1 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,420 Hey humans. How's it going? Susan Ruth here. 2 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:15,180 Thanks for listening to another episode of Hey Human Podcast. 3 00:00:16,690 --> 00:00:19,580 This is episode 365, 4 00:00:20,240 --> 00:00:23,340 and I had a conversation with Edna Klein. 5 00:00:25,780 --> 00:00:29,340 Edna blows my mind. She's rescued children in India, 6 00:00:29,850 --> 00:00:34,420 been an olive farmer with her husband Jack and rescued dogs in Spain, 7 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:37,580 uh, in her younger years. She was a journalist. 8 00:00:37,950 --> 00:00:42,220 She's been a clothing designer and is a recycled materials artist, 9 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:47,540 and she teaches kids how to turn junk and trash into beautiful art and upcycled 10 00:00:47,540 --> 00:00:48,373 usefulness. 11 00:00:48,870 --> 00:00:53,460 She's an octogenarian who wrote the World Beloved 12 00:00:53,770 --> 00:00:58,660 poem about losing a pet rainbow bridge when she was herself, 13 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:03,620 but a bereaved 19 year old, so decades ago. And she, 14 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:09,020 she didn't even know what an impact those beautiful words 15 00:01:10,130 --> 00:01:14,220 have had on the world. She had no idea. She found out much, much, 16 00:01:14,290 --> 00:01:19,220 much late in life that this poem she wrote at 19 about her 17 00:01:19,220 --> 00:01:24,220 beloved dog major had gone on to touch the lives 18 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,900 of hundreds of millions of people. Just incredible. 19 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,420 She even reads the poem on this episode, 20 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:36,660 and I gotta tell you as she read it, I felt my own beloved, 21 00:01:36,950 --> 00:01:39,460 Mikey, who I lost a handful of years ago. 22 00:01:40,340 --> 00:01:44,380 I felt him curled up next to me by my side as I listened to her read it. 23 00:01:45,740 --> 00:01:50,180 I was sobbing. It was so beautiful. So, yeah, 24 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,980 I'm really excited for you to hear this episode. Just woof, 25 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:59,980 you know, so woof. It's so great, so excited. 26 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:04,620 All right. Check out hey human podcast.com for links. 27 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:08,820 And to learn more about my guests in the show, check out Susan ruth.com. 28 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:13,500 To learn more about me and my other artistic endeavors follows Susan Ruth 29 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:18,340 ism. And hey, human podcast on social media. Find my albums on Spotify, 30 00:02:18,510 --> 00:02:20,940 apple Music, Amazon music, wherever you get your music, 31 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:23,380 you can look for my most recent record. 32 00:02:23,490 --> 00:02:25,500 It's called All I Ever Wanted Was Everything. 33 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:30,900 And Check Out My Relationships and Sex Show with sexologist and healthcare 34 00:02:30,900 --> 00:02:34,860 practitioner, Mara Edelman. It's on YouTube Under Are We There yet? 35 00:02:34,860 --> 00:02:38,140 Podcast show rate, review, and subscribe. Hey, 36 00:02:38,140 --> 00:02:41,620 human podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. 37 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:47,300 And thank you for listening. Be well. Be kind, please, 38 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:52,740 you know, lift each other up. I know I say this every episode, but I mean it, 39 00:02:53,190 --> 00:02:58,180 we're in this together. Be love, just, yeah, it's, 40 00:02:58,180 --> 00:03:02,060 it's good stuff. And enjoy this episode with Edna, 41 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:05,260 who is an absolute delight. 42 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:10,660 Her accent is great. She's Scottish, and I just, 43 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:11,633 I'm so tickled, 44 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:16,140 I'm so thankful that sh that she said she would be on the show. 45 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:19,220 And shout out to Paul Erez, 46 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:23,540 who gave me her contact information and helped me reach out to her. 47 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,380 He wrote an incredible article about her and, uh, 48 00:03:28,460 --> 00:03:30,540 I will put that in the links page as well, 49 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,860 so that you can read it cuz it's a really lovely article. And yeah, 50 00:03:35,250 --> 00:03:39,220 just thank you. Keep spreading. Hey, human around. 51 00:03:39,510 --> 00:03:42,940 Share it with your friends and your family and, and all that good news. 52 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:46,940 And let's get into this. All right, here we go. 53 00:03:54,570 --> 00:03:55,403 Hello. 54 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:56,713 Edda? 55 00:03:57,780 --> 00:03:58,720 Yes. Hello. 56 00:03:58,820 --> 00:04:00,480 How are you? Hello. Hi. 57 00:04:01,380 --> 00:04:06,320 I'm fine, thank you. Um, I'm sort of a bit, um, Susan. 58 00:04:06,700 --> 00:04:07,880 Yes. I forget names. 59 00:04:08,460 --> 00:04:09,760 Yes, Susan. That's correct. 60 00:04:11,590 --> 00:04:14,720 Okay, that's lovely. Now we're on Unen . 61 00:04:15,540 --> 00:04:19,680 So I was reading your article on the internet. Well, 62 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:21,800 I was going through things and looking at it. 63 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:27,120 I learned of you through Paul Coones and Paul was on my show as well. 64 00:04:27,780 --> 00:04:31,560 And I randomly saw your article that he wrote, 65 00:04:32,010 --> 00:04:35,320 which was lovely. Uhhuh and reached out to him. Mm-hmm. 66 00:04:35,540 --> 00:04:36,373 Yes, he's good. 67 00:04:36,470 --> 00:04:38,240 Yeah, he's fantastic. Mm-hmm. . 68 00:04:38,580 --> 00:04:41,960 And I asked him if he could introduce us, 69 00:04:42,030 --> 00:04:45,360 because I thought it would be lovely to have you on my show. , 70 00:04:45,470 --> 00:04:46,303 here you are. 71 00:04:46,380 --> 00:04:49,760 Oh, wow. Yeah, that would be good. 72 00:04:50,870 --> 00:04:54,320 Need to be rehearsed. Will it? Or we just do it off the cuff. Oh. 73 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,760 We just do it like old friends talking on the phone. 74 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:02,280 . Yes. Well, I'm, I'm 82 now. 75 00:05:02,280 --> 00:05:05,960 I'll be 83 in September. And I take every opportunity, you know, 76 00:05:06,060 --> 00:05:10,960 to just enjoy myself. I spend a lot of time over here. 77 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:16,480 I go around the schools and I teach the children how to recycle things. 78 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:17,560 I love. 79 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:17,740 That. 80 00:05:17,740 --> 00:05:21,600 And then I have a group of children that come to my house and they all have 81 00:05:21,670 --> 00:05:25,120 something that they want to recycle or they think they could recycle it, 82 00:05:25,140 --> 00:05:28,960 and then we talk about it and decide what they're going to do. 83 00:05:29,590 --> 00:05:32,760 Then they make it, finish it, and they're so proud of them. 84 00:05:33,300 --> 00:05:37,200 And then they go back to the school and teach the other children how to do it. 85 00:05:37,940 --> 00:05:39,120 You were born in Scotland? 86 00:05:41,090 --> 00:05:44,150 Yes, I was born in Aberdeen Shire in Scotland. 87 00:05:44,370 --> 00:05:48,710 And then we moved up to Inverness and live about, 88 00:05:49,330 --> 00:05:50,163 um, 89 00:05:50,380 --> 00:05:54,430 five or six miles from Ness where Ness is. 90 00:05:55,010 --> 00:05:56,430 Did you have a lot of pets growing. 91 00:05:56,430 --> 00:05:59,220 Up? Well, ma Major was my very own. 92 00:05:59,300 --> 00:06:03,620 I had a twin brother and an older, uh, brother and sister. 93 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:07,980 So we all had a dog. We had to share the dog. And then, 94 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:12,300 but Major was my very own dog, the first one I ever had, which was mine. 95 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,700 And I just loved him so much. You know, we adored, 96 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:20,860 we just adored each other. And my mom, she used to say to me, 97 00:06:21,180 --> 00:06:25,300 I don't know how you get major to be so obedient and look at him, 98 00:06:25,300 --> 00:06:29,540 he looks at you just adores you. And that that's what it was. You know, 99 00:06:29,540 --> 00:06:32,300 we just had a very close relationship. It was lovely. 