Dear friends and family,
Just a quick post to let all of you know we finished our 30-day meditation course and we left England yesterday. We are now in Ireland visiting our good friends, Daniel and Lisa.
Our post-retreat breakfast tradition and our brief time spent in Hereford was a lot of fun…. Since we haven’t really had a chance to post photos from the trip so far (for obvious reasons :-)…. we thought we’d just post a bunch of pre-course and post course photos here:
Neither of us have been to Ireland before and we haven’t seen Daniel and Lisa since Sept 2008. So we’ve been looking forward to this visit for a long time… what an amazing treat to be able to spend time with friends who also meditate, right after sitting our course. We’re very lucky…
Our course ended for us with the heart-breaking news of the passing of Jack Layton. We really want to thank all of you who sent us a note about Jack’s passing. Karen’s mother has a tradition with Karen where she sends her an email with all the news that took place while we were away sitting a course. And this time, Carol’s note to us went into great detail regarding the events that took place since August 22. Both of us had the opportunity to work for Jack during our time with the NDP and we are very saddened that he wasn’t able to win this particular battle. More than a loss to Canadian politics, Jack’s passing leaves our country without an eloquent and impassioned voice for justice and equality. His family’s loss is a loss for all of us. It was so moving to see the outpouring of genuine affection and respect that the entire nation showed these last weeks as people paused to honour his significant contribution. He will be greatly missed.
We will post again later in the week – with an Ireland update.
Love and kindness to you all,
k&s
Hi Karen & Scott — Great to hear from you again. Almost exactly a year ago I was touring through Ireland…from the north to the south and east and west. Loved Ireland. I also saw the Book of Kels and thought it beautiful and the magnificent grand library. Wonderful pictures of both of you. You look so happy, but then, you always look happy. Miss you at the Y. Monday morning cyclefit has not been the same.
Beverley
Have been thinking of you two thorughout this last week with news of Layton. If you were here, we might be able to go to the memorial together.
Happy pictures…keep well my friends!
Amy
Hey you two! Good to see your smiling faces again. I’m glad the course was good. So sorry that you had to leave it to hear the terrible news of Jack’s passing. So very, very sad but like you I was really touched by the outpouring of respect for Jack. It was wonderful to see people recognizing his significant contribution to our country and our party.
Take care of each other and I’ll look forward to your next update.
Sandra