When my niece Louisa was a child she named her doll Lydia after our aunt Lydia. Did you know that Lydia was named after St Lydia and a character in the New Testament? (Acts 16:25-40). St. Lydia was a single lady who was given prominence in the Bible because she was a successful business woman who traded in purple cloth and an example to women today who are entrepreneurs. On the other hand, aunt Lydia was a wife and mother but a very fine needlewoman and seamstress. Had she chosen to run her own business she would be very successful. Aunt Lydia made clothes, soft toys, knitted gifts for others and finally when my mother Fara passed away she gave her remnants of wool, fabric, embroidery skeins, dress and knitting patterns to a charity where other industrious needle women made items for fund raising. Like her namesake, however, she was very hospitable. You will have read that St Lydia owned her own house and when Paul and Silas were released from prison she provided them with accommodation. Aunt Lydia was very independent as her husband Michael passed away when she was in her early 40s. God had blessed her and continues to bless her family. We all miss her very much. Barbara