100 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:38,020 And then he was, he was really quite ill. I can't even remember. 101 00:06:38,090 --> 00:06:41,780 It's a long, long time ago. I can't even remember what the illness was, 102 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:44,940 but he died in my arms. And I've, 103 00:06:45,050 --> 00:06:49,900 I've never ever forgotten that feeling of losing him. 104 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,980 And, and I was only 19. And of course you're very emotional at that time. 105 00:06:55,060 --> 00:06:59,860 I was, oh, easily into the end of the second day and I was still crying. 106 00:07:00,060 --> 00:07:03,340 I couldn't eat and I couldn't sleep. I was so distressed. 107 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,980 And my mom came through and she used to call me Nanny when I was young. 108 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:13,380 And it's cuz my twin brother used to call me Nanny. And, um, 109 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:16,980 she said, look, nanny, 110 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:21,540 you'll have to stop crying. You're just gonna make yourself ill. She said, 111 00:07:21,540 --> 00:07:25,780 I'll tell you what to do. I know how sad you are losing Major. 112 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:27,313 So she said, 113 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:31,580 you write everything down that you're feeling right now. 114 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:34,260 And I, you know, 115 00:07:34,580 --> 00:07:38,660 I I I just stopped crying and stopped crying and I thought, 116 00:07:38,660 --> 00:07:43,460 that's what I've got to do. So I was really just, I got a, 117 00:07:43,580 --> 00:07:47,580 I took a page outta my sister's book, her Schoolbook, she's an older sister. 118 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,580 And, uh, it was a clear page. So I wrote the first page of it. 119 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:57,420 You have read it, have you? Oh yes. Any bridge. Yes, yes. . 120 00:07:58,090 --> 00:08:02,660 Well, I wrote the first page and then when I turned it over, I thought, oh, 121 00:08:02,770 --> 00:08:06,700 what have I done? It was one of my sister's work, look, I'd taken it out of, 122 00:08:06,900 --> 00:08:08,340 and that page was written on. 123 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:13,660 So I sort of rubbed out the half of the page and wrote it and then scribbled out 124 00:08:13,660 --> 00:08:18,100 the rest so she wouldn't recognize it. . And that was how, um, 125 00:08:19,500 --> 00:08:20,740 was born. And it was, 126 00:08:21,380 --> 00:08:24,940 I felt like Major was talking to me, 127 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:29,220 but at the same time I thought, there's more to this. 128 00:08:29,220 --> 00:08:33,260 There's absolutely more to this. And then after I sat down, you know, 129 00:08:33,260 --> 00:08:34,140 and thought about it, 130 00:08:34,180 --> 00:08:38,580 I thought this was God I was absolutely stricken with, 131 00:08:38,730 --> 00:08:42,980 with terrible, terrible pain of losing him. Never imagined anything like that. 132 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:48,660 And then, um, after I had written it, I, 133 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:52,580 my mom said to me, oh, it's a bit messy. She said, 134 00:08:52,580 --> 00:08:56,500 would you write it again and make it nice and neat? And I said, no, 135 00:08:56,720 --> 00:08:58,940 cuz this is just how I feel. You know, 136 00:08:58,940 --> 00:09:03,940 when I wrote it and I was crying and I I had tear stains on one of the 137 00:09:03,970 --> 00:09:06,660 corners. So I, um, 138 00:09:07,810 --> 00:09:11,620 tore the corner off it. And that's, and then that was it. 139 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:14,500 The Rainbow Bridge was born and I, 140 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:18,700 two or three friends came around cuz they knew I was so upset. 141 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:23,460 And we all went out and we had our lunch somewhere, I can't remember now. And, 142 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:27,620 um, they, they were all crying. 143 00:09:27,620 --> 00:09:30,820 They were all sitting crying in the restaurant when they, 144 00:09:30,820 --> 00:09:34,900 when I read them the poem. So they asked if they could have a copy, 145 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:39,820 and I said, yes, but I'll have to write them. I don't have a typewriter. I mean, 146 00:09:39,820 --> 00:09:44,540 this was the way back in 1959. And, um, 147 00:09:45,380 --> 00:09:48,620 I just wrote them that it was a bit better. 148 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:51,940 And there was spelling states and things marked, 149 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:57,540 but I think that's the only way that my poem must have got out, 150 00:09:58,050 --> 00:10:02,260 because they're the only ones that got a copy. They just loved it. 151 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:06,260 And of course they were showing it to everybody and telling everybody about it. 152 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:11,820 And I, I didn't know it had gone so far. I had no idea it had gone like that. 153 00:10:11,820 --> 00:10:16,500 It was my personal poem and just the feelings, 154 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:18,060 my darling dog, you know. 155 00:10:18,460 --> 00:10:22,620 I, I mean, I've read it so many times over my life and I, I had a dog, 156 00:10:22,620 --> 00:10:25,620 like you had major, I had a dog, Mikey, that was my soulmate, 157 00:10:26,170 --> 00:10:28,580 that felt uhhuh when he passed away. 158 00:10:28,580 --> 00:10:32,340 It felt like my heart had been ripped from my body. And. 159 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:34,060 Yes, that's how I felt. 160 00:10:34,490 --> 00:10:35,980 Yeah, it's the worst pain. 161 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:39,780 And it's interesting because reading your poem, 162 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:45,660 it feels like you're, you're, you're reaching through the, 163 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:50,220 the ether and somebody who knows somebody who really knows is, 164 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:53,180 is reporting back to you to let you know that mm-hmm. 165 00:10:53,180 --> 00:10:56,820 This is what's gonna happen and this is how it's all going to play out. 166 00:10:57,490 --> 00:11:00,100 What I found, what, what my friends said, you know, 167 00:11:00,370 --> 00:11:04,580 that makes us feel unafraid of ever dying. 168 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:10,740 And that was exactly, I, that wasn't how I felt, but that's what they felt, 169 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:13,980 you know, because it, whenever they died, they'd all got pets. 170 00:11:14,210 --> 00:11:17,260 They would go over and meet their pets. And it, it did, 171 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:21,660 it sued them so much because really, I mean, we, we all felt, 172 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:26,740 we all had dogs and we all felt just so sad at the thought 173 00:11:26,740 --> 00:11:30,620 of even losing them, you know? And they were, they were, 174 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:35,260 it was just so sad. I said, well, I'm sorry. And they said, don't be sorry. 175 00:11:35,290 --> 00:11:36,220 It's an experience. 176 00:11:36,900 --> 00:11:38,500 I still miss my kids 10 years. 177 00:11:39,290 --> 00:11:42,580 Yeah. Oh my gosh. I do. But I do have more dogs. 178 00:11:43,050 --> 00:11:48,020 I've always had dogs from then on. Cause my mom said to me, look, 179 00:11:48,560 --> 00:11:51,860 you're going to carry on breaking your heart over this. She says, 180 00:11:52,350 --> 00:11:57,060 major would want you to get another dog just to keep you happy 181 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:01,220 and stop you crying. And that was what I did. I got another one, 182 00:12:01,220 --> 00:12:04,300 A golden Labrador just like major. Oh. 183 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:08,900 And I felt I hadn't lost them then. And my mom always said that. 184 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,900 She said, it's not, it's not bad to replace your dog. 185 00:12:13,570 --> 00:12:15,020 It's because you have a lovely, 186 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:20,020 lovely memory of him and you just don't want to, you know, 187 00:12:20,020 --> 00:12:22,020 to lose him. And that's what I felt. 188 00:12:22,690 --> 00:12:27,460 Because you think, oh, how can any dog replace the dog that I love so much? 189 00:12:27,460 --> 00:12:27,820 Mm-hmm. 190 00:12:27,820 --> 00:12:31,900 , I know it's difficult, but it it does. I mean, it does happen. 