Deep and Crisp and . . . It's gone!

 Tuesday. 7.35 a.m. I was somewhat shocked, when I opened the curtains this morning, to discover snow, not just fluffy bits falling from the sky, but covering the road and the garden outside. My car, which I can see from the window, was covered in a fairly thick blanket. I thought it only fair to find Alfie's Regatta jacket and put it on him before we went out, and I put on my hooded jacket. I don't think he appreciated the cold when we eventually left the building. As I write this, it continues to snow, and it doesn't appear to be stopping. I don't ever remember snow this early in the winter.

Thursday. 8.15 a.m. As I said in the above post, the snow came and went just as quickly. This morning we again have snow, but it's left a rather thin layer of the white stuff on the grass in the garden.

Yesterday morning I was about to drive to the Oaktree Centre, but had to spend around 10 minutes scraping ice off the car's windows. I have antifreeze spray, which I had the foresight to buy in Sainsbury's a few weeks ago, so I shall use that in future.

Saturday. 7.10 a.m. This morning there's rain and it's a good deal colder. I have just been watching BBC Breakfast, and there's a weather warning in place. Storm Bert is on the way. There's snow falling in the north of England, and it looks as if Scotland will be covered in the white stuff.

Sunday. 6.30 a.m. I awoke, due to needing the loo. I could hear the wind howling around the building. There was no way I could get back to sleep, so I decided to go online. I have a new family research site membership, My Heritage. It has more details of people as well as pictures, so I can at least see what some of my ancestors looked like. The new fibre broadband is working well.

Wednesday. 1.05 p.m. I have now got a second online genealogy subscription with something called MyHeritage. I have got back 40 generations, which is amazing. I have uploaded the Gedcom file from Ancestry which makes things easier and quicker and I have many new people on my family tree. I have one of Henry VII Is wives in my tree, Catherine Parr. 

A really typical November day. I went to Sainsbury's earlier and couldn't believe how dark it seemed. It has turned really cold and wet, and we have yet another storm coming in and Milton Keynes is on flood alert. This one is called 'Storm Connal'. Apparently, the name was given by the Dutch Met service.

Thursday. 8.00 a.m. Cold and frosty this morning when I took Alfie out. I reckon the car will need defrosting when I go out later. I have a new bottle of antifreeze spray ready, which I got in Sainsbury's a few weeks ago.

Busy Doing Nothing!

Friday. 8.a.m. Bright and sunny. Virtually no clouds in the sky, and, according to the BBC weather forecast this morning, we can expect more similar days. 

Actually, the title for this post isn't accurate, as I have plenty to keep me going. My family history research is going well. The My Heritage site works best on the app on the iPad. Got back around 9-10 generations. Baking at a standstill at the moment, but I intend to do more soon. Writing going well, although I'm doing the research before I continue. Reading, still on the Juliet Gardiner book. It's around 600-700 pages, so I don't expect to get through it much before the autumn.

Witty is saying 'we're not out of the woods' in regards to the pandemic. But the data says otherwise. The stupid NHS app is flawed and people are being 'pinged' because the idiot thing is sending messages saying people should isolate when there is no need to. It's just scare-mongering once more. Crazy. 

I got the quote from my current car insurance provider, Swinton. Am I glad I did some research before going with them again? The quote is an eye-watering £759.95! The new quote, which is already set up and the deposit paid, is £329. Just shows how important it is to shop around to get a better quote and with a breakdown cover from the RAC. This is from Dial Direct, which I found through Go Compare.

Saturday. 6.45 a.m. It's bright and sunny this morning. The BBC weather forecast is telling me that it's likely to be the hottest day of the year. I just need to keep out of the heat if that's the case, as it can be dangerous with a heart problem.

Later. 2.40 p.m. I am part of what is called a 'Prayer Triplet' which is part of SCF. We met for the first time this morning. The idea being that we are mentored and supported, probably quite necessary considering the current situation regarding the pandemic as well as the effects of Carol's death. Good to be able to talk about things that are going on in your life and then pray it through. I had to drive to Conniburrow, which isn't much more than a ten-minute drive from home. I had been there before, to a barbecue, but still, I needed to refresh my memory and then decided to use Google Maps on my iPhone, which acted as a satnav. Amazingly very good and a clear voice, as I had the mobile sitting on the passenger seat beside me. Just crazy how this technology works and I soon got there.

It's really hot today. I've been out with Alfie who didn't get his mid-morning outing because of me being out for the morning. I just can't cope with the heat and neither can Alfie.

