I received the news the other day that Viv was coming down this weekend as things are not looking too bright with her Mom Flo, further development is that they have now arrived in CT even earlier as things dont look to good . I am going through tomorrow morning to visit , will keep all updated . All our wishes for strength for Flo to pull through and strength for the family to be strong at her side , remember every good wish and positive thought can help make a difference .I asked Viv if I could post this as Flo was a good kind friend to many over the years , I will update them from the site ..
Sandy
sandy i was sorry to hear the news,we will all be generating our best held wishes for flo and the family,on a personal note can i on behalf of the smith family extend our heartfelt best wishes to the worths,very dear friends to my mom and dad[your uncle harry and aunty gladys]please convey our thoughts,much love,bobby and the family
Sandy, please give our best to Penny and Viv from Richard and I. Aunty Flo is a real special person to us both. We've had many good times together and it's sad to hear that the family are going through a rough time. I know their mom's illness has been difficult on them all.
In my thoughts as well.
Sandy pls give Viv,Penny and Stephen our best and tell them the brownless family are thinking about them at this difficult time, Aunty Flo ment alot to me when living in OM. Our thoughts are with them and we are having positive thoughts , that Aunty Flo will pull trough this.
Please send my regards to the family, especialy Stephen.
Georg
My dad, Jock and the rest of the Alexander Clan send their sterkte to Aunty Flo, always remember the Saturday afternoons with my mom and Aunty Flo listening to the Springbok Hit Parade......
giverose
SANDY IS HERE WITH ME AT THE MOMENT HE VERY KINDLY HAS LET ME USE HIS LAPTOP TO THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WISHES SADLY MY DEAREST LOVING MOM PASSES AWAY THIS MORNING AT 10.30. I HAD THE PRIVELAGE OF SPENDING THE EVENING NEXT TO HER IN A CHAIR TALKING TO HER AND LETTING HER KNOW HOW I FELT AND ASKED HER TO PLEASE GO IN PEACE. THE CORONER HAS JUST COLLECT THE BODY AND THERE SEEEMS TO BE SO MUCH PEACE HERE IN THE HOUSE . THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE LOVE AND SUPPORT SO FAR WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED FROM VIV AND THE WORTH FAMILY
Our deepest thoughts are with you all.
Dear Viv,Penny and Stephen,
Our deapest sympathy for the loss of your Mom our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
The Brownless family
xxxxxxx
My father , Jock, has asked me to pass on his sincere condolances to the Worth family and is really sorry to hear of her passing.......
(So do the rest of the Alexander's)
Condolances from me too. May your mum find her peace.
My thoughts are with you all at this sad time. To Penny e154
You Mom will always be in your hearts and not a day will go by without you thinking of her.
@ Georg Jnr ---- Hi Georg, thanks for your condolences, much appreciated. My mother was a fantastic person,
loved and known by Oranjemunders as the Perm lady, the one who always went the extra mile for friends and
clients. She had a good life and passed away with all of us at her bedside. This was an absolute blessing.
Best wishes to all those who knew her and thanks for all the messages that continue to pour in.
To Babs Brownless, thanks for your message. You and Susan were one of the family in Oranjemund and always
will be. Thanks and I will be in touch with you soon. Speak soon. Steve xxx
Deepest sympathy conveyed to the family of Flo (a great person) from Peter & Bernadette McManus (Ireland)
Hi Steven.
Great to see you writing on the site.
I remember visiting you at home now and then. I remember your father telling us stories of his youth and his times at war. I don't remember your mom, but I remember the very freindly athmosphere there.
God bless you all.
Georg
Dear Viv, Penny and Steven,
We are so sorry to hear of your moms passing.
Your mom was a very fine lady and had a lot of time for us teenagers of the 70s and I will always remember how welcome we were in your house in Omund and the Sundays spent at the pool at your house in Plumstead. Will never forget your moms smile - Perm lady fantastic!
