Windy City

 Sunday. 7.40 a.m. The wind seems to have dropped, and it is bright and sunny. I just hope it remains that way, so the church picnic can take place outside.

Monday. 5.45 a.m. Yesterday the wind dropped considerably, but the arrangements for the church picnic had to be modified. A tent arrangement was set up in the courtyard area, and the musicians set up within this and played a range of music during the time after the service, which started at 11 o'clock and was for an hour. 

There was supposed to be a bouncy castle for the children, but, because of the wind, the rental company that was going to supply it, didn't bring it, basically because of safety concerns.

Plenty of cake (probably too much!) which I had and there was a quiz, both of which raised money for the church building fund.

I have a subscription to National Theatre At Home, which has 'live' recordings of first and foremost National Theatre productions, but there are also productions from theatres and companies which aren't actually National Theatre productions. Some come from the Bridge Theatre and Donmar Warehouse. Over the weekend I watched 'The Wife of Willesden', an adaptation of the 'Wife of Bath Prologue and Tale' by Zadie Smith, from 'The Canterbury Tales' by Geoffrey Chaucer. A bawdy, loud and thoroughly engaging show, staged at The Kiln Theatre, formerly Tricycle Theatre. I have had an interest in 'The Canterbury Tales', from the time I had to study the General Prologue for A-Level English Literature in the late 1960s. I was somewhat frustrated that we didn't study the rest, or even a part, of the main body of this work of fiction, although I did read a modern translation of it more recently and in the late 1960s, well after I had left college (not having completed my A Levels.) I went with my mother to see the musical version in the West End, done in collaboration with Nevill Coghill, who had done a modern translation of the text. I have to say, the teaching of this work (and the other texts we had to study.) was so BORING, I'm not really surprised I wasn't that interested at the time and would have rather been elsewhere than stuck in a classroom. The same could be said of A Level History, which covered most of 19th-century history, and I have more or less forgotten what I was supposed to have learnt. It just goes to show that, if you have poor teaching, how it will affect your relationship with the subject taught, which might explain why, for example, the works of William Shakespeare can be a total turn-off for some people, because his plays are really supposed to be performed, not analysed in minute detail in a classroom.

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.