Original blog

Well, I've just stopped by to visit this original blog and am amazed to see it's working at last.

Back in July it hitched up and refused to work so I transferred everything to Wordpress ...

Here's the link http://dancingonabladeofgrass.wordpress.com/

Testing, Testing

I'm just going to attempt to post a little something to see if it crops up on everyone's Blogroll - my poor blog is still subject to an error message.

BUT my other temporary blog seems to be fine ..... eeeek

My First Blog Award

Well, I don't know what to say, I've just been given my very first award from the lovely Lace Hearts ... thank you C ... much appreciated.

Now I have to

Put this Logo on my Blog – does that make it a Blogo? Done
Put a link/or mention Done
Nominate at least 7 other blogs Difficult to choose as there are so many interesting ones - but for the moment I'll go with the following :-

A Different Era

Homespun Living

All Things Shabby Chic

23 Beech Hill

Country Bliss

Notes from the Frugal Trenches

Curlew Country

Link those Blogs Links to all these blogs are in the right hand column (under the photo of the poppy!)
Leave a message on their blog Done

Way Back When

I had an e-mail yesterday from Friends Reunited inviting me to look at their updated website, which I did and was very surprised to see the following photograph which was taken 50 years ago! I am the one with the black arrow above her head.

The above photograph was taken at the same time (I'm the one on the right trying to pull over the maypole). My Mum is seated (four people to the left of me in the photo) in the black cardigan. Next to her (on the left) is my grandmother holding my new baby sister (although she is barely visible) who had been born on 13 May. The girl to the left of me in the photo wrote to me a few years ago and I was intrigued by her memories of coming to our house to watch The Lone Ranger. This might explain why I felt an affinity with Wyoming, when I visited there!

I was surprised to see the school mentioned at all, as it was such a tiny private school in Luton. I loved it there and remember the May celebrations well - the flowers they used were beautiful and every time I smell lilac I remember those days. The school consisted of a Little Class and a Big Class! I remember progressing to the Big Class and learning all about Mistle Thrushes in my first lesson .....

Funny how one little e-mail can give your memory such a jolt.

Rainy Day Random Post

It's raining yet again and I have blogblock at the moment, so I've just been looking through my photos to find something to remind me of SUNSHINE and WARMTH.

These, taken at Alice Springs a couple of years ago, might do the trick ....

I loved these beautiful Masked Devil Cicadas (so incredibly noisy) on a gum tree by the Todd River ...


This photo always reminds me of what a HOT day it was - but at least it was dry heat not that rainforest damp stuff!...

The aforementioned mighty Todd River at Alice ....

The delightful Olive Pink Botanic Garden ...

Mmmmm ... I think that has helped a bit.

Now, IF ONLY we could do a weather swap .... and help Australia alleviate its current record drought conditions.

Another Great Grandfather

I thought that I'd put together another little family history snapshot.

My great grandfather Henry West was born on 16 May 1862 and according to the 1871 census was, at the age of 8, living with his parents, Arthur and Sarah, at Wrafton, Braunton, Devon.

At 18, he worked as a "Farm Servant (Indoor)" at the 95 acre farm of William and Elizabeth Quick in Georgeham, North Devon.

A very flimsy piece of paper with his handwriting, dated August 1891, gives details of his family’s birthdays. Sadly, out of Arthur and Sarah’s 13 (possibly 14) children, 5 (2 boys and 3 girls) died young. There were no surviving daughters. Out of the 8 male siblings, 5 became policemen. Aged 23, Henry joined the Metropolitan Police on 13 July 1885. 3 of his brothers also joined the Met.

Around that time, to join the Metropolitan Police the following qualifications were necessary:

to be over 21 and under 27 years of age

to stand clear 5ft 9ins without shoes or stockings

to be able to read well, write legibly and have a fair knowledge of spelling

to be generally intelligent

to be free from any bodily complaint.

The bodily complaints for which candidates were rejected included; flat foot, stiffness of joints, narrow chest and deformities of the face.

In early 1891, 29 year old Henry was unmarried and living in the Section House of Lambeth Police Station at Kennington Lane. Later that year he married Caroline Sharman.

Between 1888 and 1891 the name of Jack The Ripper was regarded with terror by the residents of London's East End, and was known the world over - I wonder what Henry's experience of the situation was?

Henry lived not far from Charlie Chaplin, who went to school in Kennington Lane and whose occupation (then aged 12) in the 1901 Census is given as Music Hall Artiste.

There exists, still, an extremely flimsy piece of paper (shown below) written by Henry whilst in London. It is his police report of a collision in High Street, Peckham in which a brewer’s dray was involved. The actual report is just about legible!
Henry’s wife Caroline died aged 40. Henry went on to marry Ellen Collins, a Londoner, in Lambeth in 1907.

