Connections

Little things that connect, that send your mind drifting back into the past. Memories weaving here and there some of them as clear as if it were yesterday.

On Wednesday morning we went up to Leek to look around the shops there.  The museum, for some reason was closed but we ventured into the Foxlowe Arts Centre to look at a local art exhibition.  On the same floor was a book case of second hand books for sale, the title of the one below caught my eye and the memories flooded in.

 

It was 1980 and we were staying in Lyme Regis, a place we both love.  Paul had an appointment with the curator of the Philpot Museum to look at and photograph Pterosaur specimens and I was just fascinated with the story of Mary Anning who spent days on the Undercliffe searching for fossils.  We stayed at a small hotel called the Old Monmouth where creaking floor boards and suddenly opening doors led the other people at breakfast to delcare that they were sure that they had heard 'Old Monmouth' during the night.  The owners had a cat called Cleopatra who more often than not visited the bedrooms, luckily we liked cats, as once or twice we found her curled up in the sink in the corner of our room.  I remember the hotel was across the road from the church and the church clock could be heard ringing each hour.

A very fuzzy and discoloured old photo of me outside the Old Monmouth. Below the Philpott museum both taken in 1980.

 

The day of the appointment arrived and we went in to meet the curator who at that time was the eminent writer John Fowles.  He was interested in why we were visiting and what we were interested in and happy for Paul to identify a fossil for him. He referred us to Dorchester Museum to find another fossil there.  A few weeks after we returned home we had a thank you letter from him.  We still have it somewhere, most probably in a file, in a plastic box in the back of the garage.  Perhaps one day we will come across it again.

The book is full of illustrations by an artist called Elaine Franks with a foreward by John Fowles.

John Fowles of course is no longer with us but - here - is an article about Elaine Franks.

Down Memory Lane

A couple of weeks ago we travelled to the town of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire to attend the funeral of Paul's Aunt Peggy.  Paul was able to catch up with some of his cousins who are now spread across the country in different places like the Isle of Wight, York and Colchester. We also spent some time in the town visiting old haunts one of which was the Museum.  

When I worked at the Museum in the 1970s and early 80s the entrance was off the street down a large passage way between the Library and the Theatre.

The older entrance is still there under the glass canopy or atrium which now houses exhibits and photographs of manufacturing in the town.  Many factories including Metal Box, Mansfield Shoe Company, Mansfield Brewery and Mansfield Hosiery Mills to name just a few.

Paul hoped to see the Dinosaur exhibition and we managed to catch it before it closes in early October.

Dinosaurs, Weird and Wonderful by Bespoke Scientific features replicas or casts of some of the most unusual dinosaurs.

The layout of the museum has changed so much over the years which is good.  Some of the Victorian Whitaker collection of birds is still there, as is the Buxton collection of watercolours of Old Mansfield but the ceramics have gone, perhaps they are temporarily in store.  There were quite a few pieces, purchased whilst I was there,  decorated by Derby born ceramic artist William Billingsley from his days at the Derby Pottery, Pinxton Pottery, Mansfield, Torksey, Nantgarw and Coalport.  Here is a - link - to more about William Billingsley.  I find him fascinating.

We had a wander around the town before we left.  Lots of memories as it was one of our main shopping towns when I was a child.  The village we lived in was midway between Mansfield and Chesterfield so we shopped at both.  Mansfield was slightly closer by bus and I caught that regularly when I worked in the town.  There was a bus every hour to Mansfield through the village and a bus every two hours to Chesterfield.  Those were the days, when every outing was worked out by bus times. Making sure you were in time for the last bus home after evening classes, theatre or cinema.  Only heavy snow would make them late or stop them running.

Below are a few photos of the town.

The viaduct which is so prominent in the town is now used by the Robin Hood line which runs between Nottingham and Worksop.

 

St Peter's Church.  Scene of one or two family weddings and that of a friend.

This statue by sculptor David A Annand is called Ampitheatre.

Below the Market Place in front of the Town Hall and the Moot Hall.  When I was a child this was always very busy and full from side to side with rows of stalls selling anything and everything.

The Bentinck Memorial was built in 1849 in memory of Lord George Bentinck who was MP for the area for many years.  It was never finished, due to lack of funds.

