Aunt Olga and Me!

Aunt Olga. lighting up time

Aunt Olga was to me different from a lot of ladies of the time, she was straight laced, straight back very particular in her dress and in her home. Her favorite saying "there's a place for everything and everything in it's place " her favorite colour was powder blue, her favorite fragrance was lavender and Aue de cologne, the scent she used frequently was made in France for soldiers in the Napoleon War, they couldn't wash so the cologne, made from oranges and lavender was a deodorant,

She always carried smelling salts in her handbag in case of emergencies. and pretty lace handkerchiefs that were never used, white kid gloves for winter and white cotton ones in summer, for protection when touching unfamiliar door knobs etc. Her biggest investment was a Beaver lamb fur coat from Canada she wore for years for Sunday best along with a light blue hat, similar to the Queen Mothers.

Beaver lamb fur coat

Her interests were embroidery, she worked from a small walnut sewing desk that had cushioned pink silk with all her embroidery floss, needles, and special scissors with thimbles.
She enjoyed her past time a lot.

One of my duties every Sunday after Sunday school was a visit with Aunt Olga for tea. It was a regular event, as soon as I arrived shoes were taken off at the front door slippers put on and hands had to be washed toot suit!

She always made a Victoria sponge sandwich cake iced to perfection with homemade strawberry jam filling, Sandwiches were usually cucumber thinly sliced on Hovis bread and a smidgeon of butter. I had to sit up straight at the table and eat veeeery slowly chewing a lot before swallowing this was for good digestive habits she explained.

Victorian Sponge cake

Tea was served in bone China flowered cups a little sugar and milk added, you never could drink tea it had to be sipped. All I wanted was a good slab of the cake to eat that was set on the table on a glass stand and a special cutting knife. It was cut in a small piece and I had to eat it with a dessert fork. When we finished out came a little silver pan and brush to match, the table was swept of crumbs and put into a jam jar ready to feed the birds at the local park. That was the “waste not want not” bit taking the precious crumbs to feed the sparrows sitting on a park bench, then the walk around the park looking at the plants and flowers and knowing I would be questioned as to what flower I was looking at and did it have a fragrance. I suppose looking back over those visits it was all a learning experience for manners, on being a lady and appreciating food, and cleanliness.

Food was never eaten walking along the street or being casual, she always treated food with great respect, relishing every bite she had.  
 
Day Trip
Back then not many families owned a car, most of the time using buses. My Aunt Olga eventually invested in a Morris minor powder blue, it sat most of the time in the garage with a plaid blanket covering the bonnet and a paraffin heater to keep it warm. It was treated well, never a scratch, wheels were always washed after any outing.

Typical Morris minor of the period

We did go out a few times, but, Aunt was particularly quirky. A picnic seemed a most complicated arrangement. Time and place was set by the radio announcer for weather which included the shipping forecast. We gathered around the radio to find out if it would be a suitable day to travel if it was, all hell would be let loose I would watch in fascination. A hamper was found and  Aunt would have the sandwiches cut into quarters and a Victoria sponge at the ready wrapped in serviettes, a primus stove tea kettle best china and a chamber pot in case!
We would do a very slow trip to a place called Chew Magna it was a village flooded to make a reservoir. Arriving at a suitable spot off the road  (with traffic passing) we would unload spread a table clothe and pump up the primes with aplomb Aunt used to always have a treat of Darjeeling tea which took ages to prepare especially if the wind blew out the primus stove out, meantime I had the duty of setting the plates, cups and saucers. I know to this day it was one of the most embarrassing day trips ever, we were close to a field watching cows on one side and waving to other travelers from their car on the other side (I had to remember my manners!) it sounds disloyal but when it was time to pack the car I said a prayer in thanks, I decided to decline any other invitations from then on, being all of 8 years old it was too much for me !

Chew Magna reservoir

I flatly refused to use the chamber pot even though she had a blanket for privacy.!

