Heart warming stories from the Ship

HugalHugal Shipmate
We are a great bunch of people. What are the good stories about the ship?
I will start.
A while back now one shipmate Miss Molly was dying of cancer. Many shipmates made decorated squares of fabric which were stitched together into a quilt and sent to Moss Molly. She loved it. She asked the hospital staff to put it over her as she passed on so she would be surrounded by friends.
Stories don’t have to be that big. They can be nice things we have done.

Comments

  • That's cool.

    I can only speak for myself.

    Messages of support when Mrs Gamaliel died meant a great deal.
  • On the Old Ship we did a Secret Santa gift exchange, and I have a lovely heart-shaped Christmas tree ornament with a hand painted thistle on it, obviously from a Scottish shipmate. It brings me such joy every year when it comes out of the box, as does the fanciful jackrabbit ornament from Santa Fe, NM, purchased during a shipmeet there in the mid-2000s.

    (And I’d still love to know who sent me the thistle ornament!)
  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    Mamacita wrote: »
    (And I’d still love to know who sent me the thistle ornament!)

    One of those questions that will return to prickle you from time to time.
  • Gill HGill H Shipmate
    edited August 2024
    There is a small kindness which a Shipmate showed me once, which I've never forgotten. This was way, way back in Ship history when the Ship looked like a lot of red linky threads!

    A music-based game was under way. You had to post your three favourite songs from a particular artist, then tag someone else and suggest an artist for them. So, I might say, my three favourite ABBA songs are x, y, z, and I nominate RandomShipmate to give me their three songs by the Beatles.

    For some reason, the thread had concentrated on a lot of indie-type music, which is not my style at all, and I was slightly apprehensive about my turn.

    Kelly Alves (who I don't think is on the current Ship, sadly) nominated me, and knowing my tastes, she gave me The Sherman Brothers

    Anyone who knows me will understand that I had no trouble choosing three songs!

    Such a little thing, but indicative of the way she always looks out for others. I miss Kelly. We do interact elsebook but I'd love it if she climbed aboard again.

    Then there was the unexpected gift of some local chile powders sent by Motherboard. I have tried for years to find one with the same depth of flavour as the 'mild' one, which I ended up putting in everything for a while.
  • SparrowSparrow Shipmate
    When I saw the title of this thread I immediately thought "Miss Molly". That was a truly heart warming (though heart rending at the time) occasion when the Ship showed its true colours.
  • Gill H mentioned chilli- I received chilli from Welease Woderwick twice.
  • Priscilla wrote: »
    Gill H mentioned chilli- I received chilli from Welease Woderwick twice.
    I received some as well, and it was amazing! (RIP, Wodders.)

  • Never received chilli powder from Wodders, but on one of the occasions that we had a glut of chillis I asked for help/suggestions on the recipe thread. He was amongst the first to respond ❤️

    Someone else in that thread passed on the wonderful practical tip of washing your hands with toothpaste after chopping chillis to remove the capsiacins. Very useful given that I wear contact lenses!
  • I also received chilli powder from Wodders (RIP) twice.

    I used to enjoy reading the ‘Mafia’ threads on the old ship, and waiting for each instalment. It was fun to observe individual personalities being brought to life and the interactions between participants. I am not a creative writer but I love reading other people’s contributions. I see that there is currently a ship story in heaven :)

    Of course, the Ship nativity was a joy to behold.
  • Mamacita wrote: »
    Priscilla wrote: »
    Gill H mentioned chilli- I received chilli from Welease Woderwick twice.
    I received some as well, and it was amazing! (RIP, Wodders.)

    :O I had either forgotten or never knew that he had passed. Blessings to be upon him.
  • It happened during the time you were off the ship, @ChastMastr .
  • NicoleMR wrote: »
    It happened during the time you were off the ship, @ChastMastr .

    🕯
  • I can't remember the circumstances that led up to it, but I have a beautiful hand made leather keyring with my name on it from Py_xe (I suspect I can't even recall the correct spelling of his ship name!)
  • I would love to thank whoever sent me a wind up purple bug toy in the Secret Santa many years ago. This little bug shoots across the floor then stops, does a backwards roll and rushes off in another direction. Each of my grandchildren have loved playing with this; youngest grandson as recently as yesterday.
  • I can't remember the circumstances that led up to it, but I have a beautiful hand made leather keyring with my name on it from Py_xe (I suspect I can't even recall the correct spelling of his ship name!)

    I remember Pyx-e (?) —what became of him?
  • It's Pyx_e.
  • @Pyx_e is still registered on this august vessel.
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    edited August 2024
    But hasn’t visited, at least not while logged in, since April 2020.

  • I hope he’s okay…
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    That's cool.

    I can only speak for myself.

    Messages of support when Mrs Gamaliel died meant a great deal.

    I felt the same when David died; the Ship was a huge comfort. ❤️
  • SpikeSpike Ecclesiantics & MW Host, Admin Emeritus
    I used to get chilli powder from Wodders as well. It was bloody good stuff.