191 00:12:32,060 --> 00:12:36,660 I mean, I've lost down, as I said, I'm over 80 now, and I've had many, 192 00:12:36,690 --> 00:12:37,523 many dogs. 193 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:43,220 And at the moment I have Missy and she's a little b jean 194 00:12:43,220 --> 00:12:47,700 freeze. And shes fully trained as a carer for the elderly. 195 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,340 And she's a wonderful little dog. And my friend Katie, 196 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:56,460 friend Katie and Andrew, who have a holiday home for dogs, 197 00:12:57,440 --> 00:12:59,980 and they always used to take my dogs if I was on holiday. 198 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:05,860 And Katie arrived at the door and she had this little white bi jean 199 00:13:05,860 --> 00:13:08,900 friends with her. And I said, oh, she just brought me to see it. And I said, 200 00:13:08,900 --> 00:13:12,820 well, where, where is it having a holiday from this one? And she said, well, 201 00:13:13,420 --> 00:13:16,780 I had it now for three weeks. She said, she told me the story, 202 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,780 the old lady died. And she said he, um, 203 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:26,060 her son and his wife had to take, uh, 204 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:28,020 the review. And, um, 205 00:13:28,610 --> 00:13:32,780 they arrived at Katie's house and said, we're going on a holiday, 206 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:37,900 can you keep this little last for us? Yes. She said, that's fine. 207 00:13:37,900 --> 00:13:41,900 And she didn't take anything in advance, you know, money or anything, 208 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:46,980 but they just didn't come back. They never came back. What? And, 209 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:51,620 um, oh, it was just so sad. Anyway, what a happy little thing she is. 210 00:13:51,630 --> 00:13:52,700 She's absolutely lovely. 211 00:13:53,390 --> 00:13:58,340 Eight o'clock every night she goes to my bedroom and 212 00:13:58,340 --> 00:14:01,620 she comes through with one slipper and goes back for the next one. 213 00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:06,980 And then she goes back and drags my pajamas through the top and then the 214 00:14:06,980 --> 00:14:11,820 trousers, and then she goes into the bathroom and pulls down my dressing gown. 215 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:15,460 And then she throws that as well, drags it through, 216 00:14:15,680 --> 00:14:20,660 and then she niles it all into a heap and sits down and looks up at me and 217 00:14:20,660 --> 00:14:22,980 goes, oof. Get ready for bed. 218 00:14:24,210 --> 00:14:25,460 That is so adorable. 219 00:14:26,100 --> 00:14:29,260 . She, she is, she's absolutely wonderful. 220 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:31,980 She never goes through a door in front of me. 221 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:35,180 She doesn't go through a gate in front of me. She watches me, 222 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:37,020 and if she thinks I'm in danger, 223 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,460 she comes down and goes in front of me and sits looking up at me giving a little 224 00:14:41,630 --> 00:14:46,420 growl. You know, don't do it. But she's an absolute darling. 225 00:14:46,630 --> 00:14:49,740 She's just absolutely lovely. So that's little Missy. 226 00:14:49,940 --> 00:14:52,460 I did not know that dogs were trained for elder care. 227 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:56,020 Yes, yes. They're trained over here for care for the Elder, 228 00:14:56,080 --> 00:15:00,020 and they go and get things for them, you know, and just help with everything. 229 00:15:00,020 --> 00:15:04,660 And Missy's still the same. She doesn't like to be outside away from me. 230 00:15:04,660 --> 00:15:09,660 She likes to be close. And if I have a, we have a big wood, you know, 231 00:15:09,660 --> 00:15:13,420 just along from our house, so I take them to walk there every day. 232 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:18,700 And my other dog is Lucy. And, um, he is, 233 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:23,100 uh, an Andalusian pco Oh. And they're used, 234 00:15:23,770 --> 00:15:27,940 used in spring in Spain for catching, um, 235 00:15:29,570 --> 00:15:34,420 bore pigs bore in the mountains and the rabbits 236 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,460 and foxes and whatever, you know, that's what they're trained for. 237 00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:42,580 And my husband and I, eventually after, oh, just, 238 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:48,820 we retired and Jack decided that he wanted to buy an 239 00:15:48,820 --> 00:15:53,740 olive grove or olive grove, and we would like to move to Spain. 240 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:59,420 So that's what we did. And we had a beautiful house and three, 241 00:15:59,780 --> 00:16:02,420 I think it's three years, difficulty remembering, um, 242 00:16:02,650 --> 00:16:07,420 huge Olive grove and just a lovely time, you know, I loved it. 243 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,860 But anyway, um, the man that was down below us, 244 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:16,420 he had his schools and his house and lots of things. 245 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:22,380 And we used to hear every day these dogs squealing and him 246 00:16:22,660 --> 00:16:27,260 shouting. And I, I said to him, you know, what are you doing to these dogs? Um, 247 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:32,300 she them in Spanish. And he said, there's been noura. 248 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,660 Oh my God. I was so mad at the first time I ever felt like swearing at somebody. 249 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:38,340 But anyway, 250 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:42,780 the next thing he did was took one of his dogs and hang it from a tree so that I 251 00:16:42,780 --> 00:16:46,660 could see it. Oh my God. It was awful. It was awful. 252 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:50,140 And I just cried and cried. When I think of it, 253 00:16:50,260 --> 00:16:53,260 I I was absolutely horrified. 254 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:57,620 And a little while, wasn't long after he did that, 255 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,420 we had a sort of a huge, it was, it's a small earthquake, 256 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:05,780 but we lived in the mountains as well. And we had a, 257 00:17:05,820 --> 00:17:10,540 a very big wall at the edge of our property. And, 258 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:15,660 um, the guy down below, he was on the end and we, as, 259 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,620 as I said, this came down because it was like an earthquake. 260 00:17:19,620 --> 00:17:23,540 It was so that fell well, well was broken. 261 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:28,020 And anyway, to cut a long story short, my other, well, 262 00:17:28,020 --> 00:17:30,340 I had two spaniels at that time. Mm-hmm. , 263 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:33,420 we had Megan and puffing and, um, 264 00:17:33,790 --> 00:17:36,540 Megan came running along the terrace and she was pulling, 265 00:17:36,540 --> 00:17:39,740 pulling at my trouser leg, you know, come and see, come and see. 266 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:43,180 So we were a huge long open terrace at the front. 267 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:48,260 And then round the end was the laundry area. And he rushed, 268 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:52,020 and, and the door to the washing machine was open and he popped his head inside. 269 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:57,100 And then he came out and pulled my trouser leg over to sea and there was this 270 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:01,180 little puppy, and it was in my washing machine. 271 00:18:02,180 --> 00:18:06,500 Absolutely terrified. Absolutely. Anyway, 272 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:10,540 um, my friend Alma was our vet, 273 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:13,180 and her husband was the local judge. 