[Growster...]

This morning, it was so cold downstairs that I re-lit the open fire so we had some sort of warmth to sit around...

It wasn't difficult to get it going again, as I'd made it up last night with some slack and a few coals, but Mrs Growster had a load of old paper hankies to get rid of, so they went on as well! The whole shebang went perfectly, and after breakfast - and Lily's walk in the churchyard, I went to clear the ashes and set up the new fire for the day.

Leaning, (staggering...) down, I spotted what looked like some shavings on the hearth next to the coal bucket, and it turned out to be Mrs Growster's eternity ring, which she's had for - er - eternity! Being a bit like Sherlock Holmes, my next question was, 'Are you wearing your wedding ring'?

Now, at our age, fingers change size, and in the cold weather, they sometimes get a bit tiny, and it was so with her wedding ring, which she's worn since 1972! The bag of hankies had included her wedding band which had fallen off...

So it meant putting the raging coal fire out with a can of water, and about an hour of sifting through the damp ashes! There was old coal everywhere, the ashes were in a huge heap, and every single piece of muck needed to be inspected!

I'd just about given up after all this time, when, surprise-surprise, on the last rakings, this little gold band appeared in the hearth, all miserable and certainly a bit burny and dirty!

Never has a tin of Duraglit been so welcome, and after several worried minutes of TLC, we're back married again!

All I can say is, "PHEW"...

[Yorkie]

Well done on your eagle eyes 

[Christine]

Best to inspect the wife's offerings for the fire in the future then? 

[snowdrops]

Good spot there Mr G, bet you were both mightily relieved to ‘still be married’ at the end of the treasure hunt
 

[wighty]

That's why I can't wear mine anymore as it falls off at the drop of a hat.  I tried one of those adjusters they fit inside to  make it small but it pinched and was uncomfortable.

[Christine]

Could never wear mine - bring the hands up in itchy rashes. Safely in the jewelry box for the family to inherit. If the ring fits they can wear it.

[Growster...]

Yup, mighty relief all round; we've had the ring smallered, then biggered, but on really cold days, rings just take on a life of themselves!

Luckily, it's the original ring, but all the others are 'recent' after a burglary, so this was precious!

My wedding ring just wore out, but a fabulous firm in Dundee, 'The Ring Doctor', got it all back to 'as new' for  several well-spent pounds, and it looks as good as it did in 1972...

When my dad popped off, we kept his wedding ring, and on the inside,there was an engraving which said, 'Mizpah'.

"What does Mizpah mean in love?
The word mizpah comes from the Hebrew word for watchtower (no coincidence there). It represents an emotional bond, the gravity of which was hard to articulate. Mizpah jewelry was most often given to your beloved when a long separation was in the foreseeable future."

I was always touched by that, as soon after Dunkirk, he was sent to Nigeria with the Royal Engineers for a few years, so it's an apt memorial for me!

[Goosegirl]

Am so sorry about your burglary. Theft and cheating in whatever form is totally abhorrent to me. If I ever caught someone in our house trying to nick something, I'd do whatever I could and blow the consequences. A  slide down with my shoe on the shin quickly followed by a swift kick in the rowlocks, then a blow under the chin as the head came down, followed by being hog-tied until the pcs came. Yeah, I wish, but nonetheless,  I'm just a frail old lady protecting myself ain't I just!   

[Kleftiwallah]

The Memsahib lost her engagement ring on a beach in Southern Spain,  we searched diligently but no joy.  Luckily the jeweler in Old Town Swindon still had the reciept and the section and ref' of the ring so a replacement was aquired.     Lost her wedding ring in a canal in Wales very near to 'that aqueduct',  but her Grannies ring fits just as well. 

I've never worn a ring after I saw a chaps finger flying over the workshop after he reached over a spinning lathe!

Cheers,  Tony.