The powder blue Morris minor lived to tell many stories it was sold after over 17 years! without a dent or scratch on it to a collector.  He was thrilled as it was in such mint condition.

How times have changed!

Communication then and now..

Typing on the IPad

New methods of communication have galloped along at a tremendous rate, at the moment I am writing on the I pad number 1, now after less than a year is out of date. If I wanted to, on this current machine, I could learn the piano, start up an orchestra with any instrument needed, compose then send it out viral. I could learn to paint with an Ap I don't understand, I can find recipes without looking in the many cookery books I have acquired through the years.
It boggles the mind as to how much equipment is current and out of date within a year! #2 I pad came out last week with a camera too, along with many more facilities to crowd into the brain. Incredible and magnificent but can be dangerous!
We see now how we are engrossed in communication whether we need it or not. It has become an addiction!

We grew up in quieter times, to use a telephone was for an emergency making a trip usually a mile away to find the red telephone box and make the call having to have the required amount of change in a box and often be cut off after three minutes!

News, weather forecast etc was on a radio, made of some type of
wood, valves wires and a big plug in the wall, it sat in a corner waiting to be turned on early evening ready for the Evening news or light entertainment like the Archers or for excitement Journey into Space of course for grown ups it was The Man in Black very scary.

Our daily local news I found was to go shopping then it was social time, between the butcher and the veg shop. Many stops along the High Street to catch up with the local gossip in the area. We would actually talk one on one.

Now relationships with family, neighbours and friends is mostly on Wi/Fi satellites buzzing around with the astronauts for company! it all can be extremely useful or on the verge of a nervous break down. We have all sorts of Gurus to help us through the stress of our new inventions, anything from meditation to going to an Ashram and trying to find yourself!

Marital Bliss

Still I am very glad, I do love my I pad that way I can keep up with the families and what they are doing on Facebook! My son calls me the Creeper! no one has time for visiting, folk having to work two jobs to make ends meet and no time to relax with the family. Have we taken the wrong fork in the road?

We have now expanded our network!
Check out our new WIP about our expierience with painting and art. It has been working for just
a few weeks and we have already have friends.
WIP
Thanks to our friends who pop in to see how we are progressing.

The Adventures of Alice the Phallus

Alice was part of a brood of chicks born in Oregon they went to live on a farm where they grow beautiful Red maple trees from Japan. Lucky chicks!

I believe there were 11 Baby chicks all of them named by the owner, but, as they got older Alice turned out to be a Cockerel! Hence the unusual name. He was a very kind and considerate bird quite responsible and proud, as you can see in the picture.

He was featured in a friends blog the owner of the farm:
Growing Gills

I think he became quite the mascot for them.

Then came  a challenge from Daily paintworks:
Chicken Challenge

For a painting of a chicken which I decided to enter as we didn't have any birds of our own, I thought of Alice so he became my project I was able to get a copy of him from the blog and managed a reasonable 6x6 oil painting.

Unfortunately I realized I hadn't asked permission to obtain the picture sending an apology and suggested if she would like Alice I would ship him to her when the paint was dry. I was surprised at the quick response and the word was Yes!

So at the moment Alice is on his way back home to Oregon
I must say I haven't made him beautiful my skills need a little honing in the Art dept. but it makes me happy knowing he will be welcomed home very soon.
Babs

Sand, Sea & Steamers

My Birthday is April 5th along with Colin Powel, born the same year too. I often used to think I would live forever. Time was a thing you had plenty of, growing up in the 40's there didn't seem such a rush or too much stress at least that's how I remember it. It felt like everything was new and Mum always used to say things will get much better now, no more rationing to worry about, and people going back to work and living a normal life.

We were able to go to the seaside at weekend for picnics etc, A treat was to have a pleasure trip across to Ilfracombe on a Campbell steamer . That was the most exciting thing to do, taking sandwiches and throwing crusts up. in the air for the seagulls, spending time on deck for the round trip and feeling the wind in your hair and the sea air on your face as we made our way on the Steamer to our destination.

