Today something special is happening... no, not the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, though I am sure that will be an amazing spectacle.

Today someone who has been the 'wind beneath the wings' of others reaches her one hundredth birthday.

Wife of a repsected and much-published Baptist minister and former college principal, she knows from the inside what manse life and college life are like

House-mother and health-worker in East London during WWII she has seen grinding poverty, the consequences of poor education and too easy access to intoxicating liquor.

Involved in caring for children rescued via kinder-transport; foster mother to wartime refugees; and mother to two children of her own.

Stalwart of her Welsh Baptist chapel, and following her husband to such diverse places as the Wirral and Borehamwood before reaching Glasgow.

And for me, the gentle voice of encouragment, the winning smile, the kindly word when a service, carefully prepared and achingly wrought has been delivered.

As the inescapable march of time carries with it her short term memory, she is often heard to say "my mother-in-law had a saying "It's a job to know"" and it is a job to know - a job to know what to say in celebration of a life wll lived, generously and selflessly, passing on love and Christian values to family, friends and neighbours.

Today we will be celebrating with someone who is not "the wife and widow of R E O White" but who is  loved and revered in her own right.

HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY & EVERY BLESSING GWYNETH WHITE

Over the past few days I've noticed an increasing number of 'Clyde' figures around the city - in railway stations and today in the Botanic Gardens.  A little bit of a google later and I discovered that, yes, there is a Clyde Trail - what fun!  I wonder if at the end of the games there'll be an auction of Clydes?  Not that I'll be bidding, however lovely and however much fun - no use decluttering and then immediately recluttering!

One of the inititative running alongside the games is an appeal for Unicef - adverts are appearing all over the UK, I certainly saw them on the tube in London last week as well as on the Subway in Glasgow.  The More information here. 

Today I joined countless others to cheer on the Queen's Baton Relay.  Living where I do, I could easily have seen ot go past in as many as four different locations, but various other commitments made that impossible, and even I can have too much of a good thing!

I saw it first just up the road from where I live.  An interesting blend of wealthy and working class cheek by jowl, people flocked to see the baton and it was wonderful to be just a few yards from a hand over point... the man carrying the baton was mobbed by children longing to be in the official photo!

A couple of hours later, I saw it again just round the corner from The Gathering Place, now knowing exactly how to spot the hand-over point at a bus stop, I was ready and waiting when a young woman arrived with her extended family and friends to take her 100m (if that!) stretch of road to the next bus stop.  A busy shopping street, the crowds were thinner, bemused tourists and shoppers waited for buses... and the lady who had served me in Boots nipped out early for her lunch break to see it (hope she made it back in time!)

Then for some unknown reason I turned left rather than right and headed home the longer way round, which took me through the grounds of the Gartnavel hospitals (there are four of them) including the Beatson WoSCC

It brought back to mind a time when seeing the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games felt like an impossible dream, when the bank card that expired in July 2014 might have seen me out (I cut it up last week when its replacement arrived), and when I vowed if I was still here to go and watch the netball finals (the tickets are in the drawer!)

It was so good - so incredibly good - to cheer on these baton bearers, without a shred of fear or dread in my heart.  So good, almost four years on to be close to achieving those goals and to thinking about new ones.

I feel very blessed, and the Queen's Baton Relay somehow symbolises hope realised.

It's been a pretty wonderful weekend all things considered... I am, among all people, truly blessed.

Over in the addictive and displacement actvitiy world of social media, there is currently a craze for posting three things for which you are grateful every day for five days.  Ostensibly you tag thee more people a day, but I decided not to do that bit!

It's a good discipline, but for me it's not a new idea - counting blessings, looking for something of beauty, finding a positive every day... it's something I've known since childhood and actively practiced since 23rd August 2010 (well, probalby 24th acutally; BC:AD (before cancer: after diagnosis) transition anyway)

Why then, has it been challenging each day find three things to write down?

I think because, intuitively, when I write them down I feel they need to be a little bit worthy, or at least worthy of begins seen by others, rather than just the fleeting moments that gladden my heart.

Now, four days in (my fifth and final day will be delayed as I am offline for a couple of days meeting some friends in Greenwich) I have expressed my gratitude for...

• the internet
• sticky tape to remove laser toner from clothes and carpets
• rain to green and refresh the city
• lunch and great conversation with my 'mentee'
• Public transport, especially trains, I love riding on trains even when it all does to pot!!
• the NHS
• Greggs (bakers) apple turnovers - tasy and one of my five a day!
• internet shopping
• Waterproof clothing
• My chemo-buddies (who I will be meeting in Greenwich)
• Recycling, upcycling, freecycling and bicycling (the (potential) outworking of de-cluttering.. anyone want a bike??)
• Tea in all its varieties

I know some readers have played this 'game' and others practice 'gratefulness' in other ways, but who knows, maybe there is someone who might benefit from trying for three-a-day!!