She is now in a better place and I know how the last years were for your mom and family because my dad had the same illness and it is very difficult to see your loved one go this way.
Debby and my thoughts are with you in this sad time, please let us know if we can help in any way.
Please let us know where the service is been held.
All our love
Richard and Debby
THanks so much too all for all the good wishes ... the memorial service to be held on monday the 17th 10am at Maitland cremotorium there will be a get together at sandy's house afterwards,
I will update via the forum and newspapers , contact sandy at 083 254 9069
Love Viv and family
very sorry to hear the news of your moms passing,i trust she is at peace now,god bless,stay strong,our thoughts and prayers are with you,much love,bobby smith
I just got the news. So very sorry for your loss. I know, it cuts deep to the core.
Viv, Penny, Steven and Sandy - I deeply think about you all in this sad time. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Love
Dalene
Well here i am , now sitting in Villiersdorp .. I have just spent a great evening with Ronnie and Mervyn.. at the end of the day i spent with Viv and Penny a kind of traanfest .. me trying to be strong for them in their moment of loss yet ending up shedding tears with them each time they rose to the surface of their bravado and stiff upper lip .. realised that as far as i thought I had moved forward , realised that I still had scabs that could so easily be torn off .. but it was good and cleansing .. i reached the decision that as much as i would liked to have spent more time with the family Worth i owed it to myself to take my long deferred break into the country and my promised visit to Ronnie and Mervyn... I booked myself into a B& B sort of travelling incognito thing .. free agent .. Spent a fab evening at a braai at her sisters place ...
I will now share a beautiful thing about the day I spent with Viv and Penny .. at about 7 pm that evening ( my intentions of leaving earlier thrown to the wind more , important just being there in the moment ) there is a knock on the door ..... Penny answers and walks in with 3 huge bouquets of flowers,, the obvious assumption is that it is sent by some wellwisher ... so Penny opens up the card , it is a note from Flo's doctor ... In her last weeks Flo had instructed the Doc to please send 3 huge bouquets to Penny when she passed on as a sign of appreciation for the selfless care that Penny had given to her over the years .. another traanfest .. and then a raising of glasses to dear old Flo and Penny ... I salute the selflessnes of her years of caring .. Cheers Girl , blessings go around , never forget that ..
luv to viv and family e154
Hi Sandy,
please pass my condolences to the Worth family and to Penny, what a lovely and special gesture from your Mom. Something to treasure forever.
regards,
x
Sad news Viv, Penny & Steven, with my best wishes to you all. Cherry
Dear Viv, Lorraine, Penny and Steven, my thoughts are with all of you and your families.Flo was a very special person and she was a fantastic mother in law to me. Thinking of you all.
Regards
Michael Hardman
Sorry couldn't be there to-day but my thoughts are with you all.
Dear Viv, Penny Steven and Lorraine
My prayers and thoughts are with you all today, wish i could of been there with you.
Thinking of you all.
Love
Barbara e154
Thanks once again everyone for the good wishes and the support. The cremation was a happy one not sad as my mom would not have wanted that.
A special thanks to Debbie, Richard and Mike Hardman and of course my closest and dearest friend Sandy. The time has come to move on and to remember my Mom the way she was. My husband Braam and I are now going to Plettenburg Bay for a well deserved holiday an will be back in Pretoria on the 1st of April. Life goes on celebrate and treasure every moment. Cheers for now
Well all have now left .. to update in the absence of those that have to deal with the grief close up .. the service was small & intimate .. Steve gave a wonderful speech / eulogy whatever you may call it .. The minister just gave wonderful life lessons as opposed to trying to pretend to have known dear old Flo and messing it up as some do ... a true " mensch ' as the yiddish would say ... I offered my home as it was close by , removed from everybodys normal environment and full of the peace that I have been left with , a peaceful place to just get together .. .. and they could just leave and go home and deal with what they have have to deal with ... Viv my partner in crime and Braam her adorable man , plus of all surprises Mike Hardmann stayed till last ..