274 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:18,860 So she went to see him and, and they taught him actually, 275 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:20,620 you know, being bad to one of the dogs. 276 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:25,540 He used to train these puppies so that they, and they would've obey. 277 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,340 And then they had to go and kill something. 278 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:30,820 So they might have been about six months old. 279 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:35,500 And by that time they were fully trained to, you know, just to be a hunting dog. 280 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:40,980 So this little dog, we just worked at it. Anyway, almo came up and she said, 281 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:44,780 oh, and what a mess. She said, 282 00:18:44,850 --> 00:18:48,900 there's a room broken and his leg is broken. And she said, he's just, 283 00:18:49,030 --> 00:18:53,980 these are her words, he's, but he's beaten to hell. Oh my goodness. 284 00:18:54,100 --> 00:18:56,900 I was so upset. I knew there was something terribly wrong with him, 285 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:00,300 but I almost sorted that out. And she said, he's not getting off with this. 286 00:19:00,810 --> 00:19:04,340 He's not getting off with it. So, uh, she, 287 00:19:04,460 --> 00:19:09,340 I went down with major and she put the, she set his leg, put a plaster, 288 00:19:09,340 --> 00:19:14,340 and I watched her doing it, everything. And then we came back. And, 289 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:16,940 um, but later that afternoon, 290 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:22,140 she went down to see this man and she asked to see his dogs 291 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:24,460 and she said she was just horrified. 292 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:28,620 She turned around and went straight to the police station and said, look, 293 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:33,500 you've gotta come and sort this man out and the police for what? 294 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:38,220 And the, the policeman said, oh gosh, that's okay. Um, 295 00:19:38,220 --> 00:19:41,460 they're just training their dogs, so seemingly they all do that. 296 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:46,620 So she got her husband, who I said was a local judge, and, um, 297 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:51,980 she took, he was with her when she went there. And he, he took, 298 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:55,380 uh, all of the dogs away. 299 00:19:55,660 --> 00:19:59,700 Alma went and got the ball and took them away and the guy didn't object cuz the 300 00:19:59,700 --> 00:20:02,580 judge was there. And anyways, 301 00:20:02,620 --> 00:20:06,460 I had him charged and he had eight years in prison, 302 00:20:07,150 --> 00:20:11,460 which was great delight to me. And then Spain, 303 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:14,980 you don't live off the government while you're in prison. 304 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:18,580 You have to have the money to pay. 305 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:23,980 So anybody that has a house and property, they lose everything. And also, 306 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:27,500 um, there's, there's no national, you know, 307 00:20:27,500 --> 00:20:31,060 government money or anything goes to them. But he lost that. 308 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:35,100 And all his dogs were taken away. And then he lost his land as well. 309 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:40,860 Excuse me, what are you barking at? No, no, that was giving a bar. 310 00:20:41,220 --> 00:20:45,780 Probably somebody No, it's all right. Sorry about that. That's okay. Um, 311 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:48,900 and he, he also, um, 312 00:20:49,290 --> 00:20:53,660 Jose let the other prisoners in the prison, 313 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,020 he let them know what he had done to this little dog. 314 00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,660 So his life wasn't pleasant in there. 315 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:03,540 So he had his ribs bashed a few times and a broken leg. 316 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:07,820 So it maybe taught him a lesson, but I, I don't know, it's a terrible, 317 00:21:08,340 --> 00:21:09,980 terrible thing to do to dogs. 318 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:11,073 Oh yeah. 319 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:13,740 My, he has never been smacked since. 320 00:21:13,850 --> 00:21:18,740 I've just loved him and he's so loving and obedient and, you know, 321 00:21:19,220 --> 00:21:22,140 I can take a bone outta his mouth and he doesn't even grumble. 322 00:21:22,850 --> 00:21:27,500 He's absolutely wonderful. Aw. And this is the same because she's fully trained. 323 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:33,380 So I'm, I, he's now 12 and I'm thinking, 324 00:21:33,380 --> 00:21:37,860 well, if he's going to live as long as my spaniels, I'll be so happy. Um, 325 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:39,060 my spaniels lived, 326 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:43,740 puffin lived to 21 that was in Spain, 327 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:46,900 and then Megan lived till 19. 328 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:50,300 That's incredible, because Spaniels don't usually live that long. 329 00:21:52,290 --> 00:21:55,220 Well, they don't, but I think the thing is that they never, 330 00:21:55,650 --> 00:21:59,380 they only had raw meat and suitable vegetables. 331 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,860 All their meat was raw because that's the way they live naturally. And that's, 332 00:22:03,860 --> 00:22:06,700 that's what they had. And, and they, they did, 333 00:22:06,700 --> 00:22:09,300 they didn't get things like sweeties and biscuits, 334 00:22:09,300 --> 00:22:13,180 full of oatmeal and things like that. I think that's what, 335 00:22:14,340 --> 00:22:15,860 I think that's what shortens their lives. 336 00:22:16,420 --> 00:22:17,253 Interesting. 337 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,060 And Nui is, um, 338 00:22:21,570 --> 00:22:26,100 he's the same and so is Missy. They just get raw meat and fish and chicken. 339 00:22:27,020 --> 00:22:31,590 Getting back to the Rainbow Bridge. The Rainbow Bridge has been shared. And, 340 00:22:32,690 --> 00:22:36,750 and sometimes people erroneously claim that they wrote it. And, uh, 341 00:22:36,750 --> 00:22:41,030 hundreds of millions of people have read your poem 342 00:22:41,610 --> 00:22:46,110 and taken it to heart and, and had a sense of peace because of it. 343 00:22:47,170 --> 00:22:48,150 Is it so mm-hmm. , 344 00:22:48,330 --> 00:22:52,430 is it so strange for you to know that it's been read by millions upon millions? 345 00:22:52,610 --> 00:22:56,190 Friend of mine lost her dog when she went to the vets. 346 00:22:56,530 --> 00:23:01,310 She came to show me that this lovely poem she'd got. And I said, that's mine. 347 00:23:01,730 --> 00:23:05,790 No. She said, I got it from the vet, it's not yours. I said, , it is. 348 00:23:05,950 --> 00:23:10,350 I wrote it. And she said, oh my goodness me. So it's, 349 00:23:10,380 --> 00:23:11,070 it's gone around. 350 00:23:11,070 --> 00:23:15,990 And now I've realized that every vet in the country has my poem and they give it 351 00:23:15,990 --> 00:23:19,990 to people when they lose a dog. Yeah. Or lose an animal, you know? 352 00:23:19,990 --> 00:23:21,110 And I think that's wonderful. 353 00:23:21,450 --> 00:23:24,750 Is that how you found out? You found out because of your friend? 354 00:23:26,410 --> 00:23:31,110 Yes. That's how I found out. I had no idea to gone so far. And I, 355 00:23:31,790 --> 00:23:35,670 I then I went to my vet and um, he, 356 00:23:36,050 --> 00:23:40,790 he acted down on his knees when I told him. And he, and I said, look, 357 00:23:40,790 --> 00:23:43,910 this is the original. And he, he went down on his knees. He said, 358 00:23:43,910 --> 00:23:48,820 do you realize that this is all over the world? And I said, no, 359 00:23:48,820 --> 00:23:53,060 I didn't. But I said, I saw the one that you'd given to my friend. 