I found these pictures at my mother’s after she died in 2011. She had written a date on most of them. I do intend to ‘repair’ them some time but for the moment I’m posting them as I found them. I was very pleased to find them as all my photographs prior to 1993, when I went to Romania, were disposed of by someone
The best way to see them is to click on the first, when you will then see them as a slide show with a caption for each (the ‘gallery’ feature still seems to have some bugs; one is that there are more pictures in the slide show than shown below).
1940. With great aunt Clara. In Baker Street, Shipley, where my grandmother lived (and, at this time, probably my mother and I too). Dad was away at the war.
December 1940
February 1943. I have a little brother, 3 months old at this time,
Summer 1943
Summer 1944. Dad’s home on leave
Summer 1944, the same day as the previous picture. I’m in front of my grandmother with my teddy, great aunt Clara holds my brother with her husband, great uncle Albert, at her side. My Dad at the back. At the rear of the back-to-back, one-up, one-down cottages (High Bank Cottages, no longer there), Moorhead, Shipley, where we lived until 1947.
1945. No little brother yet so earlier than July.
Must be summer 1946, I now have another brother, born summer 1945. With grandma at the local beauty spot where we spent most of our childhood – Shipley Glen. My grandmother was a great walker. She told me she first introduced me to walking by doing the moorland trek from the Dick Hudsons pub at Eldwick to Ilkley, startng from her house in Baker street, via Shipley Glen so about 8 miles, in summer 1943 (so I was just 3 years old)
3 December 1946 (this studio shot is dated). Little brother was around, 1.1/2 yrs old, but omitted from this picture
9 years old. In the choir of St. Peter’s church, Shipley
1951. A day trip to Bridlington, not a holiday as the next picture was taken on the same day and a neighbour is with us with his daughter
Summer 1951, taken by ‘Snaps’ on the promenade at Bridlington. I remember the neighbour’s name – Horace Johnson – but I cannot remember the name of his daughter
August 1952, Bloxham near Banbury, with my uncle Bernard, my mother’s brother-in-law, and cousin Bernice, who now with her husband runs a wholesale plant nursery in Broadway, Somerset. We were staying in Bloxham in 1952 because my mother was seriously ill in hospital. She was quite ill for much of my childhood; the good thing about it was I could cook from 7 years old, of necessity.
1954, out with my grandmother for the day at Fountains Abbey (she took the photo). Now it will cost you £9.50 each to see this building; nothing then. She also bought the coat, several sizes too big so “it would last”
At 15, still at school till July the following year, I rejected the usual paper round and other such ‘menial’ jobs; I became a projectionist at a local cinema affectionately known as the ‘bug hutch’, aka ‘The Pavilion’
An early start in volunteering and fund-raising – 17 years old in Rugby. What would I give for the waist, and hair, now! I can’t remember her name but she put down her bag to take the picture; what I do remember is that she loved trees (and me?)
‘Rag Review’ party, Coton House (the apprentice hostel), Rugby, 1957. With Julian, Dave, Brian, Peter, John and Rita. I wonder where they all are now. The ‘review’ was a variety show we students at the then Rugby College of Advanced Technology put on each year at the end of ‘Rag Week’
Student days – the ’74’ skiffle group. After a year of fun, gigging up and down the A5 trunk road, we all did badly in our exams and gave it up.
I know that my mother had a very hard time as a war widow with three young boys to raise; she often did not know where the next meal was coming from, but it was always there, and she was often very ill. She made virtually all our clothes – just look how ‘smart’ we were. I think the studio photographs were taken to send to my father who was either away in the war or in hospital until he died. No surprise that I and my brothers were born about 9 months after each ‘leave’ in the UK – most of the time he was away at sea in the Royal Navy.
I do think it’s important to preserve such things. I’m sure that future generations will want to know, and see, something of those who preceded them.
May 18, 2013
Mackerel simple – but something fishy in the spam
Posted by grumpytyke under Cooking, Food, Romania, Seafood, Uncategorized, Wordpress | Tags: Bridlington, Comments, cooking, Dijon mustard, Fish, Food, Kirkgate market Leeds, mackerel, Spam, Yorkshire |[2] Comments
Some month’s ago I removed the requirement for me to approve comments before they appeared and until now that had not resulted in a lot of spam comments. Sadly, over the past couple of days this has changed and, from the content, I suspect that it is originating in Romania or with a Romanian. I don’t think it a coincidence that it has happened after commenting on a Romanian blog – though I’m sure that blogger has nothing to do with it. Most of these spam comments were on past pages with content about Romania. It’s simple enough to remove it and that I have done, but it’s a pain. For some reason they have not been picked up by the usually excellent spam filter; the spammer seems to be ‘commenting’ from Facebook, which I hardly use. I hope it will stop. Va rog, sa va opriti!
Mackerel – don’t overcook (more…)