As we so often do, we face the new year looking back, a rich past and a blank future.
What makes the new year exciting? Hope. As quoted by Alexander Pope "Hope springs eternal in the human breast."
As the old year slips away the thoughts that cross my mind are not only personal ones, but the ones that have been milestones in my life. There have been big events in the world that have changed our lives and our perceptions. Mostly these changes have been for the better in the name of progress, but unfortunately some not. The clock and the calendar remind me that there are only a few hours left in 2024.
I am a pre-war baby born in 1938. As a very young child living in Cape Town my only "war memories" are the black paper covering the windows and standing in line-ups with my mother for 'rations' - whatever that meant. There must have been many notable events during that time but even my good memory cannot recall.
Relocating to London, England was the most enriching period in my life. History became a foremost interest. The part of London where I lived had been hard hit during the war so the 1960s still saw a lot of rebuilding and clean-up. The London I visited in the 2016 was a far cry from the one I left in 1970.
The last and largest portion of my life happened when I crossed the pond and settled in Chilliwack, a very small village compared to London. It is a delight to watch it grow into this beautiful and very important city in the Fraser Valley and I have continued my interest in history in a slightly different way, with more emphasis on the homes and people of yesteryear.
I have lived, worked, retired and still volunteer in this beautiful place and was very involved in the community when I wrote a weekly article in The Progress titled "Kitchen Kapers." This proved a very interesting and enjoyable period of nearly three years but my work in music became my priority. Since then I have submitted a few articles and published at the discretion of the editor, the last was at the start of COVID.
In my advancing years I promised myself that if I survived COVID in sound mind I would write my final article. Well, I made it.
Thank you and best wishes,
Herta Stoffels
