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- 2 While those of us who were fortunate enough to have lived in countries not actually occupied by Germany at the time (although many were subjected to bombing and destruction and heavy loss of life, both on land and at sea and in the air) the Dutch people went through a living hell of resistance, coldblooded murder and starvation. They therefore have all the more reason to remember their liberation and to Hye their thankfulness for their eventual deliverance by the Canadian forces. They cherish and attach great value to the freedom they now have. It is harder for us, who were not living there experiencing the terror of it all, to feel quite so intensely thankful for the end of the war, but like the Dutch people, those of us who lost family members, boy friends, fathers and brothers, sons and even daughters, share the never-ending grief and loss which is always with us. But we can feel pride in their bravery and their sacrifice, and the genuine and perpetual thankfulness of the Dutch people does affirm that they surely did not die in vain. In Hyde Park, London on May 8th, the emphasis, while respectful of the great sacrifices made 50 years ago, was on peace. On a new generation, on understanding, on a rare brotherhood of unity that will lead into the next century. Noble words are easy to utter. Fine phrases are not difficult to write. But when we stood quietly in (2 minutes) silence, we thought not just of the victories of the past Our minds leaped with optimism about our futures and those of our children. (Daily Express, May 10, 1995) As Friends of the Library we are especially conscious of the "Memorial" nature and location of our Library. I can only hope that our younger generations can at some stage be helped to understand and appreciate where all our present-day freedom comes from, and at what cost it was defended 50 years ago. And I don't want, next November, to hear the North Shore News asking us, as they did last year, if we think that Remembrance Day is "losing its significance." I hope that all the recent V.E. DAY events have in fact revitalized the significance of remembrance. COUNTRY CHARACTERS: THE TWOMEYS (From "The Magic Apple Tree" by Susan Hill, 1982) Autumn-time is apple-time and apples make cider. It is the end of October. Time to pay a visit to the Twomeys. Their farm is in the next parish, but it always seems to me as if it exists in some other world entirely, the Twomeys and their amazing place are creatures from some crazy, surrealistic story-book, from a past that never was and a present that cannot possibly be. I often wonder, moreover, if the Authorities know about the Twomeys. There is a concealed entrance between overgrown, overhanging bushes to the left, into which you swing, over a rusty cattle-grid and then along what is not a driveway, not a road, but a messy cinder track, which broadens out, just as you leave the trees, into a piece of grass-overgrown, open yard-cum-field. In front of you is the small, four-square stone farmhouse, all around are the outbuildings, bams, stables, sties, sheds and all in the most appalling state of disrepair. Corrugated tin roofs hang askew and have gone rusty or else have grass and weeds growing out of them, slates and tiles have slipped and fallen, roofs are bowing in the middle, doors swing open on broken hinges, or are propped up with old cans and stakes. The house, which might once upon a time have been rather nice, neat and plain and sensible, pleasing to the eye, is a sorry sight of peeling paintwork and tatty curtains and the odd boarded-up window pane. You could be forgiven for thinking the place was empty and completely fallen into disuse. Once, there were animals here, cattle, horses, pigs, fowls. Now, there are none. The Twomeys gave up keeping animals more than ten years ago, though they still go to market, regular as clockwork. No one knows why. No one knows how old they are, either, but they cant be far off seventy, and maybe they are much more. They have that timeless, old-young look peculiar to babies, very old men and creatures out of science fiction and fantasy. .../3