During his Metropolitan police career, he was stationed at Marylebone, Lambeth, Westminster and Whitehall. He was pensioned on 26 September 1911 as this document, nearly 100 years old and still in pristine condition shows:-

After leaving the Metropolitan Police, they returned to Braunton, where Henry was again a policeman - I have a hazy photo of him in uniform, directing the traffic in Braunton during the 1930s in the middle of a flood.

The following photo, showing Henry on the left (with the very long legs!) was possibly taken at Braunton Burrows just around the corner from where he lived at 17 Barton Lane.
Aged 84, he died on 29 March 1947 (having being driven into by an American woman’s car, whilst he was on his bicycle, or so I have been told – I would like to find the documentation). He is buried in the graveyard of St Brannock's Church, Braunton, Devon.

Belated Christmas Present

Well, at last I managed to give Mum her belated Christmas present - a mini-break in the Cotswolds!

On Tuesday my sister (The Recycling Goddess - see earlier post) arrived with Mum to pick me up and, after morning coffee, we set off for Malmesbury where we had lunch at The Whole Hog. We spent the afternoon in the Abbey House Gardens, home of the Naked Gardeners. The photos are ones I took on a previous visit so I can't show you the wonderful roses which were in bloom ...


We had afternoon tea, sitting in the sunshine overlooking the fountain and then went on to our hotel, where we had a delicious dinner ...

Next day, it was off to Stratford-upon-Avon via Moreton-in-Marsh (for coffee). We took the Stratford sightseeing bus and did the full tour before lunch at the Pen and Parchment. Next, a visit to Anne Hathaway's cottage and another beautiful garden...

We returned via Burford and Bibury -

View of Arlington Row across Rack Isle, Bibury ...

I bought a little book which explained the fascinating history of Bibury, a former weaving village. Most of the Bibury cottages date from the 17th and 18th century when the village prospered due to the wool trade - Cotswold sheep were considered to produce the finest wool in Europe. The cottages in Arlington Row housed weavers and Rack Isle was an area where the woollen cloth was "racked" after fulling (washing) and dyeing. Rack Isle is now a wildfowl reserve.The Swan Hotel, Bibury (seen above with the necessary swan!) was advertised in the book and it was good to see that lunch is served in the Brassiere!

Today we got up a bit later and had a leisurely breakfast before returning via Lacock - a village almost entirely owned by the National Trust and a popular film location (Pride and Prejudice, Cranford, Harry Potter). After a walk around the village we stopped for morning refreshments at the 13th century King John's Hunting Lodge and sat in the restful flower-filled garden.

Then it was back home for lunch prepared by Clive ... what a star!

Aussie Men Back Again!

Having seen the glorious Australian Spooky Men's Chorale last summer, I can't resist posting this YouTube video put together by Freya Littlewood and Stephen Lee and the beautiful hairy men of Nimbin Australia with the sound of the Spooky Men.

This video is no longer embedded in the post but can be seen on:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nNu2AZcr6Ws

Giveaway

I got these shelves from Freecycle when we were re-doing the Utility Room with a view to painting them cream. Unfortunately they are just a little bit too big ... so if anyone reading this would like them, they are welcome to collect. The measurements are - Height 81 cm, Depth 18 cm and Length 110 cm.

I just wish I had room for them here .... but they just WON'T fit.

Adelaide and Glastonbury

On Wednesday we were visited by a lovely couple from Adelaide. We had never met them before! The wonders of the internet. D went to the same primary school as I did in Luton many, many years ago. She lived around the corner from me and knew of the parade of shops where we had a toy/bicycle shop BUT until last Wednesday I had never met her! We have corresponded since "meeting" on-line after a query she had posted about Stopsley. Since then I've enjoyed her long letters, describing life in Oz. A couple of years ago, when we were in Adelaide, we stood outside the University of South Australia to watch the Christmas Parade - we learnt that her husband worked in that building. Anyway, D and D, if you're reading this on your return home, thank you for taking time out of your hectic schedule to pop in - it was a delight to meet you.


Yesterday we took daughter and an old school friend to Glastonbury. It's a route we know very well - but not under the security and fortification mode of yesterday. We were able, amidst the protestations of heavy looking security blokes, to drop the girls and all their gear off near the entrance. By now, the girls should have got a "used" look to their shiny new wellies.

For the Shabby Chic Girls

I spotted this van at a music festival last summer and remembered it after a blog comment from one of the Shabby Chic Ladies about the nest of blackbird chicks currently in the garden ....

Two 18 Year Olds!

I was just looking in my Family History file with a view to doing another post on a specific family member. It struck me that I have two photos of 18 year olds in there and that it would be interesting to put them together.

The first is of my Mum .... a hand-coloured photograph taken in 1945 ...



The second is of her mother, taken in 1919



It's now clear to me where I get my wayward hair from!

