This blog post is in memory of a wonderful fellow blogger
Ruth Seba. It is a bit of a mixture of a personal memory, a shared love of
writing/blogging, and a travel blog, all connected to Croatia. I hope you enjoy
this little taste of an exotic land.
I first ‘met’ Ruth back in 2011 when we were both blogging for
a 30-Day Blog Challenge, it feels like such a long time ago now. I was blogging
about mental health and Ruth was blogging for business. We very quickly became
firm blog, and Facebook friends, and this led to us writing a guest post for
each other, you can read Ruth’s post on my blog here.
At the time we met Ruth lived in Korcula, Croatia, where she
had a jewellery shop with her husband, Doka, called Seba Dizajin. She was hoping blogging
would help their small business grow… it worked. You can see her blog here.
In June 2012 I travelled to Korcula to met Ruth in person, such
was our friendship, and at the same tome I could get to experience Croatia for
myself, having never travelled that far before, especially not on my own!
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| Korcula |
I arrived at Dubrovnik airport in June 2012. As I stepped
out from the air-conditioned plane I was hit by a wall of heat unlike anything
I had felt before, I was instantly drenched in sweat. I had a few hours to kill
before my transfer to Korcula so, leaving my luggage at the transfer office, I
went for a wander round Dubrovnik Old Town. Whilst it was a stunning place to
visit the 35-degree heat was incredible, the first thing I bought was a sunhat
but even that wasn’t enough to help prevent me feeling like I was getting
heatstroke. Even the staff in the transfer office had been complaining it was
too hot for them, hotter than they were used to, so you can imagine how bad it
felt to me coming from cold, wet, England having never been anywhere hot
before!
Many bottles of water later I was on route to Korcula. The
minibus ride took us through the captivating countryside, which was beautiful,
but at the same time melancholic. Evidence of the war was still clear, with pock-marked
remnants of buildings and sparse, barren expanses of land, in between areas
where the signs of recovery were clear. Because, for those who don’t know,
Croatia was part of Yugoslavia until War of
Independence in the 1990’s.
After a short pitstop at my hotel, Liburna, (I say short but
what I really mean is pass out in the air-conditioned room stripped bare and wandering
if it would be possible to stay naked the entire time I was there! haha) I went
out to Korcula old town to meet Ruth. I had bought a few books over for her as
she struggled to get books that were popular in the UK in Croatia. Ruth had a
gift for me too, a gorgeous, silver filigree butterfly brooch (pictured).
It was awesome to see her little shop, just under the Marco
Polo tower and watch Doka working away on the handmade silver jewellery. After
I had been back to the hotel for my evening meal we spent a few hours catching up
and had a couple of drinks in a quaint outside bar (The name of which I
unfortunately cannot recall) overlooking the Peljesac Channel and it finally
cooled down enough for me to be able to sleep once I got back to the hotel.
My visit to Korcula was unfortunately cut short, a
combination of personal problems back home and being unable to cope with the
heat meant I went home early.
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| Ruth Seba |
It feels like it was only a short while after I got home that
in one of our many conversations Ruth broke the news about her cancer, when
exactly that was I’m not sure, but it was probably longer than it feels looking
back. When she told me, I was convinced she would beat it, Ruth was a fighter,
a strong, amazing woman who always had a kind word and a virtual shoulder for
others even with all she was going through herself, she rarely (if ever)
complained, or even mentioned her illness online.
It wasn’t until Ruth started posting about funding for
treatment in December 2014 that the seriousness of her illness became apparent.
Ruth and Doka were staying in Ruth’s hometown of Dunedin, New Zealand when she
posted about her cancer properly for the first time. Ruth had stage 4 melanoma for
which treatment was not funded in New Zealand, so she was trying to raise money
to help her get the treatment she needed.
Unfortunately, on 21 April 2015 Ruth lost her battle with
the cancer.
Travelled far and wide touching the hearts of many whose
paths she crossed including mine. From her hometown of Dunedin, New Zealand, to Scotland where she lived for 12
years, to Croatia where she lived and worked with her beloved husband Doka.
Ruth, this post is for
you xx
S.L.Grigg
What a heartfelt post and Ruth sounds like a true friend. I am so sorry for your loss, but love your descriptions of Croatia.
Author Bio:
S.L.Grigg has been blogging since 2009 and has
just published her first book Coffee Break Companion. When she isn’t writing
she enjoys reading, travel, studying, and much more. She is currently training
to become a Pilates instructor, as if she hadn’t already got enough on her
plate!
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SLGRIGG76/
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/SLGrigg
Wonderful that someone became a true friend after meeting online - the internet isn't always a bad place to be! Dubrovnik sounds amazing but I couldn't have coped with that heat either. A lovely tribute.
ReplyDeleteThanks Angela, she was a truly amazing person I wish I had been able to have more time with her
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda��
ReplyDelete