Dear Editors,
Last summer my friend and I took a trip to England and Scotland. My husband is a big fan of The Downhome magazine and suggested that I bring a copy and get a picture taken to send in to the magazine. At the airport, I was anxiously waiting to leave when my husband passed a copy of the magazine to me, for me to take on my trip. Ironically, this magazine had an article on Newfoundland ponies and our pony was mentioned in the article along with a picture of her as a foal. My family thought it was very cool that this particular magazine was making a trip to the UK with me.
The time had come for me to leave so I clutched my magazine in my hand and walked through security. As I was boarding the plane and about to sit in my seat, I realized to my horror that I was no longer clutching my magazine. I had left my magazine back at security. Somebody in security had my magazine. I was quite distraught and took comfort in the fact that I should be able to purchase another copy at the Halifax airport. Unfortunately, there was no Domehome magazine to be found. I knew my husband would be very disappointed and therefore I was not very happy.
Then I had a brilliant idea, I could e mail my very good friend in Newfoundland , get her to purchase a copy, have her scan the cover and email it back to me. I could then travel the UK with what would look like the Downhome magazine and get my picture taken. Perhaps my husband would never have to know of my absentmindedness. However, due to technological difficulties, this did not prove to be an easy task. After many attempts, and with the help of the wonderful Scottish family I was staying with, I finally was able to print off the cover that my friend sent me. I then placed the cover on a tourist magazine and was set to go. We did have one problem though, the cover that I printed off was much bigger than the original and I thought that the r was missing at the end. You see I did not realize there was a change in the name and thought the magazine was still called the Downhomer. So with our magazine in hand, my partner in crime and I began visiting different Scottish tourist attractions and took a number of pictures. Of course we had to hide the fact there was no r at the end of Downhomer so we made sure to place our fingers over the supposed missing letter so that my husband wouldnÂ’t learn of my deception. Imagine my surprise when I got home and realized that our efforts to hide the r were completely unnecessary since it wasnÂ’t suppose to be there in anyway.
In the end, we had so much fun, much more fun than we ever would have had if I hadnÂ’t left my magazine with security at St. JohnÂ’s airport. Our trip was fantastic, and the absent Downhome magazine certainly added to the adventure. I hope you enjoy our pictures.
Sincerely,
Denise Reid
Winterton, Newfoundland
P.S. Present in the pictures are Myself( Denise Reid) and my very patient friend Corina Reid.
  Submitted By: Denise Reid