Saturday, 25 February 2012

The kindness of others

So I’m sat here in the wi-fi hotspot at Charlton Farm Hospice, a converted farmhouse that offers respite for life-limited children, entirely funded by charitable donations.
http://www.chsw.org.uk/page.aspx?pid=594
We get 14 nights a year here. I bring my daughter and get to write whilst she’s looked after by trained staff, and my wife stays home to catch up on the sleep she doesn’t get the other 351 days of the year. It’s wonderful.
Yesterday Celyn (8 years old) got to dress up, go on a wheelchair swing, see some cows, direct the creation of a party hat ... it’s all go.

Today it’s the birthday of another sweet little girl at the hospice. She's three years old today. She’s been on chemotherapy/radiation for much of her life. If you were here watching her play and hearing her parents speak of their hopes for a cure you too would have to turn your face away. Three . . .



Forgive me for speaking in platitudes but platitudes earned their status by serving so well. Places like Charlton Farm provide a counterpoint to the awfulness you can watch on your TV screen 24/7. Most people will never see them but they exist because of the kindness of others. And I felt liked sharing that.


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6 comments:

  1. Paul Weimer25 February 2012 at 05:33

    That first picture has a "Alice in Wonderland" sort of vibe. :)

    Thanks for sharing these.

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  2. Karen25 February 2012 at 11:04

    Thanks for posting this. We are all familiar with the 'giants' of Childrens Health care and Support but it is the small organizations like Charlton Farm that help families get through the realities of loving and living with childhood illness. I am always on the lookout for 'real' causes to support and this is one of them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Order and Chaos26 February 2012 at 23:58

    Lovely post, yes the kindness of others is heart meltingly wonderful to see and experience. It is indeed a real tonic.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Talismán Dreams15 March 2012 at 05:03

    It is wonderful that there are people always willing to help. Getting to see a smile on the face of a child is a great reward for that effort.

    a hug

    ReplyDelete
  5. Admin of audionovelz23 July 2012 at 15:44

    Thanks for identifying related to post on our blog we have taken down the post.
    No content is uploaded by The http://audionovelz.blogspot.com, we simply index and link to content already available on the internet.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous29 September 2012 at 09:11

    Dear 'Admin of audionovelZ', you facilitate theft from authors & deprive children like Celyn of support - taking down this one link of many does not stop you being scum.

    ReplyDelete