Caroline had a fantastic time at the National Chef of the Year in London 🏆✨#NCOTY
So much talent, energy and passion on show, it’s always inspiring to see chefs at the very top of their game! Congratulations to winner Danny Young and Young Chef of the Year Keira Carolan👏
*One month before her 95th birthday, Patricia Routledge wrote something that still gently echoes:*
**“I’ll be turning 95 this coming Monday. In my younger years, I was often filled with worry — worry that I wasn’t quite good enough, that no one would cast me again, that I wouldn’t live up to my mother’s hopes. But these days begin in peace, and end in gratitude.”**
My life didn’t quite take shape until my forties. I had worked steadily — on provincial stages, in radio plays, in West End productions — but I often felt adrift, as though I was searching for a home within myself that I hadn’t quite found.
At 50, I accepted a television role that many would later associate me with — Hyacinth Bucket, of Keeping Up Appearances. I thought it would be a small part in a little series. I never imagined that it would take me into people’s living rooms and hearts around the world. And truthfully, that role taught me to accept my own quirks. It healed something in me.
At 60, I began learning Italian — not for work, but so I could sing opera in its native language. I also learned how to live alone without feeling lonely. I read poetry aloud each evening, not to perfect my diction, but to quiet my soul.
At 70, I returned to the Shakespearean stage — something I once believed I had aged out of. But this time, I had nothing to prove. I stood on those boards with stillness, and audiences felt that. I was no longer performing. I was simply being.
At 80, I took up watercolor painting. I painted flowers from my garden, old hats from my youth, and faces I remembered from the London Underground. Each painting was a quiet memory made visible.
Now, at 95, I write letters by hand. I’m learning to bake rye bread. I still breathe deeply every morning. I still adore laughter — though I no longer try to make anyone laugh. I love the quiet more than ever.
**I’m writing this to tell you something simple:**
**Growing older is not the closing act. It can be the most exquisite chapter — if you let yourself bloom again.**
Let these years ahead be your *treasure years*.
You don’t need to be famous. You don’t need to be flawless.
You only need to show up — fully — for the life that is still yours.
*With love and gentleness,*
— Patricia Routledge
Fantastic array of musical talent @nerve_centre Derry on Fri 15th Nov with The Suite, Cora Harkin and Sombre. Tickets selling fast!
The Suite will be launching their brand new single “Can You Feel it”.
We've teamed up with @tapairportugal to give away return flights for two to beautiful city of Lisbon 🇵🇹✈️
To be in with a chance to win:
FOLLOW & REPOST
Winner will be announced on Friday, September 22, 2023.
Good Luck 🤞
Info: https://t.co/9q7QGCQc0D
@TMIrelandHelp@GrumpyWhippet Same here & I had 4 in my basket 😭😭
I didn’t give the country option!
Only options given were
eTickets - Free or Delivery @ Home!
Lost my tickets 😔
How would you like to be in with a chance to win:
Return flights to Cleveland with @AerLingus 🇺🇸
4 nights in a luxurious 4* hotel📷
Tickets to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame🎸
To enter: FOLLOW & RT
Winner announced Friday 19/05
Details: https://t.co/llR5HL6YUr
Good Luck 🤞
@poloconghaile You must must get the train from Portrush/Coleraine to Derry city. It’s just a stunning journey, as is the walled city of #Derry - enjoy 🚂🚂
We have a wonderful mini-break for two to Nuremberg to give away.
To be in with a chance to win flights, accommodation & so much more, all you need to do is:
FOLLOW & RT
Click here for more info: https://t.co/x5mh87lP1Q
WINNER ANNOUNCED FRIDAY, 11.11.22
#TasteOfNUE