Keith's letter to Uncle Arthur

Dear Uncle Arthur,

I hope you are enjoying your holiday. I have written a letter to Gran. Dad and Mummy are taking Robert and me to the circus next week. Thank you for the nice card.

With Love,

Keith.

Keith checking just how far the hotel really is from the beach!

In my post Turn it over, Mum tells us that Keith was behind the camera. It’s a lovely photo of Mum & Dad with our Rob... a talented photographer at the age of eight or nine! He was also writing articulate letters when he was six! 

I don’t think Anne & Rob will mind me saying that Keith was always the academic one in the family. He went on to get first degrees in Chemistry and Human Physiology and a PhD in Neurophysiology, but I bet I can chuck a stone further than he can!! 

I wonder who he is aiming at!!

Keith (1956?)

Back of above print

Rob, Keith & Mum, Isle of Man

Rob & Keith (1956?)

February - The Birthday Month!

Back in April (18th actually, which was my daughter Laura's 22nd!), David wrote about the February birthdays in Fork Handles. Here's a little more in connection to that in this postcard from Mum when she travelled over to India with Keith and Rob in 1954.

Dear Arthur,
This card of the boat we sailed out on comes to wish you “Very Many Happy Returns of the 24th February” We do hope you have an enjoyable time on your birthday with a lot of nice presents and a lovely big birthday cake with candles on it!! We will be thinking of you and Auntie Mar when we cut Robert’s cake here. Keep smiling and lots of luck with your football coupon!
With love,
from Keith, Robert & Nancy xxx

She's wishing a Happy Birthday to Dad's brother Arthur who shares his date with my brother Rob, and also his son Steve, and possibly Auntie Mar who was Dad's Mum's sister. My eldest daughter Kerry was born on the day after Steve (25th. Feb 1980), and my younger brother's birthday is on the 18th! (Dave)

Also sharing this month of celebration is our cousin 'Tricia (7th), her sister Pam's husband Quinton (12th), their son Wayne (22nd), and 'Tricia and Pam's parents, Doris and Pat who would be celebrating their wedding anniversary on the 21st!

Mum 'adopted by post' a little boy, John Picksley, aged 7 who lived at that time in an orphanage run by nuns. Mum only ever communicated with John initially by post, then by 'phone as he became older.... he is now 65!! She never met him, but never forgot his birthday on the 5th....and you've guessed it....of February!

I apologise now to any family or relatives if I've missed out your February birthdays, but feel free to jump on the blog, go in the comments section and put me right!!

Postcard from Mum to Uncle Arthur from India 1954.

The ship Mum, Rob & Keith sailed on to India in 1954.

Are you coming or going?

My penultimate visit to 35 The Ginnel was last year with my wife Sarah. Mum was already living in a nursing home and we had gone to help Anne with the enormous task of sorting out Mum’s belongings.

Just before we left, Sarah took what could be the last couple of photos of number 35 while it was still in our family. I remember the weather that day and how I was feeling. The weather was cold, wet & miserable and my feelings were not too dissimilar. I can also tell you when these last photos of 35 The Ginnel were taken: Friday 13th July 2012, 7.26pm and the second photograph was taken 15 seconds later! That’s digital cameras for you!

35 The Ginnel, July 2012.

35 The Ginnel, July 2012.

The colour photo of me, Anne & Mum was printed in May 1967 according to the Kodak stamp on the back. According to the leafless trees though, I would say it was taken in January and I’ve concluded it was taken just before we set off to India. We were in India in February 1967 for my fifth birthday.

Rob was also in India for his birthday in February and, having read a postcard from Mum to Uncle Arthur (to wish him happy birthday!), I know they were there in 1954, so it would have been Rob’s third birthday. Comparing the photo of Rob & Keith outside The Ginnel with the one of them with Grandad in India, I would say they look to be about the same age. But the trees have got leaves on them this time so it must be summer so the photo must have been taken when they had just got back home?

Rob, Mum & Keith
35 The Ginnel, 1954.

Dave, Anne & Mum
35 The Ginnel, 1967.

Keith & Rob with Grandad Ince
Joville, India 1954.

But of course I could be completely wrong and the photos could have nothing to do with travelling to and from India. Mum could just be taking us all to church (I’d rather go to India... sorry Mum!) or just a special day out somewhere... particularly with Keith looking so smart.