360 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:57,180 So I said, I thought I would come in and give you a copy of my one. 361 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:00,900 And he was absolutely delight. So from then on, 362 00:24:01,330 --> 00:24:05,900 it's just been a steady thing of phone calls and then people sending 363 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:10,900 emails. And Paul does so much for me. Yes. He's a lovely, lovely man. 364 00:24:11,290 --> 00:24:12,123 He's so much. 365 00:24:12,250 --> 00:24:15,260 Such a lovely man. It's great. And I'm, I'm glad, I mean, 366 00:24:15,260 --> 00:24:20,260 I understand the idea that when you write something like this that changes the 367 00:24:20,260 --> 00:24:23,060 world and that it doesn't. I do. 368 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:26,180 And it doesn't feel like maybe it belongs to you, but you did. 369 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,500 You were the channel for it. You were the writer. 370 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:30,620 So I'm glad that you're getting the recognition. 371 00:24:32,250 --> 00:24:36,620 Yeah, well it's wonderful, but it's also very wonderful the way it happened, 372 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:39,620 you know? Yeah. It just, it, 373 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:43,740 it just couldn't be anything else than from God, you know? I mean, 374 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:48,100 so many millions of people have it, you know, it's even been, um, 375 00:24:48,100 --> 00:24:51,740 translated into Russian. It's amazing. 376 00:24:52,540 --> 00:24:55,580 I have to explain to you why I'm forgetting things. I had a stroke. 377 00:24:55,930 --> 00:24:57,860 I've actually had three small ones. Oh. 378 00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:00,900 But the only thing it affected was my memory. You, 379 00:25:00,900 --> 00:25:05,340 when I first one and I came out of hospital, I didn't even know my name. 380 00:25:05,500 --> 00:25:08,220 I didn't even know I had dogs. I didn't know where I stayed. 381 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:13,140 And I had to work hard to get the whole lot back again. Almost all of it back. 382 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:17,620 Mm. So it's been a lesson for me, you know, 383 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:22,860 to learn what to do with it and to also appreciate things which I didn't bother 384 00:25:22,870 --> 00:25:23,703 about before. 385 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:25,780 You have the poem with you right now? 386 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:27,260 Yes. It's in my arms. 387 00:25:27,510 --> 00:25:29,460 Would you like to read it? That would be lovely. 388 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:33,500 Yes. Yes, I will. Hold on. Right. 389 00:25:34,370 --> 00:25:38,100 Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. 390 00:25:38,890 --> 00:25:43,060 When an animal dies, that has been especially close to someone here, 391 00:25:43,730 --> 00:25:45,820 your pet goes to the Rainbow Bridge. 392 00:25:46,670 --> 00:25:50,580 There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends. 393 00:25:51,330 --> 00:25:55,580 They can run and play together. There's plenty of food, 394 00:25:56,070 --> 00:26:00,300 water, and sunshine and friends are warm and comfortable. 395 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:06,020 All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health 396 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:06,993 and strength. 397 00:26:07,510 --> 00:26:11,380 Those who were hurt are made better and strong again. 398 00:26:11,930 --> 00:26:15,220 Like we remember them before they go to heaven. 399 00:26:16,010 --> 00:26:20,100 They're happy and content except for one small thing. 400 00:26:20,770 --> 00:26:25,500 They each miss someone very special to them who had to be left 401 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:27,260 behind. They all, 402 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:35,540 I'm sorry, this is tears me apart when I read it. You know? 403 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:37,633 Um, 404 00:26:39,390 --> 00:26:42,300 being ill and old are restored. 405 00:26:42,300 --> 00:26:46,580 Your health and strength and those who are hurt are made better. 406 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:50,980 And the strong, again, like we remember them before they go to heaven, 407 00:26:51,690 --> 00:26:55,420 they're happy and content except for one small thing. 408 00:26:55,810 --> 00:27:00,460 They each miss someone very special to them who had to be left behind. 409 00:27:01,210 --> 00:27:03,180 They all run, play together, 410 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:08,860 but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance, 411 00:27:10,120 --> 00:27:14,940 his eyes bright are shining, his body shakes. 412 00:27:15,460 --> 00:27:18,580 Suddenly he begins to run from the herd, 413 00:27:19,410 --> 00:27:23,940 rushing over the grass, his legs, carrying him fast, faster and faster. 414 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:26,220 He has seen you. 415 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:31,540 And when you and your special friend finally meet you, cuddle in a happy hug, 416 00:27:32,110 --> 00:27:35,860 never to be a part again. You and your petter in tears, 417 00:27:36,610 --> 00:27:38,660 your hands again, cuddle his head. 418 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,940 And you look again into his trusting eyes. 419 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:46,420 So long gone from life, but never absent from your heart. 420 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:50,860 And then you cross the rainbow bridge together. So that's it. 421 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:52,153 The whole thing. 422 00:27:52,510 --> 00:27:55,700 Thank you. Amazing. 423 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:57,940 Me cry. 424 00:27:58,230 --> 00:28:02,940 Makes me cry too. It's so beautiful. Oh. 425 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:07,620 So I, I, I know that it, it came from God, this, 426 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:10,180 and he had waited and it came, you know, 427 00:28:10,470 --> 00:28:15,220 until it was coming to the time when people had to learn to love their dogs and 428 00:28:15,220 --> 00:28:16,900 not hit them and destroy them. 429 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:22,740 And the amount of people that have absolutely loved this poem. And I, 430 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:27,220 I'm, I'm just, I'm just in awe, you know, that it's happened. 431 00:28:27,980 --> 00:28:30,660 I, I'm, it hasn't affected me in the way, you know, 432 00:28:30,660 --> 00:28:34,340 it hasn't affected me thinking, oh, I've got a poem that's all over the world. 433 00:28:34,870 --> 00:28:39,660 World. I'm happy it's there cuz it's giving people comfort. Yeah. I think it is. 434 00:28:39,660 --> 00:28:41,380 They do cry at the time. But it, 435 00:28:41,930 --> 00:28:46,020 it's so exciting to know that you're going to see your dog again. 436 00:28:46,090 --> 00:28:47,060 It's waiting for you. 437 00:28:47,740 --> 00:28:51,860 I truly believe that's going to happen because these weren't my words. 438 00:28:52,010 --> 00:28:56,020 They just, you know, they came without me even thinking about it. 439 00:28:56,540 --> 00:29:00,220 I could feel major beside me. I could feel him beside me. 440 00:29:01,090 --> 00:29:04,780 Yeah. When I read it, I cry. When I listen to you read it, 441 00:29:04,940 --> 00:29:08,980 I cry because I know it's true. Yes. It's, it's the truth of it. Mm-hmm. 442 00:29:09,020 --> 00:29:11,180 that makes me cry, you know? 443 00:29:11,450 --> 00:29:15,300 Well, that's what I feel. It's so special. So, so special. 444 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:20,460 We lived in India before we lived in Spain. And, 445 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:25,300 um, oh, the dogs were treated very badly there. So anyway, I, 446 00:29:25,460 --> 00:29:26,860 I started up a group, you know, 447 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:31,380 to save all these doggies and find new homes for them. 448 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:36,700 And then the other thing happened that we started taking in 449 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:41,900 the children of the street, you know, and rehoming them and letting them live. 450 00:29:41,900 --> 00:29:43,300 We had a fairly big house, 451 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:47,100 so we kept the kids there until they felt more secure. Otherwise, 452 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:48,740 in India, they, 453 00:29:48,740 --> 00:29:52,260 they used to just put their children and it's too much for them to keep. 454 00:29:52,260 --> 00:29:56,340 They'd put them out on the street. It's absolutely horrendous. 