Remembering Rememberance

The eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month.  Every year this day is remembered.  As a child (ages between 5 and 11 years 1960 to 1967) I remember we always stopped what we were doing in class and observed the two minute silence.  It was explained to us why we did it.  I don't remember doing it while I was at my senior school or college, or even in my early years at work, I did though in my fashion. We certainly never observed the day unless the eleventh of November fell on a Sunday.  Brownies and Guides we were on parade.  I don't think the actual day was observed properly again until about fifteen years ago.  I remember being in places like Woolworths or Tesco, and announcement being made, we will  be observing the two minute silence, you would hear little children chattering, but that didn't matter, but to hear adults chattering that did!  I used to observe the time in my way in my early years at work, and my boss once snapped his fingers and said get on with your work, what are you doing day-dreaming! Obviously he didn't understand.  When I stopped work to have children, I would always stop if I was watching television or listening to the radio, because they observed it at the BBC on the actual day, and still do.

I returned to work about twenty years ago, my first job on my return was in a small local post office, I remember Helen my boss put a notice on the counter window saying this post office will be observing the two minutes silence there was only three of us Helen, her husband and me but we observed the silence.  In later years Helen and her husband divorced and a a couple of years later Helen had a new partner.  That particular morning the notice went up and post office which had a queue mostly elderly getting their pensions - in the days of  books with dockets in!  Helen and I stopped and the queue stopped, the young mum with two young children put her finger to her lips as the little child spoke.  Then when work resumed again and the queue died down, Helen's new partner came to the counter and asked quizzically what was that all about........ I couldn't believe what he had just asked!  I was stunned, shocked someone not knowing........  Helen made some excuse, but quite honestly it was no excuse, she was just making excuses for him.  (He didn't know what the Mary Celeste was either.)  I asked if he went to school...........

My second job was in a craft shop.  I observed the silence as I used to in my own way, then after a while I was beginning to open the shop and spending the mornings on my own until the owners came in at lunchtime. The November before I left work, before the shop was sold I sorted all the cross-stitch kits out.  The stand was directly opposite the door quite prominent.  So I sorted the kits putting the ones with poppies on on the front, and to fill up the spaces anything with bright red on.  The stand stood like that till the shop was sold at the end on November.  One customer even complimented us on our little show of poppies, the bosses didn't notice about the stand until it was pointed out to them, I took the compliment quietly as they had thought the other two staff had done as they were always sorting and tidying.

I will be observing the hour again today whilst doing my chores and listening to radio.

I did a post about my grandfathers

“The Soldier,” by Rupert Brooke (1887-1915) 

If I should die, think only this of me: 

That there’s some corner of a foreign field 

That is forever England. There shall be 

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; 

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, 

Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam, 

A body of England’s, breathing English air, 

Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home. 

And think, this heart, all evil shed away, 

A pulse in the Eternal mind, no less 

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given, 

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day; 

And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness, 

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven. 

(1914) 

Rememberance - I am proud of these three men

I mentioned a few posts back I am tracing my family tree.  Stories that I heard mentioned as a child have come to the fore.  Stories I heard but never took much notice of at the time and wished I had taken more notice of.  

William Prentice

The picture of the gentleman above is my dad's dad.  In my research of my family tree he is my 'skeleton in the cupboard'.  He also came back from the the war.  He came back from WW2.  He was at Dunkirk (1940).  He swam to the Royal Daffodil, a ferry boat which although had taken a direct hit from a bomb but had saved 8000 troops.  He was a Regimental Sergeant Major, and has a medal for Gallantry.  I never knew him either, I think I had met him a few times, but I wasn't very old when I had met him.  He in died 1972, I was  sixteen.

My great-grandfather, George William Greaves, whose medals I show on my 11th November posts

The medals were given to every solider who fought in WW1

He was a horse driver, he never did anything heroic, he came back, but he came back a broken man.  Although he lived till he was eighty years old, I never knew him he died before I was born.  I once heard a story that his own children walked on the other side of the road because he was drunk in the gutter.  No soldier then talked of what actually went on.  No counselling existed then, it was the 'stiff upper lip' and all that.   

(Elaine has a post of what happened to the WW1 horses - very heartbreaking)

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George William Greaves' son-in-law was my grandfather Albert Sullivan.

You can read about Albert here

He was in the Home Guard.

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I don't agree with war, I don't like confrontation, but these three men had a job to do, and I am proud of them. 

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~ My Skeleton in the Cupboard ~ 

William Prentice, my grandfather.  I couldn't find him anywhere on any genealogical site.  It was as if he didn't exist!  I sent for his birth certificate.  He was born to a servant called Florence in September 1900, I will leave you dear readers to decide as to what may have happened...................

Flowers and Makes!

I previously mentioned I had got rid of loads of books and magazines on freecycle.  On the off chance the other day I emailed the same lady who came the first time if she would like the last few magazines and books.  She was happy to take the books, she turned up on my doorstep in the pouring rain with these beautiful Dahlias as a thank you for the books.

Whilst shopping in Morrison's the other day, I was wondering aimlessly whilst Alex went to have a look on the bargain stall, he came towards me with this in his arms.  A three foot Orchid.  Reduced from £10 to the grand some of 20p - yes you read it correctly twenty pence!

The makes are here and there are few more items in my shop

Seagulls again!

These are of the knitted variety!

I have just this afternoon, put the legs on three seagulls!  

Two are an order not sure what I shall do with the third, I will probably keep him!

The pattern for you to knit your own can be found here!

Finding....... Don't Remember and Forgotten!

One thing about clearing stuff out - throwing it away, giving things away to charity shops or free-cycle, putting to one side for boot-fairs or vintage fairs, you find things that you just don't remember doing or have completely forgotten about!

I don't remember stitching this, well....... perhaps vaguely I do.  I do know it is my own work because the alphabet and numbers are ones I use on all samplers designed by me.  I must have thought I will give other stitches ago as there are a variety of designs and cut-work in this sampler.  Think I might just wash it and get it framed as a treat for me.

A close-up of the work, (click on pictures) to get a closer look.  The coin is a five pence piece so you can see the size of the stitches.  I think I am quite proud of this piece of work as I am of the following piece.

Stitched by me when I was about eight years old.  I bought the fabric myself with my pocket money from Harrods of Knightsbridge on a day trip to London with my mum.  We lived  a train ride away so it was regular trips to museums and shops at least twice month.

I think I was going to just fill it in with owls and flowers!  The patterns for the owls and flowers were from knitting patterns because that is all I had to follow otherwise it would have just been basic patterns.  I think perhaps it should have been basic patterns but I seem to have ambitious adventurous tendencies.  The more complicated I am at my happiest!

Just a quick post..........

.............I'm still here!  I just don't know why I haven't been blogging or leaving comments.........well I do and I'm ashamed to say and I apologise for neglecting everyone.  I  promise to do better in the future, and I promise to try and stop this addiction - I hope it is just a phase I am going through!   I have become addicted to Pinterest, I haven't quite got into Instagram (which is probably just as well), but Pinterest is so addictive and I must stop or I will not get anything done for the Christmas Fair at Trull Nr. Taunton on 14th December.
But.......I have finished this

which  can be found here and here.......

and I have created this little Ladybird (ladybug) 

which also can be found in the same place.