A Few For The Album

Since I started researching my family tree quite a few years ago now, I've been in contact with many people who have been researching their own tree and our paths have crossed in one way or another. It's been fun making contact with people who are related, albeit very distantly or through marriage.

A while ago, I made contact with someone who turned out to be my mum's cousin's daughter, my mum hadn't seen her cousin for over sixty years, but we managed to set up a meeting for them, which was nice.

The generosity of people never fails to amaze me. People are only too willing to share information, anecdotes or documents which all add to the family tree. I've been corresponding with my dad's cousin's daughter for a number of years now. I was thrilled when we first got in touch with each other as she had some photos of my dad's family which I'd never seen before and which she had copied for me.

This is my great grandma and grandad, my dad's grandma and grandad on his mother's side, Jack and Ada. The photo was taken in my grandma and grandpa's garden.

Here's Ada again, this time with two of her grandchildren and Mick the dog. My dad remembers that the dog ran away and never came back.

On Saturday, the postman delivered a large envelope and I was thrilled to discover its contents. One of my dad's cousins has recently died, and the cousin's daughter I've been corresponding with was his niece. Among his things she found a couple of photos which she thought I'd like.

This photo was taken on the 6th of February 1942. My dad is stood to the right of his grandma, he would have been nine at the time. Next to him is his sister and next to her is his mum. To the left of his grandma is one of my dad's brothers, then his two cousins and auntie. The baby sitting on his grandma's knee is my dad's cousin. Her father had been killed on HMS Prince of Wales during a Japanese air attack in the South China Sea in 1941, the same year that her mother had also died. She had gone to live with her grandma, but my dad's mother soon took over and brought her up as her own child.

I absolutely love this photo. It was taken in 1931 on the beach at Cleethorpes. My grandma would have only been twenty three. With her is my dad's brother and sister, it would be another two years before my dad was born.

My mum and dad came for dinner on Sunday, so it was lovely to be able to show them these latest photos that I've received. They sparked off lots of memories for my dad which I enjoyed hearing about. I can't thank my dad's cousin's daughter enough, I'd never even seen a photo of my great grandparents until she sent me one, now I've got quite a few to add to my album.

Twelve Little Ducks Went Swimming One Day...

Over the hill and far away,

Mother duck said "Quack, quack, quack, quack".

But only eleven little ducks came back.

Don't worry, the twelth one soon joined up with them again.

Victorian Leeds - Thornton's Arcade

We were back in Leeds city centre yesterday for a fitting for Eleanor's prom dress so I thought I'd show you the pretty Victorian arcade where the clothing alteration shop is situated.

There are lots of arcades in Leeds which, sadly, were somewhat neglected until they underwent recent restoration and refurbishment work.

The shop we were visiting is in the oldest covered shopping street in Leeds, Thornton's Arcade. Built in 1878 for Charles Thornton, the proprietor of The Old White Swan Inn and who owned the Varieties Music Hall which is now Leeds City Varieties, it's three stories high with a glass roof.

I used to love visiting this particular arcade as a child as it has the most fabulous clock at the northern end with a mechanism made by William Potts and Sons of Leeds.

The four life size figures of characters from Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe were carved by the Leeds sculptor John Wormald Appleyard. Richard Coeur-de-Lion and Friar Tuck strike the hours while Robin Hood and Gurth the Swineherd strike the quarters. I remember standing and waiting for the figures to move and create the chimes when I was a child.

The shops in Thornton's Arcade tend to be small speciality shops, some arranged over several floors.

We've still got to go back and collect Eleanor's prom dress so we'll be visiting this particular arcade again very soon.

Cross Stitch Questions

I've only ever attempted one cross stitch project before and that was years ago. It was a white cat sat in a bed of pink flowers and I got so fed up of all the white that it never got finished. It must have been well over thirty years ago, though I've still got the unfinished project in my sewing box but I can't remember much about working on it to be honest.

After seeing lots of pretty cross stitch projects on blogs, I quite fancied having another go so Mick bought me a kit for Christmas. Isn't it lovely?

The problem is, I don't really know where to start. I have lots of questions so I hope that some of you can help. Firstly, is there a particular way to stitch, i.e. top to bottom or left to right, changing colour as you go, or do I complete everything in one colour first before changing to the second colour, or do I complete different parts of the picture such as the roof, then the door, then the windows etc.? Do I need to use an embroidery hoop? How many strands of thread do I use at once, I seem to remember using two strands together?

I'm sure I'll have lots more questions once I start it. If you can think of anything else I might need to know, I'd be very grateful for your help.