    Way back in 2002 I was made redundant. It was totally unexpected so I was really knocked for six. I remember the enormous love and support I received from Shipmates at the time. It meant an awful lot.
  • Sending hugs to everyone here.
  • We have made some good friends via the ship and shipments, including the person who has become our vicar and who supported Lord P when he was in Horsham and has supported him as he has been accepted for ordination training.
  • TrudyTrudy Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I've enjoyed the rare times I've been able to meet Shipmates in person, but nothing beats the time in 2006 when, while travelling in the UK with two young children, we were invited by a couple shipmates to their house for a meal, and they allowed us to wash all our accumulated trip laundry for our family of four in their washing machine, and kept it till it was dried the next day and we could make a trip back to get it. I've always appreciated that act of kindness to a young family who were living out of backpacks for a couple of weeks!
  • I’ve really liked the Shipmeets I/we went to! ❤️ And seen some Shipmates apart from those as well. ❤️
  • It’s been odd seeing the interconnections with other friends - my friend taught one of @Gamma Gamaliel’s children and @Birdie knew another of our friends.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    I finished the last of the Wodder's chilli not that long ago. I met him at a shipmeet once, and he was such an interesting man.
    On my desk at the moment I have a statue of Ganesh that Uncle Pete brought me from India once when he was on his way home via India. It always reminds me of him, and the world wide links of the Ship.
  • MiffyMiffy Shipmate
    On my desk I have a wooden letter opener and something that looks like a mouse’s skateboard, both from Uncle Pete in a Secret Santa or Easter Bunny exchange.
  • I am really enjoying this thread, and seeing names that I recognise with fondness from my first voyage on the ship.
    Unfortunately I can't remember when that 'voyage' began or finished, but I was here long enough to participate in several international Secret Santa's , which were a joy.
    Sadly no remnants of that time seem to remain in the ship archives, probably because I rarely ventured beyond Heaven and The Circus.

    I must confess at this point that I stole several ideas from The Circus and adapted them to use on the online book group I used to moderate. The Circus was a much livelier forum in those days - and my book group doesn't even exist any longer.
    Oh the ravages of time!
  • Any chance of another Secret Santa, perhaps? Though international may be more expensive now...
  • Sven the Moose. Does anyone still remember him? It was about 22 years ago at this point, Sven was a little toy moose from Ikea who got sent around the world and shipmates took pictures of Sven doing things in famous places, and then sent on with souvenirs. I took Sven to the Statue of Liberty with my daughter. I don't know where he ever ended up or what happened to him... But it was so fun following his travels.
  • NicoleMR wrote: »
    Sven the Moose. Does anyone still remember him? It was about 22 years ago at this point, Sven was a little toy moose from Ikea who got sent around the world and shipmates took pictures of Sven doing things in famous places, and then sent on with souvenirs. I took Sven to the Statue of Liberty with my daughter. I don't know where he ever ended up or what happened to him... But it was so fun following his travels.

    I remember him!
  • Does anyone else remember this posting on the ship? From twelve years ago. It's been with me ever since - a sort of updated 'Puddleglum defence', I suppose, and a great riposte to some sceptical folk.
    Here it is:
    "Do you ever read poetry? I mean really, do you read it and enjoy it? I believe the world isn't all governed by mathematics, equations, scientific theory and physics and chemistry and biological pathways. Sure, this helps explain a lot and it can be fascinating and wonderful, but there are some things that only poetry will explain, that only story can capture and that only music can express fully, and it often does it without ever touching scientific fact, dry theories or equations and physics. Maybe you think everything can be explained in this way, but I don't. I live in a different world where spirituality breathes life into poetry, story, art and music.
    I live in a world of love and beauty. I also live in a world where poetry works with meter, and music is based on scales and chords. I believe that the human mind needs to be a step more complex than anything it genuinely can understand, therefore the human mind can not be fully comprehended by itself. I live in a world where many propositions are unprovable - and it is provable that even in a realm as limited as arithmetic there are unprovable propositions. And that not only can we not know the position and velocity of things with perfect accuracy, if we don't know them perfectly then the end results are going to be far beyond those we have foreseen.

    I live in a world where there is beauty in art, from the sublime of the St Matthew Passion to the ridiculous (and in its own way sublime) of the Muppets Christmas Carol (just to mention some of the most recent works I've watched or heard). I live in a world where there is beauty in nature from the inside of an orchid to the sky at night and the photos taken by the Hubble Telescope. I live in a world where there is beauty in science from the emergent complexity of Langton's Ant and the Mandelbrot Set to the look on someone's face after life saving surgery.

    And poetry and art are often an attempt to grapple with that which is beyond our scope of direct knowledge. As I have illustrated above, the scope of our knowledge is not just practically limited but also theoretically limited in many ways. And art often attempts to grapple with that the human mind will never completely understand. This is in no way a less noble endeavor than trying to extend the boundaries of human knowledge, knowing all the while that you will never know it all.

    I live in a world not just richer, deeper, and more beautiful than I comprehend, but one that is richer, deeper, and more beautiful than I can comprehend.

    I discovered a core of experiential truth which makes me feel complete, and connects me to everything. In that sense, Christianity works for me splendidly, although every now and again I have to go off in a sulk".
    Blessings to whoever wrote this - it's kept me warm for many, many years!
  • Popping in to mention Lothlorien. I never interacted with her as I was a long term ship lurker for many years. I do remember praying when her grand daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia and I am sure others here did so as well.

    From memory she was a knitter and was living in a lovely part of the country with her family when she became unwell and passed away.

    I always enjoyed her posts
  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    Priscilla wrote: »
    Gill H mentioned chilli- I received chilli from Welease Woderwick twice.

    I still use his prayer "Holding you in the living, loving light."

    🕯️

    I met him twice, we had a meal together in Manchester each time. A lovely man.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Popping in to mention Lothlorien. I never interacted with her as I was a long term ship lurker for many years. I do remember praying when her grand daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia and I am sure others here did so as well.

    From memory she was a knitter and was living in a lovely part of the country with her family when she became unwell and passed away.

    I always enjoyed her posts

    When Mr F was first diagnosed, she arranged the gift of a bottle of gin.

    And at the same terrible time, I had much valued support from Uncle Pete.
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