Auntie Ena Bennet was of course here ( one of the venerable , feared , respected of our childhood and young adulthood ) Big surprise was Nan Morrow .. still looking so dammn good , she just does not change ...
As Viv has said .. life goes on .. Flo lived a good and full life .. and she knew full well that her time was played out .. We must go on and carry the knowledge and wisdom bestowed upon us by such good folk ... Love yourself , love your creator , love those closest to you , cherish friendship , be kind yourself and others , be tough when you need to be , be selfless yet selfish .. a total enigma but that is after all life .. In retrospect .. just be YOU ..
It is now done ...
Sandy, thanks a million.........I feel sick.........can I have my head back
Nice words Sandy.
You could be our site-preast.
Sandy is more like the glue.... the glue that keeps all those Oranjemunders down in the Cape connected to each other still...... shave
Dont quite know why but had a busy night lots of words running through my head .. this one came to me ..
It is a piece of paper that mysteriously made its way into my wallet some time after my Mom passed and that has stayed in my wallet ever since .. it was obviously from a Burns evening in O'mund .. its a bit whimsical but obviously has deep meaning .. here it goes . Mike your dad might be able to give some insight
Adieu , a heart - warm fond adieu.
Dear Brothers of the mystic tie
Ye favoyred , Ye enlightened few
Companions of my social joy
It's a masonic farewell written by Rabbie Burns to his Lodge.... I quote the following:
"Adieu! A heart-warm, fond adieu!
Dear Brothers of the Mystic Tie
Ye favored, ye enlightened few
Companions of my social joy!
The immortal verse of Robert Burns, written in his farewell to his
brethren of St. James Lodge, Tarbolton, Scotland, first
popularized, if it did not originate, the three words now
universally recognized by all English speaking Freemasons as
expressing the very essence of the Fraternity.
But to recognize is one thing; to define is quite another, as any
man may discover who attempts to describe a perfume, a sunset, a
symphony, so another may smell, see, hear with the speaker.
What IS the Mystic Tie? Is it an obligation, taken before an Altar?
Is it a Covenant, entered into between a man and men, before God
and his fellows? Is it a thing that one can hold in his hand and
see with his eye? Is it a matter of that land of the inner life, in
which a man thinks the thoughts he never tells and learns the
truths he cannot teach?
To every man, even the most extrovert and obvious-minded, comes at
times a spiritual experience. Tongue-tied in the grip of emotion,
few phrase it. But it happens; and none who reads these lame words
but will admit it to himself at least, no matter how vociferously
he denies it aloud.
It comes in as many ways as are men to whom it comes. One man
stands before a mighty mountain--his eyes follow its rocky fastness
up, up, up to where austere saw teeth of stone cut into the blue.
Something in the might, the majesty, the aloofness, the dignity,
the timelessness of the mass passes from rock to heart and sings
therein a harmony which never quite dies away. Another cultivates
a rose garden and in the pure beauty of the blossom which bursts
forth under his ministering hands sees a vision not of the earth,
earthy. A third kneels in a cathedral and as the organ's deepest
diapason sounds a note so low it is hardly heard, so profound
nothing else can be heard, and a shaft or sunlight strikes through
stained glass to pick out a bit of stone carving, feels himself
close to the eternal verities . . .
And others sit in a Lodge; a familiar. everyday, ordinary fact of
brotherhood's experience. They hear familiar ritual; they see
familiar faces; they engage in familiar actions. There is no
element of surprise, or drama, or great event, yet there is
something present which is found nowhere else; something that men
come, and come, and come again, often all their lives through, to
get . .
As illusive as a half-memory or childhood, as hard to catch as a
sunbeam, as intangible as the hint of spring that sets the birds to
flying north, it is as strong as steel, as permanent as the earth,
as certain and dependable as gravity.