Beaches had been cleaned up from any signs of war by then Weston Super Mare was full of day trippers, sometimes I went with my Sunday school class Mum came as well she always sat close to the sea wall, taking time to work out how to put a deck chair together. A blanket was put on the damp sand and equipped with bucket and spade, red spotted woollen bathing suit ready for me to dash into the water. If I can remember rightly the tide was always out you couldn't even see the sea, but it had left little pools of water and seaweed and shells. I liked spending time making castles with the interesting flotsam you could find when the water was way out and you couldn't see it, usually until it was time to go home and we would chase the water coming in. A day was endless to me riding the donkeys, eating fast food of the day, small shrimp, cockles with malt vinegar or winkles like snails, picking them out with pin on the beach, watching Punch and Judy puppets. (Punch was a nasty piece of work bashing people with a stick.) we would complete the day with sand in our shoes, hair with sea salt in it looking like something from Charles Dickens bedraggled but, happy.

We would eventually go back to the train station Mum carrying a bucket with assorted shells and a wet bathing suit dragging a couple of tired kids back to get on the steam train, the rhythm and chugging of the carriage sent us into a contented nap from the fresh sea air.

Going home I felt I had been away for days, and was always glad to go to bed quite happy with the days activity, waking up with sand in-between the sheets and knowing it would be a bath and wash my hair day when I got up. The sea water was quite muddy, apparently quite healthy too with many properties that could cure corns, swelling of the feet and make your hair shine when it was washed the next day!

New Green Leather Shoes.

Mother was brought up in a large family, consequently she wore a lot of hand-me-down shoes, Unfortunately in her later years she had a lot of trouble, when grown her feet had become misshapen and were quite painful. She had a passion for shoes but she wasn't able to wear high heels.  So when we came along we were always fitted out with a good pair of lace up shoes for winter and sandals or daps for Summer, along with a pair of “wellies.”

Every other year it was a trip to the shoe shop where we had our feet measured a walk up and down the carpet for inspection and we were set for another year.

I guess it was a special day when Mum took me to a place called Saxons a well known expensive shoe store on the High St. It was quite a posh affair. lots of carpet and plenty of variety even bright colours, High heels were called stilettos, the tips of the heels were extremely small but, very fashionable, the opposite style was ballerina flat with no heels, then there was a wedge and Cuban.

Green with a Cuban Heel

I had, according to Mum, become a lady and school shoes were retired so I had to choose a decent, up to date, pair for my first job. That day will always stick in my mind, Mum picked out a bright green pair of leather shoes with a Cuban heel which would look smart and serviceable, then she said I could pick a pair I liked which were black leather 3inch high stiletto heels with pointed fronts. Mum didn't object, surprisingly. The treat wasn't over, to go along with the shoes was my first pair of nylons! Oh heaven I walked out of the store feeling very excited with 3 pairs of nylons with seams at the back, I realized I had no idea how I was going to hold them up! So off we went to Marks and Sparks for a suspender belt.

Stiletto Heels

When we arrived home with the packages in beautiful boxes and my precious nylons in tissue paper I understood I was now all grown up at 16 I could retire long woollen socks and brogues, yes I was a Lady.
On the weekend I was allowed to try both nylons and shoes and walk outside for the first time after a practice walk in the bedroom. I think it took me at least twenty minutes to get used to the idea of a suspender belt attaching the nylons back and front first under the knickers or over the top! then to make sure the seam was straight at the back of the legs. I know Mum was dying to laugh, but, managed to keep a straight face as I walked up the road in the stiletto heels it took a while for me to get a balance, I had a tendency to extend my arms out as though I was on a tight rope. I could hear Mum calling Babs back up straight, don't look at your feet and look confident! With all the instructions I went as far as two doors down and buckled, when I looked at  Mum she had tears in her eyes from laughing! thank goodness no one was outside and saw my first
experience of new shoes grown up style  (I hoped, the neighbours didn't look out behind the curtains)

Last but not least the. Green leather shoes were the most comfortable and I wore them for years. I polished them lovingly every weekend with a special cream and a soft clothe, they always looked good. I could walk with my head up, stiletto's would tend to go in the cracks of the pavement and you would loose your balance and your pride!