455 00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:01,380 That's what I did. We lived, we had a lovely house and we lived in Rodale, 456 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:05,700 coy, which is about 15 miles from, um, 457 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:10,940 the Taj Maal. And I still have photographs of us there at the time. 458 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:13,100 But I, 459 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:17,980 I'd never seen so much Coty or don't care, 460 00:30:18,230 --> 00:30:22,420 don't care in all of my life. And I, and Jack said, you know, 461 00:30:22,850 --> 00:30:27,700 from now on, we're just going to help every animal that needs to be helped, 462 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:31,940 we will do that. And that's what we've always done. We've always done that. 463 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:34,500 So you took in children and animals? 464 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:40,540 Not at the same time after when we, you know, we had them, well, we did that. 465 00:30:40,540 --> 00:30:44,420 We got all the homes and then decided that we'd start taking children. 466 00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:49,620 Cuz there was one that I found. We, we were in Delhi at the time, and, 467 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:50,980 um, this little girl, 468 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:53,940 she was sitting on the side of the street and her knees were cut, 469 00:30:53,990 --> 00:30:56,140 she'd fallen somewhere in her hands were cut. 470 00:30:56,570 --> 00:31:00,060 There's just nobody there to help her. And they didn't. 471 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:04,620 So when I saw her, I, I said to her, you know, what was her name? 472 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:09,620 And she told me, and I said, have you got mommy and a daddy? No. And I'm like, 473 00:31:09,620 --> 00:31:12,660 God, this child was living and sleeping at night. 474 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:17,700 And she was used by Maine and goodness know was quite all. 475 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:21,900 So, I was so horrified. I said to Jack, now let's see, 476 00:31:22,170 --> 00:31:25,900 know as many as we can. And that was what we did. Wow. 477 00:31:25,900 --> 00:31:30,660 And it was something I loved to see them lose their sadness and be happy again. 478 00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:35,300 But it, it's some places it's a horrible life. You know, 479 00:31:35,300 --> 00:31:38,100 people just don't think so. We'll see. 480 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:41,380 You're a very special human Edna. You and, 481 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:46,060 and Jack both it a lot. Oh, thank you very much. A lot of people wouldn't, 482 00:31:46,490 --> 00:31:51,140 they might notice, but they wouldn't necessarily do anything about it. 483 00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:56,580 Oh, I know. That's what got me in some of my friends in India. 484 00:31:56,830 --> 00:31:58,940 There was quite a lot of, um, 485 00:31:59,770 --> 00:32:04,100 English people out there and Scottish and all of them, 486 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:08,300 and very proud of it. And, um, they just, 487 00:32:09,730 --> 00:32:12,860 they weren't interested at all. And I told them that I was doing, oh, 488 00:32:12,860 --> 00:32:17,300 for heaven's sake, you know, that was the attitude. You don't need that. 489 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:22,900 And I said, neither do these children need what they're going through. I said, 490 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:26,060 all they need is love. I said, 491 00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:30,540 one little girl that I gave a cuddle to, she just burst out crying. 492 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:35,220 And she was shaking all over. She was so emotional. And I said to her, you know, 493 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:40,260 too, what's, what's happening with you? Why are you crying? 494 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:45,540 And she said, because I love you. And that was all she said. Mm. 495 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:50,180 And then she just cried for a while. And then she just loved me. 496 00:32:50,180 --> 00:32:54,180 Like she said, she was such an adorable little girl. But again, 497 00:32:54,180 --> 00:32:57,740 that was just one, you know, that, that stuck in my mind. 498 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:01,540 But I think I'm very lucky. I've had, 499 00:33:02,570 --> 00:33:06,140 I've had a lovely life where I was able to do these things, you know, 500 00:33:06,140 --> 00:33:09,580 and help other people. And I brought up my own children like that. 501 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:13,940 And my granddaughter actually, she's exactly like I was as a child. 502 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:17,260 So I think she's gonna have a super life as well. 503 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:21,740 Do you think that animals are sent as our soulmates or like angels? 504 00:33:24,420 --> 00:33:29,140 I think if they're sent to you, you know, because especially with Sanusi, 505 00:33:29,140 --> 00:33:33,780 I mean, he, I'll tell you what happened after I, uh, got them, I, 506 00:33:33,980 --> 00:33:38,220 I stayed with him when, when Al Aluded the operation on his leg and everything. 507 00:33:38,220 --> 00:33:43,020 So I said, Darrel never leave him again. And, um, he just, 508 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:46,860 he, he, he just got, I was only one he would come to. 509 00:33:46,860 --> 00:33:50,220 He wouldn't even go to Jack, but he would come to me. And, um, 510 00:33:51,570 --> 00:33:54,220 Jack said, you know, he's, he, he adores you. 511 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:58,620 Now I'm diabetic and I have to take insulin. And at times, you know, 512 00:33:58,980 --> 00:34:03,620 I maybe have a hypo bone. I've got to be very careful. He was just a puppy. 513 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:06,820 He was about, oh, 12, 14 weeks old. 514 00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:12,340 And he knew when my diabetes was not 515 00:34:12,540 --> 00:34:15,260 behaving itself and I was having a hypo. 516 00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:19,580 And he used to push and push me into where the, 517 00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:24,380 the kitchen was to eat something. And it wasn't, the jacket told me, 518 00:34:24,380 --> 00:34:28,620 he said, my goodness, you said this little fellow is saving your life. 519 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:33,700 And I said, well, I saved his life. So if he is, 520 00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:38,620 I'm glad, you know, to let him do that. And that was what, that's what happened. 521 00:34:38,680 --> 00:34:40,180 And he still, to this day, 522 00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:45,980 he still pushes and shoves me into the kitchen because he 523 00:34:46,030 --> 00:34:50,700 knows they consented. Yeah. You know, and, and, uh, 524 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:55,740 so that's, that's also, he's, he's really the most wonderful dog. 525 00:34:55,900 --> 00:34:58,580 I just adore him. And, and oh my goodness, 526 00:34:58,580 --> 00:35:03,580 they're going to cross over some time. And that is just, it's just not painful, 527 00:35:03,760 --> 00:35:04,330 you know? 528 00:35:04,330 --> 00:35:06,540 Yeah, it is. Nevermind. It is. We'll. 529 00:35:06,540 --> 00:35:07,320 Manage. Mm-hmm. . 530 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:08,580 How did you meet Jack? 531 00:35:10,740 --> 00:35:14,300 I met Jack. Well, I used to be, um, 532 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:18,660 one of the journalists with one of the papers up here, the Highland News. 533 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:24,140 And, um, I had to, uh, gosh, 534 00:35:24,330 --> 00:35:28,540 interview a man and we went to the Royal Hotel and we were sitting just having a 535 00:35:28,540 --> 00:35:29,373 drink at the bar. 536 00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:34,940 And there was a man further across with his feet up in a stool and lounging in a 537 00:35:34,940 --> 00:35:38,860 chair and smoking a cigarette. And I hate smoking, but nevermind. 538 00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:42,700 Um, then the waitress came and said to us, your table is ready. 539 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:47,140 So I stood it up and I had all my papers and stuff, and as we were going over, 540 00:35:47,900 --> 00:35:50,740 I fell over this man's feet. I forgot he was there. 