Sand Art

Leeds is about sixty miles from the coast, so you wouldn't necessarily expect to see sand art here, but there's always something going on in the city centre.

We don't often go in to the centre of Leeds but we had to take Eleanor's prom dress for alterations to the length and whilst walking along Briggate, saw a talented young man making sculptures out of sand.

Isn't this fabulous? I remember my dad making speed boats out of sand on the beach for us to sit in when we were kids. My talents with sand stop with sandcastles and even then, more often than not, they aren't fully formed when I remove the plastic bucket.

The Nightingale Novels

On a recent trip to the library, I picked up The Nightingale Girls by Donna Douglas. The story is about three very different girls who are training to be nurses in the East End in the 1930's. It sounded like something I might enjoy so I brought it home with me.

I really enjoyed this book. There's some great characters who come from different backgrounds, all with their own story, and they kept me interested from start to finish. The only negative thing I could say was that the book left me wanting more, so I was thrilled to learn that this is just the first book in a series, something I didn't realise at the time I was reading it.

I've now read the second in the series, The Nightingale Sisters. This book takes up where the first left off, and continues with the lives of the three main characters, though the ward sisters feature more in this second book than the first, and a new character is introduced, the night sister who has a secret to hide.

The Nightingale Nurses, the third book in the series, is now winging its way to me, and a fourth book, Nightingales On Call, is due for release later this month. I'm sure I'll enjoy them just as much as I've enjoyed the first two.

On Ilkley Moor Bah T'at

Yesterday was Mother's Day in the UK. I got some lovely cards and gifts myself, and after a visit to see my mum and drop off her cards and gifts in the morning, we decided to have a run out to Ilkley.

We headed high up on to the moors to the famous Cow and Calf rock formation.

As it was Mother's Day, Daniel decided to grace us with his presence. Boys will be boys and it wasn't long before he was climbing the rocks. It was nice for all four of us to be out together, it doesn't happen that often these days.

Although it was quite warm, a mist had rolled in and it was hard to see the spa town of Ilkley below.

The moors looked quite bleak blanketed in the mist.

There were some small patches of colour here and there. Pretty little narcissus and gorse.

Quite a few people had left their Mother's Day tributes here.

How sad that posters such as this one have to be displayed. This sheep had been mauled by a dog and left to die. It concerns me and never fails to amaze me how many irresponsible dog owners there are. Needless to say, Archie was kept on his lead, though we witnessed many dogs which weren't.

Over the road from the rocks is the Cow and Calf pub. We decided to call for something to eat on the off chance that they'd have a table free, but it was jam packed, people out for Mother's Day lunch I expect. We were really hungry by this time and didn't want to wait until we found another pub, so we stopped off at the chip shop in Ilkley and got fish and chips. A tasty treat.

Challenge Update - March 2014

My 2014 challenges are:-

1) Knit one hat each week for The Innocent Big Knit.

2) Do something nice for me.

3) Choose a non fiction book from the library.

Yet another pattern has been used for the hats this month. This one is Innocent Big Knit Garlic by Juliet Bernard and can be found on Ravelry. As you can see, they look like garlic bulbs. The pattern calls for size 3.75mm needles, but I didn't have any so I knit on a smaller size 3.25mm but they're still an ok size and will fit on the top of an Innocent Smoothie bottle.

A Day Out In York was my nice thing for March. I had such a lovely time ambling about on my own, it's something I must do much more of.

My non fiction book for March was A Companion & Guide To The Wars Of The Roses by Peter Bramley. It's a really interesting book for anyone wanting to know more about this period in history. It starts with the background to the wars, then goes on to name the main protagonists before dividing up the country by region with information on sites relating to the wars. You may remember the post I did last year, A History Tour In Four Parts. We'd visited various places with connections to The Wars of the Roses and these are mentioned in the book, along with many other places. There's other sites I'd now like to visit after reading this book.

Eleanor's school was closed yesterday due to the teacher's strike action so Mick took the day off work thinking we'd be able to have a day out. It was a lovely sunny morning but the afternoon turned to heavy rain, so it was just as well that Eleanor had plenty of revision to be getting on with for her GCSE's. We all ended up having a day at home. Eleanor's working really hard on her revision for her exams. She's got extra sessions at school over the Easter holiday which she's only too happy to attend as it isn't long now until the exams start. I hope all the effort she's putting in will show in her results.

Highs And Lows

Eleanor took part in the local competitive music festival on Saturday. It was a bit of a mixed bag with a first, a third and an unplaced.