When Mum past she had quite a few pairs of shoes in her wardrobe probably never worn, she really loved shoes.

"The Crest of a Wave"

Fitness in the Camp Ground circa 1953

There has been a Boy Scout Club in this small town for several decades, but last year it closed, in spite of plenty of support from the kids but parents couldn’t find the time to help!

Then last week I read that due to the “cuts” in the English government spending Scout groups are expected tp pay as much as 5000 pound a year to rent a hall from a local council that is roughly $7500!

My Dad was in the Scouts, camping 1927

The Scout movement was more use to me than the Grammar School I went to, I learned how to work and play with other teenagers, how to live together in a tent cook on open fires and prepare several gallons of porridge for the next days breakfast. How to chop vegetables without chopping my fingers, and how to peel and eye 100lb of potatoes while laughing and joking with the other boys.

Returning from Jersey at the age of 15

Learned how to wash my neck and both sides of my arms ready for morning inspection, washing being done in a local stream, and how to use a toilet built over a hole in the ground dug by the older boys.

We went on two week camping holidays, over the sea to the channel Islands, down to the Cornish Coast, and up to the Scottish Highlands near the port of Oban.

Every weekend we stayed at a small cabin in the Pennines about 30 minutes away from home, and we got there by piling into the trailer part of a truck and off we went rain or shine, and nobody ever got bounced out!

The Gang Show, see how many boys were involved!

Once a year our Troup put on a “Gang Show” based on the music by Ralph Reader, and there I leaned how to wear stage make up and in some sketches dress up as a woman, do stage falls and trips, and sing in harmony with the other boys.

And during all that time parents weren’t involved at all, other than be the audience for the shows and provide the money for the camping trips.

As time has gone by unfortunately liability issues has changed the rules when I was a member of a troop we had a leader (Akela) his assistant and a couple of Rovers (Scouts over 15 years), now though the leadership is the same there has to be so many adult volunteers per so many kids, and unfortunately parents are too busy earning a living it is very hard for them to volunteer.

And so there are now no Cubs or Scouts and no Girl Guides in our small village of Schomberg. We do have lots of kids playing hockey though so all is not lost!

PS "Riding along on the Crest of a Wave" is one of the most popular gang Show Songs by Ralph Reader

Baubles ,Bangles and Beads.

Bright shiny things

I have always been attracted to bright shiny things, they seem to make me feel happy. When I was quite young about five years old I would visit my Grandmother who lived with us, she lived in the downstairs part of the house overlooking the garden. The room always felt warm and cozy a coal fire always lit two comfy chairs on either side of the fire, one an old Windsor chair that now resides at my sisters house in London.

Winter evenings were best for me, I would sit by the fire and ask if I could play with a "Diddy Box" she called it, it was full of old buttons, from brass ones off my Grandfathers uniform to coloured glass buttons from dresses long gone, beads that needed stringing, broaches that were never worne. It was like finding treasure and kept me fascinated for hours asking Gran what did this belong to, who wore these buttons and so on she always had a tale to tell with each piece or button I took out to show her.

Pill boxes and others

 I think that really started me off loving to look in jewellery stores desperately wanting all the glitter under those special lights that made everything look so interesting. Gran had a saying for me "All that glitters is not gold" it wasn't till much later in my life I understood what she meant, even so I do have a jewellery box with many trinkets, probably not worn as often as I should, I do have a couple of special bits some buttons my grandfather used to wear on his dress shirt and a tie pin with the smallest sapphire you can hardly see, but, they mean a lot me.  Good Ole Gran.

P.S. my Daughter doesn't wear much jewellery, but, my Son loves to wear a ring or three! strange that!