I wonder if Mum ever did tell me why those photos were taken and where she was taking us? I can’t remember if she did. I can’t remember if I ever asked, I should have done when I had the chance. And if I did I should have written on the back of the print in a nice soft pencil so I wouldn’t be scratching my head now!

If you’ve got some old photos and you’ve got someone who can tell you about those old photos, then ask them now. And if you’re the one with the answers then get your soft pencil out! And if you have plenty of digital photos... then knowing the date and time is not enough!... learn how to add keywords and descriptions in Photoshop or some other similar software... and if that isn’t your thing... get all your digital photos printed and buy a pencil!

Empress of Scotland.

In Dad’s letter to his Mum, in the post ‘There and Back Again’, he mentions that they are sailing home on the Empress of Scotland.

We are sailing for home on Wednesday 6th November 1946 on the ‘Empress of Scotland’, which is supposed to be a pretty fast ship so you can expect us to arrive Home about November 22nd. It sure won’t be long now!!!!!

Anne said she had searched for and found an image of the Empress of Scotland on the internet. I didn’t think of doing that at the time, but have now found a couple of interesting websites:

Empress of Scotland

Liverpool Ships

It’s interesting to note the ship’s change of name from Empress of Japan to Empress of Scotland. Also, you can download a list of all the ship’s voyages from December 1939 to November 1946, which means Mum & Dad’s voyage is the last one recorded on that document!

The journey from Joville to Bombay (Mumbai) alone was like travelling the full length of Britain!

You can download the full document from here at
the bottom of the page.

Grandad, Keith, Mum and Rob.

Apart from commenting on the beautiful/handsome side of our family, I'm a little limited on giving any details on this photo.  I imagine the year to be 1953/4 and of course it was taken when Mum took Keith and Rob to meet their Grandparents in Coonoor, Sth.India.   I'm not even too sure how long Mum and the boys stayed out there.  I do know they travelled by liner and it took 2 weeks travelling to arrive.   My only memory connected to this...is the colour of Mum's dress as I remember playing dressing-up in it when I was little, it was turquoise blue!
I think Keith and/or Rob - (possibly, as very young here) will be more likely to comment on this one!

dad and whitey

nice photo our James dad and whitey the cat.....Rob

john t

trying again the last census sent were not very clear.Rob

1901 census

dads mum ada ...17...soap wrapper...11 people in house....no 11...john h reemes....

What Nancy stands for.

Mum was given a small autograph book for her 15th birthday from her Mum, Dad & sisters. There are many lovely words & drawings from family & friends and also from one or two admirers before ‘Mac’ came along!

The contents of the book will form many posts on here, but for now here is one I particularly like.

Nancy Dear

Never mind the world

And do as you feel

Nothing matters in a word

Care is all you need

Yield it with a smile

Yours fondly

Mummy

Coonoor

20th August 1942

Rob, slippers and a Christmas Tree.

Awww...my favourite time of year again!
There's no mistaking that you are wearing your slippers in this photo Rob!  I remember that pouffe too, and the lamp under the table.
One year you made a snow scene Rob, it had a mirror for a pond with an ice skater on it, and a snowman and tree...I thought it was brilliant!
We actually had a real tree every year which I'd forgotten, and it looks stunning here.  The lights which we had for years were glass fruits - not sure how they were festive, but they were lovely.  Think they were frosted too - perhaps that was the Christmas/season connection.  Dad always kept all the packaging, and every bauble, string of lights and decoration was carefully packed away in it's original box or packet....except the balloons!!  We made paper chains each year too as they can't be packed away without being squashed!
The tree probably was only bought very near to Christmas day, possibly even Christmas Eve, which was always exciting, and Dad would also pick up the holly and mistletoe from the greengrocer.  I loved the tree chocolates, in particular the stripey-papered umbrellas - again, is an umbrella festive?
But Blackler's grotto had to be the highlight of the festivities build-up for me.  It was pure magic.  It would always snow at Christmas time, and on the Saturday just before Christmas, Mum and Dad would take us all to Liverpool (another country when you're a child!).    We'd queue for ages in the snow whilst street sellers would be tempting the kids with toys that the parents didn't want to buy.   The grotto itself was simply spectacular , then to finally meet Santa, AND come out with a present from him was just too much!  Often it would be dusk as we walked back to the train station, tired and ready for home, but the glistening snowflakes  seen through the amber glow from those Liverpool street lamps would seal that magic to a perfect day, and set a magical memory in me forever.
I loved our family Christmases then and I love my family Christmases now...thank you Mum and Dad...and Santa!!!