We've been enjoying the warmer weather for the last few days getting out and about, walking, gardening, enjoying the sunsets and this week the Harvest moon which has been beautiful.

Five on Friday - Recently

1. LastThursday we went over to Nottingham to have lunch with some friends.  We drove our usual route from here to Ashbourne and then to Belper before driving through Kilburn and Codnor on our way to Beeston.

We stopped in Belper for a coffee and leg stretch on the way and I spotted the wall painting as we walked around. 

2. At Trentham Gardens the circus has arrived in readiness for the half term holidays next week.  I remember being taken to see a circus when I was a small child.  It was in the Blackpool Tower and ended with a water scene when the whole arena filled with water and some of the entertainers were stood like statues on plinths above it.  I don't remember much from the experience except perhaps that I felt sad for the animals and that I wasn't sure about the clowns, they seemed a bit scary. I think one of them was Charlie Cairoli and there was another clown with a painted white face, wide trousers and a pointy hat. I've no idea how old I was, perhaps five or six. Elsewhere in the building I remember a huge organ rising up out of the floor with a tremendous noise and applause from the crowd .  My mother told me later that the organ was a Wurlitzer and the person playing it was called Reginald Dixon.  I also remember feeling so sleepy as we sat on a coach driving through all the lights on the sea front.  I expect it was the illuminations.  Did we go for the day?  Did we stay overnight?  I have no idea.  All these memories from the sight of one big top.

3. I've found another family photo.  Back to 1908 again and the same time and place as the wedding photo I showed you a post or two ago. These are just the Edwards Family rather than the whole wedding party.  My great grandfather Thomas Edwards, my great grandmother Sarah Ann in the middle at the front  and their eleven children, one of them, Rose, is my grandmother.  I know the names of them all and have identified eight of them on the photo.  There are just three sisters on the back row who I'm unsure about.

 

Back row Thomas, Rose, ?, Ellen, ?, ?, John

front row George, Clara, Edith and Alvin.  The other sisters are Sarah Ann, Elizabeth and Mary.  I'd love to identify them on the photo. I know that two of the daughters, Ellen and Clara, were in service at Catton Hall in Derbyshire.

 

4. Two books from the library.  I've never read either author before but they were mentioned on various forums by  authors that I have read.  I hope I'll enjoy reading them.

5. We popped up to the City Museum to visit a new exhibition. Carboniferous Monsters.

 

Fortified by coffee and a shared slice of cake we made our way to the gallery tickets in hand.
 

What a fabulous exhibition it was.

Creatures from land and sea that pre-dated dinosaurs by 100,000 years.

 

I was rather taken with the dragonflies.

All for now.  I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. 

Looking Back

 As the year draws to a close I thought I'd find a photo from each month this year to remember things we'd done and places we'd visited.  It was hard to choose which ones to use as there were so many.  I thought we'd had a quiet year this year with no long holidays and just two short breaks.  We seem to have pottered about quite a bit locally and within a day's reach.

January - Snow and a foxy visitor to the garden.

February - Snowdrops at Rode Hall, Cheshire.

March - Kingfishers nest building at the Wolseley Centre, Rugeley, Staffordshire

April -  Rhuddlan Castle, Denbighshire, Wales

 

May - Riding the trams at the Tramway Museum, Crich, Derbyshire.

June - Creswell Crags, Creswell, Derbyshire.

July - Boscobel House, nr Brewood, Staffordshire.

August - Sunflowers at Barlow, Chesterfield, Derbyshire.

September - Scallop Shell, Aldburgh, Suffolk

October - Fly Agaric toadstools at Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent

November - Trent and Mersey Canal at Westport, Stoke-on-Trent

December - Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire.

Unusual visitors to our garden this year have included -

A pair of Mallards

 

 A Great Spotted Woodpecker

A ring-necked parakeet

and a Red Legged Partridge.

 

We only managed a couple of short breaks away this year as we had quite a bit of work done in the house through July and August.  In April we spent a few days in Rhuddlan in Wales and visited the castle there as well as visiting nearby St Asaph cathedral, Denbigh castle and the RSPB reserve near Conwy.  In September we went a bit further afield into Suffolk and visited Sutton Hoo, Woodbridge and Aldeburgh.
 

All for now.  Take care.