Hedgehogs and Blackbirds

Well now, there's all sorts of wildlife in the garden at the moment. Having been visited by the breakfasting squirrel just a day or so ago, we were having another meal - this time in the summerhouse when a hedgehog scuttled by.

In the clematis climbing over the summerhouse, a blackbird has built its nest and looks at us most discouragingly when we walk past. I managed to get a quick photo of the babies whilst the mother was off foraging ... a bit blurred .... but I didn't want to disturb them.

Sewing Matters

Managed a good(ish) walk yesterday and so was able to settle in the afternoon to a bit of sewing - did these 2 hearts - kind of made them up as I went along (a bit like my life).

So many ladies on the Shabby Chic Cafe Forum have bought sewing boxes and done wonderful things with them, painting and lining them. I have a sewing cupboard which was made by my grandfather in the 1930s - I know it was then because Mum says she remembers having to go out to buy the French Polish for it! The cupboard is on wheels and is lined with baize, it has a lift up lid and a little pull-out tray. From what I can see, it has been made by recycling some older bits of wood BUT I don't think I can bear to paint it, the top has a lovely glossy polished finish to it ...
Inside one of the doors are wooden pegs beautifully made and arranged to hold all the spools of thread - some are the old fashioned wooden ones ...

Talking of old sewing "bits", here is a photo of some Beatles material bought by Mum at Hitchin Market well over 40 years ago, I guess ... would that be right? Mum had it stored in pristine condition and found it for me not that long ago ...

It's clear who's who!

Towpath Treasures

Walking along the canal towpath this morning I saw ...

... a heron standing absolutely stock still ... I was able to take this photo within a couple of feet and it didn't budge during or after its photo shoot ...

... a canal boat roof bedecked with flower-filled jugs, kettle and teapots ... I can imagine the boat owner, about to make a cuppa, muttering to himself "Now, where did I put that bloomin' teapot?"

Breakfast Time!

Look who was on the garden wall eating their breakfast as we had ours - we decided on cornflakes rather than a tiny pear from the tree.

Early Morning

Armed with my camera, I took an early morning stroll in the garden ... it's been raining and it's overcast, so the garden colours look a little more intense than usual. I'm not a morning person so, if the photos are a little hazy, it's probably because I was half awake...

The potatoes seem to be growing to an enormous size - we've had a few already (small but delicious). Hopefully there will soon be some sun to ripen the cherry tomatoes...
Came back in to make an essential cup of tea - noticed, when I reached in the fridge for the milk, jars of stuff made by me .... crikey! It's the best way to recycle those jars.

Kitchen

For some time I have been intending to put some photos of our kitchen on the blog. Clive re-painted our existing units earlier this year. The old kitchen was quite dark and dated and the cooker was 21 years old, as was the flooring.

So, it was off with the solid wood kitchen cabinet doors and all were painted with 3 coats of Farrow and Ball oil-based eggshell front and back (yes it did take ages). The base units are now Blue Green and the wall cupboards are Clunch - we also used Clunch emulsion for the walls themselves. The new cooker is installed, as is the wood effect flooring and I've finished the Roman Blind. It all feels so much better - cleaner and fresher - for a minimum outlay AND we saved the units from going to landfill!

Two wall cupboards and a double base unit (not where we keep the double bass) in the kitchen were picked up some years ago up the road from a lady who was having a kitchen re-fit. I spotted the cupboards on her lawn and offered her £10 for them. Recently, as a result of a house move, someone (also up the road) put similar kitchen doors and drawers in a skip at the front of their house and allowed me to have some, which Clive re-sized and fitted to our sink base unit in the utility room.

The cupboard handles were replaced by plain pine knobs from Wilkinsons - not Mark Wilkinson's (as thought by the Recycling Goddess) but from Wilko the cheapo shop! They have been waxed and now fit in quite well.



I'll post some photos of the updated utility room soon.

Kitchen - II

Here's a rather dark photo showing the roman blind (especially for the Lady Who Lunches!)

Roses all the way

I popped to have my hair cut this afternoon and was taken by the roses in bloom on my approach to the hairdresser's - yes that open door IS the entrance to the salon!

Wooden Floors and Strawberry Jam

This morning we popped over to my daughter's to help her finish oiling her attic bedroom floorboards - they have been sanded, and oiled twice so just one last application to do today.

After a light lunch it was up to the shop to buy some sugar to make Strawberry Jam with the berries we picked yesterday. I was delighted to bump into a friend I hadn't seen for quite a while but we had a quick(ish) catch up chat.

Then, using a very old Marguerite Patten cookbook that used to belong to Mum, I made the jam .... I do wish I were a natural at it. I THINK I got it to set!! It's bottled or jarred or whatever now - I brought back 2 dinky Bonne Maman jars from yesterday's cream teas - just about big enough to accommodate 1 strawberry each!

