historical drama, it wasn't about chronological accuracy or exactitude. It was about people, their lives, their relationships, their stories.

Its characterisations have been excellent and the acting superb. The photography, the settings, the world which has been created for us on a Sunday evening, have lifted us into another life, one which has brought real interest and delight. It will be sadly missed.

Thank goodness that we had this Christmas special to relish, to cherish the resolutions and to share in the satisfaction of a story well-told and well ended.

About 'Mary's Meals' (Take 2)

Two days ago, at three minutes to midnight, I finished reading a book which tells the story of the amazing charity named above. The book is called ''The Shed That Fed a Million Children''.
It was easy to read in one sense but very hard in others, dealing as it does with such sad stories of poverty and hunger in terribly difficult situations.
There is tremendous hope in the book though, as ways of really making a difference in the lives of so many have evolved from the efforts of all the dedicated people involved.

If you have a moment, perhaps you could check it out on-line and maybe you might decide to become one of the countless number of people who have decided to help to feed the hungry children of our world.

• It costs £12. 20 to feed a child for a year. (I just checked on google and this is crossed out and now reads 'two children').
• 93p of every £1 donated goes directly to aid.

Husband and I had recently decided to support this charity with a monthly donation. Now I discover that my housekeeping money has stretched to feed not just 20 plus children a year but 40 plus!! How lovely to have increased my extended family as I shall now think of them.
The children have their meals in school, so bodies AND minds are fed. As a Mum, Gran and retired teacher, there is something especially pleasing to me in that.

Postscript

• I haven't mentioned the number of children our donations are feeding in order to boast, because, honestly, the amount isn't mega-bucks; it's only £25 a month, so less than £1 a day and a lot less than it costs us to feed husband, son-at-home and me.
• I've figured out the crossing out of one child to two children! The government is doubling any contribution to this charity for one month up until the 28th of this month. So this means the 40 children are just for December but that's good anyway.

I thought I'd better put the record straight!