Sunday. 8.55 a.m. I've been out twice with Alfie. I didn't wake up until 5.45, which isn't my usual time to wake up. It's usually a good deal earlier. So I had to really struggle to get out of bed and then get dressed and take Alfie out. I can't think what was different. 

It's really hot and it's only barely 9 o'clock, so I'm glad we went out when we did. I would rather stay indoors out of the heat as it's not safe if it's too hot when you have a heart problem. Alfie doesn't like it either and I think he prefers it cooler.

I had a shower, which isn't my usual time to have one, but I am a good deal cooler than when I came indoors. I have a drink of cranberry cordial with ice in it. I have plenty of ice in the fridge.

Been to get milk from Tesco Express on Oldbrook Boulevard. I don't want to have none for my early-morning cup of tea and bowl of breakfast cereal.  I noticed that the Dominos Pizza and Bernados charity shop have closed. I have a sneaking suspicion that the whole block is to be demolished to make way for a new, larger Lidl branch to be built, with this being the opposite end to where it is currently. Presumably, Lidl has bought the entire site, which might explain all this. I have since discovered that Dominos has moved across the road into Duckworth Court, where there is already a Pizza Hut. I'm not sure when all this is due to be started, but I just wonder what will become of the mini Tesco branch which is so handy for buying milk and last-minute things. Also, it has an A.T.M. outside when you need cash or to at least check your bank balance. I hope that Lidl will have one when all this is completed.

Time Travelling

No, the title doesn't mean I have discovered a means of moving through time and space. I haven't got a time machine or created a Tardis, The Doctor's means of moving throughout time and space, as used in the  BBC science fiction show 'Doctor Who.' I'm referring to my interest in history. I am currently reading books that take me through the 20th Century right up to the present day, or, at least, as near as possible. I have actually started my in the 1840s with 'High Minds' by Simon Heffer, followed by 'The Age of Decadence', covering the period up until just before the First World War, then 'Staring At God', which covers Britain in the 1914-18 War, 'The Great War' as it was referred to. Then a book on the 1920s written by Fiona McDonald. I found it incredibly hard to discover a book that covered the 1920s so this was the only one I could find. Not very comprehensive, not covering the political or social history of the age and not particularly enlightening, but nevertheless worth reading because of the covering of such topics as the arts and entertainment, the birth of broadcasting, and the development of the film industry. I am currently reading 'The Thirties', written by Juliet Gardiner. Like the Simon Heffer books, she manages to weave some sort of narrative into her book which gives it a far more intimate feeling which draws you in. I remember when I was at school and then college in the late 1960s, history was just a collection of dates and numbers, You were just crammed with information, and usually about what I would call 'Establishment Figures', kings, queens, emperors, presidents and Prime Ministers, Nothing about the 'lower orders,' the 'ordinary man' or even woman. They seemed to be totally written out of the narrative. I have to say, by the time I got to Mander College in Bedford to do A-Level History, I found the teaching so boring it was enough to send you to sleep. I didn't even get as far as doing the exam, but I have to say, some fifty-plus years later, I don't really remember any of it. Just reams and reams of relentless notes on American history, European history and, I think, British history. A teacher just droning on and on and quite obviously just going through the paces and definitely not interested in the subject, doesn't make things any better for his students.

I'm still reading 'The Thirties: An Intimate History", by Juliet Gardiner. Part of my history journey through the 20th Century. It's very detailed and gives a real feel of what it must have been like to live in Britain in the 1930s. It covers the Depression, and it's clear how difficult it was for those who were unemployed. 

I've been doing my family history. I've been researching both my parent's trees. My mother is easier and I have got back around 15 generations. I am subscribed to My Heritage, and I've been with it for around 10 years, When the subscription ran out over a year ago I didn't continue, but all my work was still 'live' even though I couldn't access it. I kept getting emails from My Heritage attempting to get me to re-subscribe, but it was too expensive, around £160 for an annual pass. They continued with the emails, reducing the price. If it was possible to have a 'pay as you go' subscription it might have been easier to pay, or at least, on a monthly scheme, but that wasn't an option. Then an email offering a year for around £45, so I decided to go with it, hence the re-subscribing, which meant I could continue with my research. I have the app on my iPad and iPhone, and they seem to work better than the website. Far easier to move around my family tree and to connect with other people doing similar research and add their research to mine. I think I've already mentioned my discovery of some ancestors who lived in and around the village of Ascott in Oxfordshire, who was involved in a strike of agricultural workers in the 1870s, known as the Ascott Martyrs. Very interesting to have uncovered this bit of history, and the fact that it involved ancestors of mine makes it even more interesting.