Brother Arthur F. Powell comes as near as may be to saying what is
not sayable;
"What strand is it that tugs at our hearts. taut when so many
threads are broken in the rough ways of the world?" he asks. then
answers: "Ask what it is in the wild that calls to the little wild
things? What sacred secret things do the mountains whisper to the
hillmen, so silently yet so surely that they can be heard above the
din and clatter of the world? What mystery does the sea tell to
the sailor, the desert to the Arab, the arctic ice to the explorer,
the stars to the astronomer? When we have answered these
questions, mayhap we may divine the magic of Masonry. Who knows
what it is or how or why unless it be the long Cabletow of God
running from heart to heart?"
We learn in school that a whole is the sum of all its parts. If,
then, we might list all the parts which compose the Mystic Tie,
their sum should be the definition of the whole. But it is not.
Firstly, we cannot "list all the parts," since one man's list and
that of his brother would differ even as our brother's differ from
ours. And secondly and finally. a whole which is the sum of all its
parts is material--and the Mystic Tie is not made of matter.
We all have the same number of letters in the alphabet: we all have
access to the dictionary which contains every word in the
language--but we do not know how to take of these and write a
Psalm of David, or Sermon on the Mount. Wt have the bricks and the
stone and may even possess the plan--but the mortar of the spirit
to build them into something deathless--that escapes us. Modern
musicians have more notes to the scale than were known to Brahms
and Beethoven and more strings and brass and woodwind to sound
them--but who writes symphonies as the Masters wrote?
Still, we may try. knowing in advance that we must fail..
Ritual is a part of the Mystic Tie. How or why man must make
rituals and learn them, love them, preserve them, is as mysterious
as anything in life--but it has always been so. There is something
deep within us which demands a set form of expression: we may say
the thought in a thousand ways but we do say it in unison and in a
special way. And this is true whether it be Freemasonry or Church
or everyday life which is filled with a ritual so common that we do
not think of it as ritual. "Good morning! How are you?"-- ritual.
To smile on seeing a friendly face-- ritual. The clasp of hand to
hand; the familiar gathering of family about a table; school,
business, earning a living--all are rituals without which life
would be unlivable. The lover's kiss and the words which all the
world knows but which are invariably whispered as a secret --these,
too, are ritual. And so the ritual of the Lodge, with its old, old
truths phrased in stilted old-fashioned words and teaching anew
every time it is heard what is already known of all who hear
it--this golden chain of sounds which die even as they are born,
and yet which never cease sounding once they have been taken into
the heart--they are a part of the Mystic Tie.
Teaching and learning ritual is a part of it. Long ago, answering
some question regarding the oral and the cipher method of teaching
ritual, Dr. Joseph Fort Newton, beloved and inspired brother,
wrote:
"What is efficiency in the teaching of Masonry? Surely it is
something more than accuracy of the letter, valuable as that is. It
is also the communication of a spirit, and we submit that this
highest and most precious result is better achieved by oral
instruction. It goes deeper, it stays longer, it touches parts of
our nature which are not reached by decoding a cipher. For example,
we were instructed in Masonry by a noble and gracious man to whom
Masonry meant very much--long since gone to join the white and
silent people we call the dead--but the impress of his spirit
lingers still. He gave us something which no book can give, because
the finest truth is communicated only through personality--it
passes silently, mystically, from soul to soul. It is so in all
education. The best thing a lad gets at college is not from books,
but from his contact with strong men--as when Garfield said that
the best university would be to sit on one end of a log with Horace
Mann on the other end. Inaccuracies may be corrected, but we cannot
think that the hours which we spent in fellowship with the gracious
man who instructed us in the days that come not back, were wasted.
Never! Perhaps we are sentimental. If so, we are glad of it. But we
do feel that to abandon the oral teaching of Masonry would mean the
loss of something unique, particular, and fine, and we know of
nothing to take its place."