The first class she entered was the Girls Solo, 16 years and under. It was a set song, You Spotted Snakes by Armstrong Gibbs. She did really well and came first. The second class she competed in was Arie Antiche, an open class where she had to sing an Italian aria. She sang Vittoria mio core by Carissimi. Unfortunately, she made a silly mistake right at the start which knocked her confidence a little and she came third out of three. There was only one mark between each of them, and the adjudicator said that she'd chosen the hardest song of the three and that her Italian pronunciation was spot on, so I think if it wasn't for the silly mistake, she'd have probably come first. This is the first time she's competed against adults, and the first time she's entered a class in a foreign language so she'd got herself worked up a bit, which was a shame and quite unlike her as she usually just takes it all in her stride, but it's all good experience. The third class she entered was the Junior Show class. She sang I Don't Know How To Love Him from Jesus Christ Superstar and didn't get a place. She won the Girls Solo last year so the cup has come home with us again for another year.

Eleanor's recently taken her Grade 6 singing exam. She had to sing four songs, her choices were Don't Cry For Me Argentina by Lloyd Webber, The Willow Song by Sullivan, Vittoria mio core by Carissimi, and she sang it without making a mistake this time, and How Could I Ever Know? by Simon. There are other parts to the exam, such as sight reading, a vaccai vocal exercise and an aural test. She came out with a merit, so we're really proud of her.

It's the end of an era as far as her singing's concerned as her singing teacher has just retired. She's been with her since she started taking singing lessons so it will be strange not popping round for a lesson every week. We're now on the lookout for a new singing teacher for her, it would be a shame not to carry on with her grades now that she's got so far.

A Day Out In York

One of my challenges this year is to do something nice for me each month. I spend so much time running around after the rest of the family, or doing things to suit them that I thought it was time that I start pleasing myself sometimes.

We've been having some problems with our internet connection, so an appointment had been made for an engineer to come out and take a look on Saturday, a bit of a wasted day really, so I made up my mind that Mick could wait in for him to arrive and I'd take myself off for a jaunt in York.

We usually drive and park the car at the park and ride, getting a bus in to the centre, but on Saturday, I took the train. From York station, I decided to walk straight up to the minster and have a look around that area.

As I walked towards the minster, I could see the west front.

It's such a huge building and can be seen from many areas around the city.

I popped in to Deans Park, by the side of the minster, to get a better look at the north side.

The south transept contains the famous rose window.

Some of the stained glass in York Minster dates back to the 12th century.

There was plenty going on by the river on Saturday, I stood and watched from Lendal Bridge for a little while.

It was a bit overcast and quite windy, but the weather was still good enough to enjoy a walk. I thought I'd walk the city walls. York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England. There are some good views of the minster from this height.

I passed by the river again.

The walls are punctuated by four main gatehouses or 'bars'. Monk Bar was built in the early 14th century and is the tallest of the four bars. It still has a working portcullis.

Micklegate Bar was the traditional ceremonial gate for monarchs entering the city. Traitors' severed heads were displayed on the defences here. One of those heads left to rot was Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, the father of Richard III.

It was time for a snack so I found a little cafe and treated myself to a cup of tea and a jam doughnut. I shouldn't have done really as I'm trying to lose some weight, but in the true spirit of doing something nice for myself, I didn't care. I didn't visit Betty's, probably the most famous tea rooms in York, but plenty of people did, a long queue was snaking its way down the pavement.

After a short break, it was time to hit the shops. I love York for its shopping experience, there's all the large department stores here, but also lots of independent shops too.

I always head for the Shambles, I like all the little gift shops which are down this old street.

Some of the overhanging timber-framed buildings date back to the fourteenth century.

The houses are so close together that it's said you can hold hands across the street out of the upstairs windows.

There's a lovely wool shop in the Shambles named Ramshambles. They stock a good range of yarns, including local brands.

I love a good market and York's Newgate Market offers something for everyone. It stands just to the side of the Shambles.

York was captured by the Vikings and became known as Jorvik. Now, the Jorvik Viking Centre is a very popular visitor attraction. Between 1976 and 1981 excavations revealed houses, workshops and backyards of the Viking-Age city as it stood nearly 1000 years ago, and the centre is built on the place where the excavations took place. I haven't been to the centre since I was a schoolgirl, but it's on my list of places to visit, I think I'm due a return trip.

There's some very old buildings in York, but the earliest row of houses still surviving in the city is Our Lady's Row. They date from 1316.

As well as some buildings being old, some are really beautiful or quirky. I think part of York's charm is the architecture.

I had a wonderful day doing my own thing, but I was shattered after all the walking I did. I slept well that night.