My Ancestors, Going On A Journey of Discovery: The Ascott Martyrs

For the past couple of years, infact, since I gave up work (oh the joy of retirement) I have been doing some research into my family history. With the advent of the internet it's now possible to do quite a considerable amount of this research without leaving the comfort of your home. I've enjoyed enormously the BBC1 television series "Who Do You Think You Are?" It's not so much the fact that we follow the journey of some celebrity or other, I think it's what they discover about their ancestors. Some manage to delve no more than a few generations back, perhaps to the time of the Second World War, whilst others manage to find out about their forebears going back several hundred years. This sort of research builds on my fascination with history and the 'discovery' aspect of things, uncovering bits of history and then connecting these 'snippets' to my family history. The same can be said of another interest,  archaeology,which, as a teenager I would have found thoroughly dull and boring, but as a much older person, I find thoroughly intriguing. All that stuff, buried only feet below the ground, just waiting to be unearthed and explained. That was sparked off by the Channel 4 series "Time Team." Amazing when television has this sort of ability, good-quality documentaries about real things, not trivial such as a 'reality' show, not 'Big Brother,' idiotic non-entities sitting around in a house, doing nothing in particular, or 'celebrities' making fools of themselves in stupid shows such as "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here." What television executive came up with that idea for a show? Desperation chasing after viewing figures and nothing more.  

I began my quest for my maternal and paternal line by subscribing to a site with the original name of Ancestry and then I discovered a site called My Heritage. I was on a free membership of that for a couple of years and then I decided to pay for a subscription. With a free membership of these sites you have a limited amount you can search for and begin to build a basic family tree. Then last year i decided to go the full thing and buy a membership package, which meant I could not only build up the family tree but to then join forces with other people on the site who were doing similar research. I was really surprised how many others were doing research of different areas of my ancestry. I could use what research others had managed to do and add to my family tree. I'm just surprised how far I have been able to get, to around 1520.

I had done the barest minimum of research on my Murdoch forebears and can only get back around 200 years. Perhaps it's because they lived in Scotland but it's perhaps that there are that there aren't many other people doing research which I can add to my own research. The maternal side of my family, the Ferriman side, is far easier to research as there are a great many other people who are out there doing similar research. As a result I have got back to around 1520, as I have already mentioned. There are connections to several families, the Eddons, Pursers and mostly the Pratleys. My grandfather and grandmother came from across The Cotswolds, both Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. Mostly around Stow-On-The-Wold and Burford. A small village close to Burford called Leafield. I have done quite a bit of research by merely using Google searches. I recently Googles 'Leafield' and found a site which bought up a great many details of the Pratley family who lived and worked in that area. I then came across something which has really caught my attention. I may have found the names, dates and basic facts of many of my ancestors, but no real details or what they did. This is what makes the television show "Who Do You Think You Are?" when the subjects of these programmes discover something extra-interesting about them, some incident which stands out. In this case I came across a historic event regarding "The Ascott Martyrs." There is a  chestnut tree on the village green in a village in Oxfordshire called Ascott-Under-Wychwood. Around this tree are four steel seats painted black and bolted together around this tree. Each bear an inscription. One has the words "Ascott Martyrs imprisoned 1873." The next lists the names of "Amelia Moss, Caroline Moss, Jane Moss, Martha Moss, Mary Moss, Ellen Pratley, Elizabeth Pratley, Mary Pratley." These Pratley ladies are my ancestors, through my Ferriman line of the family. I will not go into too much detail on here, as it's possible to find out far more by Googling 'Ascott Martyrs.' The incident very much has similarities to a far more famous incident called 'The Tolpuddle Martyrs.' All about setting up unions. As a result we visited this place so I could at least put the places I've researched into some sort of context. I shall continue with my research but this historic incident has made the whole experience far more interesting. At least someone did something which was rebellious and exciting, in an attempt to change things.

Plaque on bench on the green at Ascott-Under-Wychwood

Me on bench. (Sorry, I do look miserable in this photograph!)

Me standing under signpost showing a lot of the village where many of my  Ferriman ancestors came from

It's odd that I've always has a sort of affinity with the Cotswolds. Knowing that so many of my ancestors came from the area, lived and worked in and around that area makes it even more interesting. The scenery is quite breath-taking. It amazes me that people can say that Britain is boring, that there's nothing much to see. I cannot agree. Why go abroad for a holiday when there is so much history and so much amazing scenery to enjoy? And in such a relatively small space. You don't have to go too far, either, to come across something fascinating to look at and discover, as we've done over the past few years.