Friendship is a part of the mystic tie; that glory of life in which
man finds a man in whom he can trust, for whom he would labor, with
whom he would live. Not the greatest poet who has yet lived has
been able to define friendship. We know what it is, but we cannot
explain it. Yet it is there, alive, vital, a part of Lodge life, an
integer in the whole, and so a part of the Mystic Tie.
Mystery is a part of it--indeed, is it not named for mystery? And
Freemasonry is so filled with mysteries! From whence came it, this
chain of fraternity which began we know not when and grew we know
not how? And whither does it go? The one as much a mystery as the
other. Why do men seek that which does not advertise, which is
known so little, (and that little, so badly) by the outside world?
What unknown millions of men once trod its halls? Their names,
their lives, their acts, their influence--we know them not. True,
we can sup with Ashmole and enter St. Peter's with Wren; we can
kneel with Washington in a Lodge in Fredericksburg, and we can
touch the hand of Lafayette in a Masonic procession --at least in
reading and in imagination. But the millions of unknowns who
stepped as we have stepped, who spoke as we have spoken, who
pledged as we have pledged, who lived and loved and died in
Freemasonry, as we live and love and will die--they are a mystery;
a dear, bewildering, unknown and forever to be unknown mystery
but--a part of the Mystic Tie. The "secrets" of Freemasonry are a
part of it. Granted that those secrets are of use and value only to
the Freemason, the fact remains; men love that which is secret,
that which sets them off from their fellows; that which the
uninitiated cannot share. Passengers on a liner exclaim at the huge
size of an iceberg, seldom realizing that there is eight times as
much ice below the surface of the sea as is visible above. So with
the power of the secrets of Freemasonry; the bond that lies within
them is eighty times eight tighter than is tied by their mere
possession.
Quoting again from the so-very-quotable Dr. Newton, writing in The
Builder:
"In the Old Charges of Craft Masonry the initiate was obligated to
keep the secrets of the Craft, by his honor as a man on the
'contents of this holy Book.' What were those secrets in the olden
time? They included the technical secrets of his art--which have
become symbolical secrets to us--and the Signs and tokens by which
he made himself known as a Master Mason when he went a-journeying.
Those secrets protected both the artist and his art. What are the
secrets of a Master Mason now? Not the wise and noble truths which
the order teaches. Our fundamental Principles are the common
possession of thinking men and are the foundations of the higher
human life everywhere. Now what is secret in Masonry is not the
truth which it teaches. but the method by which it teaches it--its
ceremonial and symbolism, and the signs and token by which it
protects the privacy of its Lodge room that it may teach more
impressively. Also, those signs and tokens serve as a cover under
which charity, brotherliness, and the busy heart of love can work
without ostentation--enabling us to serve a brother in perplexity
or need without wounding a heart already sore. Therefore, if those
secrets were surrendered, something beautiful and fine would he
lost. In other days it required some courage to be a Mason, and
those old pioneers who faced obloquy for their Masonic faith and
fellowship, knew what they were about when they took no risks of
having their sacred secrets violated but kept them warm and tender
and true, passing them from mouth to ear down the years!" Of the
Mystic Tie, too the universality of Freemasonry is a part. Two and
a half million brothers in this nation--five million in the world.
In every civilized Country Freemasonry has grown and thrived
until, alas, the idealogies of Dictators who revere only force
struck down the gentle Craft in conquered countries. To be a part
of anything important is always a bond: to be a part of anything so
universal so widespread, so essential to so many peoples in so many
lands and times-- surely this is a part of the Mystic Tie.
"My Mother Lodge!" Next to his family and his God many a man keeps
thought of Mother Lodge closely and dearer in his heart than
anything else the world may offer him. Its hall may be small and
old. Its furniture may be shabby and decrepit. The pictures on the
walls may be faded, the carpet worn, the physical side wholly drab.
but the Mother Lodge itself is neither shabby nor drab, it shines
with a gentle radiance in the hearts of brethren who love it and
the light it sheds they will follow far. Surely it too, is a part
of the Mystic Tie..