 

Memories on Mothering Sunday

Whilst I was sifting through my mum's old photos and envelopes full of certifcates, newspaper clippings, diaries, recipe note books and other stuff looking for specific photos I came across this one of me and her.  It's old and not too clear but I like it.  I must have been three or even four perhaps? So taken in 1953 or 1954.  I have no idea.  I was always clutching a teddy, I didn't like dolls very much.

It was taken at the back of our house on Napier Street, Leicester.  When my father died in 1955 we moved back to Derbyshire.  The house was demolished sometime in the late 80s or 90s as were the Granby Halls which were more or less at the top of the street and across the road.  The houses in our few streets were demolished to make way for the hospital car park.

What I was actually looking for were photos of my Mum in the outfit she bought to attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace.  The year was 1965, the month was May.  My mum was chosen to represent our village W.I.   The garden party was being held to mark the Golden Jubilee of the National Federation of Women's Institutes.  Each village or area had a chosen representative from their W.I. group and they all met locally and travelled on a special bus down to London.

I remember her posing for the photographs in her navy blue and pink outfit which had to fit the specifications laid down in the instructions that came with her invitation.  Size of hat, must have gloves, bag not too big but large enough for a pac-a-mac - just in case.  Umbrella? I can't remember what the weather was like that day but I expect if it had been raining she would have said.

 This was taken on our front lawn near the Lilac tree which was so beautiful in May.  I've always loved Lilac and  the scent of it always brings back memories of this one.

All for now.

 

Blogtober - Day Four

On this day in 1955 my father died.  He was forty five.  I was  five.  Although I'm not going to talk about him today as this story is about his little sister.  One of my strong childhood memories is of when my Granny Rose took me to see my father's grave in the local cemetery.  As we walked up towards the chapel in the middle of the cemetery she stopped at a small grave on which sat a glass dome filled with faded wax flowers.  'That's little Nell,' she said 'She died young.'  I don't think I asked any more at that time being too overwhelmed by the recent events of my father's death and our moving house.  Also the dome with its wax flowers was a bit eerie for a young child.

Me with my Mum and Dad

I've never forgotten though and did eventually find out that my father and his siblings had a sister.  Imagine my surprise then when I had a 'hint' from Ancestry which took me to a family tree which showed Nellie had lived and married.     I started to do a bit of research and eventually found a baptism for Nellie on 3rd May 1916.  The person who's tree I was looking at had the baptism of a Nellie of the same surname in 1912.  I emailed the local town council who sent me details of Nellie's burial  on 16th October 1920.  She was four years old.  I don't know what caused her death but my memory of her grave was correct. I looked up the Nellie born in 1912 and her parents had different names to my grandparents.  So not the same direct line but there could be some sort of connection further back.

Granny Rose just as I remember her.

 

 

Now I have a quandry. Do I tell this person they have perhaps inadvertently attached their ancestor to my family?  You see this has happened before when someone attached their family to mine and when I mentioned it I got short shrift and was told I knew nothing even though the people in question were my grandparents.  I have put all the information on my family tree (even the grave plot number) and made it available in the hopes that he or she finds it and hopefully looks at their research and sources again.

Morning Sun

 We've had such strange weather over the last few days but we have been able to get out for a quick walk a few times between the raindrops.  Over the muddy fields, for which wellies are definitely needed, or around the streets locally varying the route, clockwise or anti clockwise around the block.

This was the sun at just before eleven o'clock this morning. 

We risked going out for a quick walk and were lucky. It started to rain just as we  got back home.
 

We made cheese scones for lunch but had eaten them before I thought to take a photograph, they were delicious.

I've been sorting out the Christmas decorations and gradually putting them around the house.  I was pleased to find my little singing shepherd.

I bought him from a shop in Stratford-upon-Avon some time in the late seventies or perhaps early eighties. We had probably been to see a play but I can't remember which one, we were also Christmas shopping because I remember the lights in the darkening streets as we emerged from the theatre in the late afternoon . He is actually a candle snuffer.  I remember there were other nativity characters to choose from but he appealed to me then and I still like him.

Finding the shepherd candle snuffer reminded me that I also bought a little dish from the same shop as a present for my Mum.  Of course it is now back with me and full of memories. 

Meanwhile, in the garden, little Snowdrop shoots have begun to emerge from the damp soil. Signs of hope, of new beginnings, at least one small thing to look forward to in the new year.