I've just come up to the computer to print the labels - lazy I know! But it's an ideal chance to blog. If anyone's got any tips about jam making would love to hear them.

Father's Day - Sunday 15 June

For the past 25 years, since his death in May 1983, there's been no Dad to send a Father's Day card to. So, today, I'd like to post this photo as a remembrance of him ....

Dad - August 1944 - aged 17

Strawberry Fayre

Today we visited Woodborough in the beautiful Vale of Pewsey and went to a Strawberry Fayre with stalls, a Punch and Judy show, childrens circus workshops, ferret racing and a hog roast as well as local food producers, cookery demonstrations and rural craft exhibitors. Luckily, contrary to the predicted rain forecast, the weather was warm and sunny.

I was delighted to find a pretty tablecloth on one of the stalls and, after a cream tea lunch (!) we went strawberry picking and managed to get enough to make a small amount of jam.

After a quick cuppa at home, we went out for a pre-Father's Day meal for Clive with his sons and their fiancees. A lovely end to a great day.

Friendship in Torrington

My great great grandfather x 7, John Eastbrook (Eastabrooke) was born in 1672 and married Margery Elms (b 1677) on 20 September 1700 at Alverdiscott in Devon. Alverdiscott is between Barnstaple and Torrington and so, whilst in Devon, we popped into the churchyard to investigate whether we could see any of the names on the gravestones - nothing to be found, but there were rather a lot to check!

In Torrington churchyard we did the same - again no luck with my genealogy, but I spied this grave of a lady with a wonderful name.

Posting Comments

I know a couple of people have tried to post comments on the blog but the comments page is a little confusing. If you want to comment, just click on "Comment" (at the end of the post, just after the date). If you don’t have a blog already, then select the “Anonymous” option which will work quite simply (I hope). Don't forget to click on "Publish Your Comment" at the bottom of the page.

Marwood Hill Gardens

I'm still catching up on posting photos from our Devon trip. These were taken at Marwood Hill Gardens near Barnstaple. The garden, in a beautiful location, was established by the late Dr Smart. The tea room is new since I was last there, so we had to try it!

Eric Bibb

We went to see the wonderful Eric Bibb at the Theatre Royal, Bath last night. What a treat to see and hear him again. He is such a delightful elegant man and a talented singer/songwriter and guitar player. He played 2 of my favourite songs “Diamond Days” and “The Cape”and introduced his daughter Yana - it is amazing to think of so much talent in one family, handed down no doubt by Eric's father Leon, an American Folk singer and friend of Paul Robeson.

I was introduced to Eric's music by my special friend,
Mrs Dooberydonks (another anonymity ploy!). I just loved his music the first time I heard it. We first saw him a few years' ago at The Cheese and Grain in Frome where, like a groupie, I queued to have my CD signed. I felt I just HAD to say what a wonderful concert it had been and could I shake his hand? “No ...” he said in his deep velvety voice. “Oh no” I thought “I must have offended him in some way”. He stood up, turned to me and gave me a huge bear hug “I just wanna give you a H-U-U-G”.

Unfortunately no photography was allowed last night, but I took this rather blurry photo of him last summer.



Last night he was supported by a lovely singer called Emily Maguire with a beautiful voice. I’ve been Googling to find out more about her:

“In her mid-twenties, she gave up her London flat and moved to a ‘Tin, Wood and Potato Sack Shack’ in the Australian bush, where she has been living and working ever since. The shack, which cost just under AS$1,000 to construct and furnish, is built on nine tree trunks, with walls made from wood, potato sacks and 100-year-old corrugated iron recycled from the local village post office. The furniture is either hand-made or recycled: the fireplace is made from a 44-gallon oil drum while the spiral staircase is hand carved from 200-year-old timber.” Lots more about her music on her website: http://www.emilymaguire.com/index.html

The Recycling Goddess

With her Nigella-esque looks, let me introduce you to the Recycling Goddess -well if Nigella Lawson can be the Domestic Goddess, then why not?


If you happen to be in North Devon on holiday (or not), it’s worth paying a visit to the Recycling Centre at Killacleave, Ilfracombe, managed by Mark and his friendly team. I kid you not. Okay, so it was really a visit to see my sister, who IS the Recycling Goddess, but there is much to see there and a bargain to be had – from furniture to fish tanks, it’s all neatly displayed for easy browsing and is like an al fresco recycled department store. One person’s rubbish is another person’s treasure and this recycling centre certainly is saving a whole load of stuff from going to landfill.

The Recycling Goddess in action – with 2 discerning customers behind her.

There were a lot of potential furniture projects - sadly we didn't have the space to bring them back - but I did come away with a 2006 hardback edition of Bill Bryson’s “Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid” in perfect condition and only 20p.