So on these pages might run on for volumes and still the story
would not be told nor the arts listed show forth the truth of the
whole.
None who have known it would think of denying the strength of the
Mystic Tie. None who have its cord about their hearts would loose
it. None can wholly comprehend it: none define, describe it. It
exists; it works its gentle miracles: it is as mighty as it is
intangible. Perhaps that singer of Freemasonry had a partial vision
of it when he wrote "The Road":
So many men before thy Alter kneel
Unthinkingly, to promise brotherhood:
So few remain, humbly to kiss thy rood
With ears undefened to their mute appeal:
So many find thy symbols less than real.
Thy teachings mystic, hard to understand:
So few there are in all thy far flung band
To hold thy banner high and draw thy steel,
And yet--immortal and most mighty , thou!
What hath thy lore of life to let it live?
What is the vital spark, hid in thy vow?
Thy Millions learned, as thy dear paths
they trod.
The secret of the strength thou hast to give--
"I am a way of common men of God."
Geez, that's going to keep Sandy awake for the next week ... :buffo1:
To be honest, I never read most of it, just the 1st 3 parts, but got the jist of it.....never realized it was sooooooo loooooong!
barb1
I'm sure Sandy will give us a little resume ... his interpretation iknow
I read and I feel words settling into my heart cos they feel right .. I think then that I was indeed blessed to have had this piece of paper mysteriously put into my wallet to carry with me all the time .. I would say that for me A definite part of the Mystic tie is friendship , soulgroups that make up part of the tapestry that is my life .. and leave it there
Maybe it was a suttle way of somebody trying to get you to join the masons?
Dear Viv and the rest if the Worth Family
Our sincere condonlences with the passing of your beloved Mother, Flo Worth. Thinking of you in this sad time.
Charmain
Thanks very much Charmaine for your kind wishes
Welcome back Hon ...
Thanks Sandles, I can assure you it's not great being back soooooo much catching up to do. The worst part is reading e-mails and sympathy cards.
Yup , you think you moving along and starting to heal and stuff comes forward to take you back again ... 2 steps forward .. one half back .. finally becomes two steps forward and none back .. thats just a case of time .
Gosh this is so late but I only heard recently. Would have thought my brother would have told me but hey thats par for the course!
Our condolensces to the whole family! I wish I could have seen Viv whilst she was here.
Fond regards
Bev and Roger
Thanks very much Bev. Yes it would have been nice to have seen you again but you know your brother not very communicative. Are you going to the reunion? Just checking on the map and what a distance but hopefully we will be there. Take care
Hi Viv
Yes we will be there for sure and really looking forward to it! It was so nice seeing Sandy and all the others recently at the Chill Out Pub re-union.
Keep well, keep smiling and see you soon.
Lots o love
giverose
I remember your mom too and especially Penny. So sorry to hear about your mom - you were blessed to have her for so long. My mom Betty Jackman passed away very suddenly when she was just 70; my dad Cyril Jackman was also 70 when we lost him in 1983. Lots of love, Pat Jackman (now Kuhn)
Thanks very much Pat. Yes, my Mom was truly a remarkable woman and we were very blessed to have had her up to
the good old age of 81 would have turned 82 on the 27th April. We will celebrate her birthday with a glass of cherry (her favourite drink) at 7pm on the 27th if anyone at home want's to "cheers" her. I will let Penny know you sent condolences
Regards Vivienne
@ Viv, Penny and Stephan. I have only just registered and got on the site and been catching up on all the happenings. I appologise for the late response due to this but would like to convey our condolenses to you all and your family from the Freemantle and Brown family. We knew your mom and dad very well and were always great to all of us as kids.
@Sandy, Gus I am also paying my respects to you for the losses Ie. Ian, and parents. Our condolenses to you all and your families from Freemantle and Brown families. Knew them all very well and you had a great parents and brother. They will live in our memories.
Thanks very much pepe greatly appreciated