Carry On Tuesday part 2

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A few days ago my friend Rosey suddenly surprised everyone with an announcement about her plans for the future. Hopefully you had a chance to read the piece which she wrote on her blog explaining what she’s doing.

I was, to say the least amazed. She has a really comfortable existence. A beautiful home, a job she loves and a circle of friends and family that most would envy. But she’s turning her back on it all. Not just for a short while as she said in her piece, but for anything up to two years.

None of us realised that behind the scenes she’d been planning and preparing for her new life for many months. She said that if we’d known about it we would have tried to talk her out of it. I think she was wrong about that. She can be assured that we are all in awe of her. She has committed herself to something few if any of us would take on.

In case you’ve yet read her post, I need to tell you that Rosey has signed up to the organisation Voluntary Service Overseas. Very soon she’ll be flying out the country to start a new life in a village in the African country Namibia. There she will be spending her days in a village school doing what she does best – inspiring children. But these won’t be the kids of the wealthy residents of Eastbourne. These kids live in a country which has been overtaken by aids. Many have no parents. All of them live in the most basic of homes or hostels. All will benefit from Rosey’s love and care.

She tells me that there is a fairly crude and unreliable internet service so hopefully she’ll be able to keep in touch. I’ve promised to give you any news she may have from time to time although I imagine that for her one day will be much as another.

I spent the last couple of hours with her. It was to say the least a fairly emotional meeting mainly because she’s decided just to slip away with the minimum of fuss. She had said that she was leaving in three weeks. In fact she flies out tomorrow. I didn’t know what to say when she told me .I knew it would be a difficult farewell, but I was under the impression that I had a little while to get used to the idea.

As she got up to leave, she placed a finger against her lips and quoted from a poem I wrote some time ago. “Don’t speak” she said “Words will only steal the moment”

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And then she was gone.

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