541 00:35:50,740 --> 00:35:55,220 And I was flat on the floor and my papers , 542 00:35:55,490 --> 00:36:00,460 they were all over. So anyway, um, the guy that was with me, 543 00:36:01,100 --> 00:36:05,740 I was doing a feature on him and Jack were all so apologetic and, 544 00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:09,260 and I said to Jack, leave me alone. I said, 545 00:36:09,260 --> 00:36:12,820 you smoke . And that was, 546 00:36:13,290 --> 00:36:15,740 that was how I met him. And then I, 547 00:36:15,970 --> 00:36:18,700 that was on a Friday and then on a, well, 548 00:36:18,740 --> 00:36:22,420 I didn't give him any information about me. But then on the, 549 00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:24,820 um, yeah, that was on a Friday. 550 00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:28,460 And on Monday morning when I went into the office, 551 00:36:29,460 --> 00:36:33,140 I saw on my desk this massive bunch of flowers. 552 00:36:33,290 --> 00:36:38,020 I've never seen a bigger bouquet in my life. And at the bottom of it, 553 00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:41,900 oh, I said to him, you're, you're an oof. And that was what I said, 554 00:36:41,900 --> 00:36:46,900 when you're smoking and there at the not the bottom of it was, 555 00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:52,500 I'm so sorry for any upset. You feel upset, 556 00:36:52,780 --> 00:36:56,660 I adore you. And it was signed the oath, 557 00:36:57,740 --> 00:37:02,380 . I, I met, I met him after that. 558 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:07,180 He actually, how did I get in touch with him? Yes. He phoned my office. Um, 559 00:37:07,700 --> 00:37:12,300 I was busy. I couldn't speak to him, but the, one of the editors, he said, um, 560 00:37:12,300 --> 00:37:17,180 look, he's, he's uh, really wanting to meet you. Will, can I tell him? You will. 561 00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:22,180 So he arrived. He was from India and he was over, uh, 562 00:37:22,180 --> 00:37:26,900 Jack actually was a doctor in India. And so, um, 563 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:30,780 he was on holiday and that's how we met. 564 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:35,900 So within six months we were married and I moved over to 565 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:41,420 um, uh, I forgot my name again. Uh, no, 566 00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:44,300 beside Thema Hall. Anyway, our house was there. Mm-hmm. 567 00:37:44,340 --> 00:37:48,500 Dale al Coy, that was it. So, 568 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:54,340 um, just this and these things kept happening in my life, you know, 569 00:37:54,340 --> 00:37:55,580 it was absolutely wonderful. 570 00:37:56,120 --> 00:37:59,220 How is having an olive farm? That sounds so much fun. 571 00:37:59,610 --> 00:38:03,260 Yeah, Jack was like that. I was same. I would try anything. 572 00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:08,740 And he said to me when we were still in India, he said, when I retire, 573 00:38:09,480 --> 00:38:12,740 he said, I want to be an olive farmer. And I said, oh, 574 00:38:12,970 --> 00:38:15,700 what a nurse you thinking of that for. And he said, 575 00:38:15,740 --> 00:38:16,900 I think it would be wonderful. 576 00:38:16,910 --> 00:38:20,580 We'll get somebody in the mountains and we just have a wonderful time. 577 00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:22,660 And we did. And see, 578 00:38:22,660 --> 00:38:26,940 the only sad thing was that man, you know, 579 00:38:26,970 --> 00:38:28,820 hurting his dog. 580 00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:30,620 Yes. Jack has passed away. 581 00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:33,780 Yes, yes. 582 00:38:33,780 --> 00:38:37,940 Unfortunately he got Alzheimer's and uh, 583 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:42,620 and eventually had to be put into care because his be behavior was so bad. 584 00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:46,500 And really and truly, he was such a wonderful, gentle, 585 00:38:46,890 --> 00:38:50,940 well-mannered man. It was. He was just adorable. 586 00:38:51,420 --> 00:38:53,540 I loved him to bits. So. 587 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:54,980 I'm so sorry. You. 588 00:38:55,010 --> 00:38:58,940 Just, well, it, it's now again, 589 00:38:59,100 --> 00:39:02,300 I have a feeling cuz things have happened and I still feel this with me. 590 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:05,180 You know, I feel, I feel I'm around in these times. 591 00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:10,540 So now I'm living in Inverness in a small house that we got. 592 00:39:11,240 --> 00:39:12,180 But for, 593 00:39:12,530 --> 00:39:17,340 because of Jack's illness and it didn't have any steps 594 00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:21,460 and stairs and things. It's just a bungalow. Yeah. And, um, 595 00:39:21,900 --> 00:39:26,420 I love it here. We have quite a big garden and I enjoy it. When I had my stroke, 596 00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:32,500 the doctor phoned the, the, oh, 597 00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:36,740 the physician. He phoned the police and said, 598 00:39:37,370 --> 00:39:41,460 this lady can't drive again. Could you have a word with her? And I, 599 00:39:41,460 --> 00:39:45,820 he did it without even asking me. And people do have strokes, if they drive, 600 00:39:46,130 --> 00:39:50,780 they automatically, they have by law got to tell the police about it. So, 601 00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:52,500 you know, because it, 602 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:56,620 you could have another stroke and this time it would be more serious in the car. 603 00:39:56,620 --> 00:40:00,540 Cause I had my car before, so I brought myself a tricycle. 604 00:40:01,720 --> 00:40:04,660 And um, I just love it. It has a motor on it. Mm-hmm. 605 00:40:04,700 --> 00:40:09,220 as a battery. And I can go anywhere I want to. And I, 606 00:40:09,220 --> 00:40:12,580 and I've got, you know, a few friends who if want to go anywhere further, 607 00:40:12,810 --> 00:40:17,220 then we will all go in the car and enjoy it. And, um, 608 00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:21,460 she just said, open the door for the dog. Go on baby. What do you want? 609 00:40:22,770 --> 00:40:25,860 Said, I want to go out in the garden. Come on in. Excuse me. 610 00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:28,220 I'm just walking through the door to them out. 611 00:40:28,420 --> 00:40:29,260 . It's all right. 612 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:34,380 And there's MACIs. She's coming too. Could you hear that? Yeah. , 613 00:40:34,890 --> 00:40:38,100 they're rush outside and if I want to call them in, 614 00:40:38,140 --> 00:40:41,140 I have a bottle with stones in it, you know, plastic bottle. 615 00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:43,420 And they makes kitchen noise. They're just coming straight away. 616 00:40:44,360 --> 00:40:46,180 So they're funny. Anyway, he said, 617 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:50,460 I'm sure she's gone just to bark at other dogs that pass. She loves that. 618 00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:55,180 You said that you have a recycling program and that you make jewelry. 619 00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:57,220 The kids and Yes, 620 00:40:57,240 --> 00:41:01,980 the kids and the adults and anything that can be recycled. I mean, 621 00:41:02,120 --> 00:41:04,740 I'm sitting amongst them just now cuz I'm doing some, 622 00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:09,140 and even I even paint stones with lovely messages on them. 623 00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:13,340 And each one is a personal one, you know, for whoever I, I give it to. 624 00:41:14,440 --> 00:41:15,740 And, um, oh, 625 00:41:15,740 --> 00:41:20,500 I have dolls that the children have made and I use milk bottles and I, 626 00:41:20,700 --> 00:41:23,100 I cut holes in it and then put a, 627 00:41:23,380 --> 00:41:27,380 a hanger on the top and fill it with bird seeds and the birds come and peck 628 00:41:27,570 --> 00:41:28,403 through the holes. 629 00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:29,540 Oh, that's neat. 630 00:41:29,540 --> 00:41:30,660 With the cool through the bottle. 631 00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:35,380 And I've made little good little sticks through so they've got a per, you know, 632 00:41:35,380 --> 00:41:40,060 and they can eat. Um, and there's lots of things like that. Many, many things. 633 00:41:40,240 --> 00:41:41,940 And clothes. I recycled clothes. 634 00:41:42,650 --> 00:41:46,500 What made you start doing all the recycling projects and the art projects? 635 00:41:48,010 --> 00:41:52,660 Well and everything I did, my father was an artist and a musician. 