Rob and sideboard full of drinks!

Is this Rob's first practice at 'propping up the bar'?!
Every Christmas Dad would get in the Christmas drink for all the relatives and friends who would call over the festive season.  We as a family did our fair share of visiting family and friends too.  Mum's tipple was usually sherry, but Babycham, Cherry B, Pony, and also Drambuie and Crème De menthe were favourites! (I'm painting a picture of an alcoholic Mother here!!)  However, Dad would buy in all these bottles, but Mum rarely drank, so the majority of them would stay in the cupboard for the best part of the next year.  Mum had a really sweet tooth hence these type of drink!  I can't actually remember Dad's drink at that time...I think it may have been bottles of Brown?, or Mild?
I think Rob went on to enjoy a pint or two!!  When he was a late teenager he would sometimes bring home mementoes of his night out, such as a library door knocker, a road cone, and once there was a park bench outside the front door! (I think he couldn't get it up the stairs!!!)  Please correct me if I'm wrong Rob! ;)
We had those decorations for years - each year they would be brought out again and repaired with cellotape if needed...but I loved them!
Dad also made a Christmas cake every year, and as he stopped Dave took over.  I miss those cakes.
I wonder if the cake on the sideboard is one of Dad's?

The Hidden Bench

I've always been interested in photography since discovering it at school. My Dad bought me my first camera and darkroom equipment when I was fifteen. Having trays of chemicals and a darkroom enlarger, all precariously laid out on a piece of hardboard on top of my bed, was not the best of ideas when I needed to go to sleep! When Anne left home, I was able to turn my bedroom into a permanent darkroom and get to have my big sister's bedroom at the same time!

Anyway, when I used to photograph weddings in the 80s & 90's, I used film cameras that produced square images. When they were printed, they would be cropped to a rectangular format... portrait or landscape. Square format film cameras would also have been common when Mum & Dad were taking photos in the 40s - 60s, probably using a Box Brownie in the early years, I think I have a picture of Dad holding a Box Brownie camera.

The rectangular portrait photo of me, Anne, Mum, Pat & Ronnie which is in Anne's post, A Day in Ooty Park, was taken with a square format camera. I know this because I've found another print of this same photograph. It is the uncropped version and shows a bit more of the background... a tree and a park bench.

I decided to search the internet to see if I could find some pictures of Ooty Park and in particular, an Ooty Park bench! It didn’t take long before I found one. A photographer, Amit Basu, had just the photo I wanted. Being a photographer myself, I didn’t want to use his photo without asking, so I contacted Amit and he kindly agreed to me using his picture on my blog. ‘My’ park bench is undoubtedly the same kind as Amit’s bench and they are both certainly Ooty Park benches! Amit told me that Ooty Park is now called Ooty Botanical Gardens. He says about his photograph: “There was this rather lonely looking park bench in Ooty Botanical Garden, Ooty, India. Very colourful and very forlorn. Someone really needed to sit on it soon. I did.”

I can’t imagine being without the internet... you wouldn’t be reading this blog if we didn’t have it, and I wouldn’t have found that park bench so easily, if at all. But what’s really great about all this is my sister’s memory. I was only five years old when that photo was taken, and I have no real memory of standing in front of that bench or running around the park. It’s not that I’ve forgotten, it just that the memory wasn’t ever there, I didn’t register it at the time, I was too busy trying to use up my endless energy. Playing in Ooty Park seems like a lifetime ago for me. Can you remember being two years old or three or four or five? Some of us can, but for me, I think I can only really remember things from about the age seven or so. So I’m very lucky to have my sister’s memory to tap into when I want. Anne was eleven when that photo was taken. Until I had sent Anne that photo, I didn’t know where it was taken, other than India, and as soon as Anne saw it she new straight away it was Ooty.

In some ways, I feel as though I’m missing out on the memory of being in Ooty Park that day, but that’s what this blog is all about, I can now talk confidently about that photograph and tell a story about it too. It was a long time ago, and I can’t remember it, but my Mum did and my sister does, and that’s enough for me. I wonder if my park bench, like Amit’s, was green & yellow? I’ll have to ask my sister!

Isn’t the internet great. And aren’t memories great too.

Now, if only I could remember my password for my internet bank account!

Dave, Mum, Anne, Uncle Pat & Cousin Ronnie

Ooty Park Bench!

Lonely Park Bench, Ooty Botanical Garden

Photographer: Amit Basu