636 00:41:53,480 --> 00:41:57,780 And my mom also, she was very good at handcraft and she, 637 00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:03,180 she, I was born in 1940 and I came through the second World war. 638 00:42:03,920 --> 00:42:07,900 And we had, we were, we never wasted anything. Nobody did. 639 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:10,220 We had no big shops or anything like that. 640 00:42:10,330 --> 00:42:14,980 Then we had a little village store that stopped milk from the dairy, 641 00:42:15,720 --> 00:42:19,900 or we walked to the dairy to get our milk and we made our own bread. 642 00:42:20,720 --> 00:42:24,420 And, um, just basic things and meat. 643 00:42:24,720 --> 00:42:27,660 We were lucky. My dad, you know, we weren't poor, 644 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:31,500 but there were a lot of people that were. So we spent a lot of time, 645 00:42:32,880 --> 00:42:37,060 um, just helping people. And my mom, I was only five, you know, 646 00:42:37,280 --> 00:42:40,660 six at the end of the war. But my mom, 647 00:42:41,720 --> 00:42:43,940 she was always helping someone, somebody, 648 00:42:44,110 --> 00:42:47,620 there was Polish soldiers were in the village. 649 00:42:47,690 --> 00:42:52,220 There's a big mansion house quite near our house. And, 650 00:42:53,120 --> 00:42:57,420 um, the, I can't remember his name, Lord McLeod, I think it was. 651 00:42:57,840 --> 00:42:58,280 Anyway, 652 00:42:58,280 --> 00:43:03,100 he gave over the house for the injured prisoners from Poland. 653 00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:06,940 So when they were really badly injured, they came there, you know, 654 00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:11,780 to get better and recuperate. And they used to come into the village, you know, 655 00:43:11,780 --> 00:43:15,300 if they were able to walk. And, and my mom eventually said to me, you know, 656 00:43:15,300 --> 00:43:20,020 would you like to come and have some lunch and cup of tea or something? And oh, 657 00:43:20,090 --> 00:43:23,180 they just loved it. And I can remember sitting, we had a long, 658 00:43:23,180 --> 00:43:26,940 long dining table and um, they, 659 00:43:27,770 --> 00:43:31,620 they used to come in these men and they were absolutely lovely, you know, 660 00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:37,500 and my mom did all these bakings and things made, you couldn't, 661 00:43:37,500 --> 00:43:39,940 you only got a certain amount of sugar, you know, in the months. 662 00:43:40,760 --> 00:43:45,620 And it had to make do so my mom used to make baking using flour, 663 00:43:45,670 --> 00:43:50,420 using fruit. And instead of using sugar, she would use that. So, 664 00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:55,980 so many lessons I learned everything had to be recycled. Um, 665 00:43:56,240 --> 00:44:01,100 if mom, our and my brother or sister, they were older. And then I had a twin, 666 00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:04,060 but we didn't get new clothes. 667 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:07,620 My mom made them from the ones that the other had they'd grown out of. 668 00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:10,340 And she made new clothes from us or any, 669 00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:14,780 any other material that she gave her hands on. She would use it, you know, to, 670 00:44:14,780 --> 00:44:17,700 to make nice clothes for us. And she knitted a lot. 671 00:44:18,740 --> 00:44:23,340 I learned to knit when I was five years old and I was knitting cereal 672 00:44:23,540 --> 00:44:28,140 sweaters by the time I was six. I loved it. And then I ended up, 673 00:44:28,620 --> 00:44:32,980 I had a business called celly wounds. Celly is the Scottish name for the seal. 674 00:44:33,240 --> 00:44:36,180 Mm-hmm. . And outside our house, there were the, 675 00:44:36,180 --> 00:44:39,740 the river ran down and the sea there was near the sea. 676 00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:44,940 And the seals used to come and sit in the bank of our house. You know, 677 00:44:45,050 --> 00:44:49,900 just our bank went down into the river and the sea and they used to come 678 00:44:49,900 --> 00:44:54,260 there and lie. And so I called it silky wools. And then I, I, 679 00:44:54,620 --> 00:44:59,620 I was a designer and I did all these capes and they 680 00:44:59,620 --> 00:45:04,140 were all knitted from the matching sets of tweeds. 681 00:45:04,280 --> 00:45:09,260 My tweed was made in the brewer woolen mill. And that was where we lived. 682 00:45:10,440 --> 00:45:13,700 And then that was then the wool. 683 00:45:13,840 --> 00:45:16,300 We used to jumpers and scarves and socks. 684 00:45:16,620 --> 00:45:19,060 I made Prince Charles's kilt stockings. 685 00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:19,700 Oh my. 686 00:45:19,700 --> 00:45:22,740 Gosh. And that was a big thrill for me. Yeah. That was a big thrill for me. 687 00:45:23,560 --> 00:45:24,393 So it's amazing. 688 00:45:24,960 --> 00:45:29,820 He stops when he is on his way up to the north of Scotland and he just 689 00:45:29,970 --> 00:45:34,460 pops in in Venito. He pops in for a coffee and he's lovely. 690 00:45:34,530 --> 00:45:35,380 He's now the king. 691 00:45:35,400 --> 00:45:39,980 He actually hasn't been for two years because we also had this, um, 692 00:45:40,350 --> 00:45:44,900 scare about the forgotten it, the Covid. We all had the scare about. 693 00:45:45,160 --> 00:45:45,993 The Covid. Yes. 694 00:45:46,480 --> 00:45:49,140 Had a Christmas card from him every year. He is a lovely man. 695 00:45:49,530 --> 00:45:52,660 King Charles would pop by your house for coffee. 696 00:45:54,080 --> 00:45:56,500 Yes, yes. It was lovely. I love that. 697 00:45:56,720 --> 00:46:00,660 But I didn't tell people because he came, you know, 698 00:46:00,660 --> 00:46:05,020 in Kognito because otherwise we would've had press everywhere and photographing 699 00:46:05,020 --> 00:46:08,620 that. And so that's what happened. And he loved the dog. 700 00:46:09,460 --> 00:46:14,300 absolutely loved him. Oh. But now he's, again, he's a senior citizen. 701 00:46:14,760 --> 00:46:17,820 So, but I'm, I'm happy for him. They were very, 702 00:46:17,820 --> 00:46:22,340 very sad and angry when Diana died. 703 00:46:22,440 --> 00:46:24,540 You know, she was killed in a motor accident. 704 00:46:25,520 --> 00:46:30,260 And I was angry at him for a while and then I realized that, that it wasn't, 705 00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:35,700 you know, really, I dunno, I just don't blame either of them. 706 00:46:35,700 --> 00:46:39,820 It happened and it was meant to happen. That was it. Mm. 707 00:46:40,320 --> 00:46:43,220 And and there was nothing that anybody could do to sort it. 708 00:46:43,980 --> 00:46:48,820 Ordinary people can do that. Nothing is even heard about it. But what. 709 00:46:48,820 --> 00:46:50,260 Did you and Charles talk about? 710 00:46:50,580 --> 00:46:52,860 I know he is big into recycling and saving the planet. 711 00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:55,420 Yes. We spoke about that. 712 00:46:55,680 --> 00:47:00,300 And also he used to walk along to the wood with me to take the dogs 713 00:47:01,040 --> 00:47:03,100 and they adored him. That was lovely. 714 00:47:03,430 --> 00:47:07,580 Cause we had the wood way at the back of the house. And, um, 715 00:47:07,960 --> 00:47:10,820 he just, he was just a normal guy. 716 00:47:11,680 --> 00:47:15,100 And he used to come in and we'd sit in the chat and, um, 717 00:47:15,690 --> 00:47:18,380 discuss things on the internet and do it. 718 00:47:18,400 --> 00:47:20,780 And I would show her everything I was recycling. 719 00:47:21,440 --> 00:47:25,020 And he loved a teddy bear that I made out of an old fur coat. 720 00:47:25,640 --> 00:47:27,820 And it was a teddy bear wearing a kilt. 721 00:47:28,120 --> 00:47:31,190 That's so lovely. And you got to make Charles his socks. 722 00:47:32,810 --> 00:47:35,350 Yes. His kilt stockings. Yes. Uhhuh. 723 00:47:35,690 --> 00:47:38,350 So wonderful. Your life is extraordinary. 724 00:47:40,270 --> 00:47:44,110 I know. It's very special. It's lovely. I've just been lucky, you know, 725 00:47:44,110 --> 00:47:48,190 all the time. Things always seem to be okay if something bad happened, 726 00:47:49,370 --> 00:47:52,510 we just got through with it and got on with it and that was it. 727 00:47:53,020 --> 00:47:57,590 Yeah. You're one of the, uh, shining lights on the planet. And you know, 728 00:47:57,590 --> 00:48:02,030 the thing is, is you clearly have a deep empathy for living creatures. 729 00:48:02,360 --> 00:48:02,730 Thank. 730 00:48:02,730 --> 00:48:06,150 You very much. I mean, I, we will see each other again. 731 00:48:06,630 --> 00:48:08,670 . Take care, ed Byebye. 732 00:48:09,300 --> 00:48:12,430 Okay. You too much love. Thank you. Bye bye. 733 00:48:14,780 --> 00:48:18,510 Rate review and subscribe to Hey Human Podcast wherever you get your podcast. 734 00:48:19,130 --> 00:48:20,390 Thanks. Bye.