TEAS IN DEVONSHIRE

It has been a busy two weeks since we last blogged. We recently added the globe visit counter to the blog as well as the London clock. Flashing symbols on the globe show occasions that people are on line. Several times we have been online preparing posts and have seen someone in Canberra reading it at the same time. It is interesting to ponder who it is. Also, just who is the person in Taiwan who has looked at our blog ? More to the point - why?

We have also put a BBC weather feed on the site as the forecast for Sunday and Monday is 29, possibly 30!! Mark has long joked about news reports in Australia of the poms falling over when the temperature gets above 28. He will post a blog on Tuesday to let you all know if they do. 

Don’t forget we would love you to make comments on the blog in the comment box. It will be displayed on the blog and is also automatically emailed to us. As you may guess we have worked out how to correctly format & therefore upload videos. Do let us know how they look or if they load too slowly. 

The Olympic ticket allocations are out and we are both amazed and relieved. Relieved that we did not get all of the £3,000 worth of tickets we bid for. Amazed that we have been ‘allocated’ £850 worth, including closing ceremony tickets! In terms of actual competitions we applied for a wide range of events from athletics, swimming, Tae Kwon Do, diving and wrestling. We ended up with free style wrestling and basketball. Many people we know, including sally’s boss, received nothing at all.

The process has been controversial, with money being deducted from accounts several weeks ago, and no confirmation of what it was for, then notification this week and tickets being sent out next year. The Paralympic tickets are on sale in Sept and we will be putting in for them too.

William’s school has their annual fete this weekend. After being involved in the Miles Franklin fete for many years and seeing the months of hard work by a small group of dedicated parents and the wonderful P & C, we were astounded to have only found out about it at the end of last week and to get requests for donations earlier this week  & the fete is on it this weekend ! Sally has been madly making her baubles to donate. We will go along but are not quite sure what to expect.

William recently ‘jumped the rope’ at 8th Muswell Hill cubs moving up to scouts.Scouts here are quite different to scouts at Lake Ginninderra Sea Scouts. William has commented a couple of times on what he thinks Ikky and Balou, his scout leaders in Canberra, would make of the way things are done here. 

Lake G is far more formal, strict and involves itself in a lot of fun activities. Up until recently William’s cub meetings were in an upstairs room in a church hall in Muswell Hill. Very small and noisy. With the arrival of the summer term these hall meetings have moved to Scout Park, http://scoutpark.co.uk/ a large 8 acre Scout-owned and dedicated site that is far more his style. The only hassle for us is the pleasant 10 minute walk to the Muswell Hill church hall now becomes a stop-start 20 minute drive. Moving up to scouts also means William is out until 9:30pm each Tuesday. A long day for a boy!

Both kids have had their respective sports carnivals this week. William blitzed it in the 100 & 400 metres races.

Aisha was up against tougher competition though. She participated widely, as was the case at school events in Canberra. Here she entered 6 events including 100 / 200 & 400 metres. She did well in the javelin and shot put and came 4^th in the 200 and 2^nd in 400 metres, but wants to see the introduction of her preferred longer distance events!

HE SURVIVED !

The weather seems to have turned and, for the first time since late February, we had the heating on one day over the weekend. Just one day though! Just as the country declared a drought in South East England the rain started and has continued fairly consistently for much of the last week. William spent a VERY wet few days last weekend at a scout camp amidst puddles. Most people – including Mark, would have said “no – take me home” but William headed off amidst hordes of kids he really didn’t know very well, into the mud, found a tent space and got himself organised. It rained most of the weekend. We felt terrible as we sat in the house, with the heating on, watching the rain fall. He enjoyed it all though and had fun kayaking, canoeing and ‘water walking’.

MARGARET SHOWS AISHA
SOME OF THE FAMILY TREE.

The weekend before William’ s camp we all had a three day trip down to Devon to visit the Worsfold ( Sally’s mum Margaret’s side) ancestral lands. Sally had a long weekend thanks to the Queen’s birthday public holiday in Aust (not a public holiday here!) Margaret, has long been interested in her family history and has, over the years, been able to trace the Worsfold family back through 9 generations. Aisha has been able to make use of Margaret's copious anecdotal & first hand knowledge and her research to used in a humanities project for school. 

WITH THE CURRENT OWNER
OF MARGRET'S PARENTS' LAST HOUSE
IN CHILLINGTON. 

We were able to stand outside a variety of ancestral homes. In two cases we were invited inside. First, and most moving, was the last house that Margaret’s parents William ( Bill) and Hilda lived in. We were able to go through the house and gardens of the house in Shindle Park, Chillington. Amazingly, a few years ago while renovating, the current owners found a photo of Bill on his 90^th birthday. They not only kept it but could lay their hands on it that morning and gave it to her.

The other house we were kindly invited into was in Ashprington. It was a small cottage lived in by Susanah Wyatt and Henry Barnes, Aisha & William’s great, great, great, grandparents. To make the connection to the house greater the current owner, a young man called Tom who was left the house by his grandparents, raises chickens, makes elderflower cordial as Margaret did a few weeks ago with our kids using elderflowers from our own garden!!) and makes his own pickled onions and preserves. All very Eldridge. We thought Granny Barnes, who kept chickens and chased them around the yard with a cleaver, would surely approve. To make up for waking him up and invading his living room we bought some of Tom’s eggs, pickled onions and cordial.

MAKING ELDERFLOWER CORDIAL

YES, IT IS A HANKIE THEY ARE USING
TO STRAIN THE CORDIAL.

Tom showed us some initials scratched into the outside window frame. He didn't know who they might have been from and Margaret’s father was unaware of them when he visited the house when it was owned or rented by his grandparents Henry and Susanah. It is possible the initials were made in the early to mid-1800’s by Henry Barnes. 

Susanah & William's house
in Ashprington. 

WHB  FROM 1830s ???

Tom’s father is keen on local history so we left with his contact details to help fill in the blanks for them on their house.  We then went across the road to see Ashprington, the church where Susanah and Henry’s daughter Florence was married. The font cover was lost many years ago but replaced by one that Sally’s grandpa made in memory of his parents. 

THE FONT COVER
MADE BY MARGARET'S DAD.

 Various churches around the south Devon area have beautifully turned and carved items given by Bill who rescued damaged timbers from churches and gave them new life. 

PASCAL CANDLE STICK
BY BILL WORSFOLD.

A picnic in the church yards topped off the Ashprington visit! 

A PICNIC AMONGST THE GRAVES IN ASHPRINGTON.

We were also able to visit the memorial for Margaret and her brother Richard's parents in Kingsbridge.

Most amazing was to stand outside the house of William Wakeham and later his son James' house near the river at Cleft End. William Wakeham is the kids' great, great, great, great, great grandfather.  
We worked out that he is one of 128 people who could claim that title.  Amazing !!!

THREE GENERATIONS OUTSIDE
WILLIAM WAKEHAM'S HOUSE AT CLEFT END.

The kids did really well with long days of sitting in the back with Sally, driving down very narrow and windy roads and visiting a lot of strangers (Margaret’s friends from school etc). 

At some point Mark will devote and entire post to the wonders & joys of driving in England. This picture shows Sally & Aisha strolling down an unusual road England, no parked cars to weave through and, unusually for for Devon - it is wide and doesn't have roof high hedgerows on both sides offering endless blind corners and lashing at the car. 

TOO EASY & LOADS OF ROOM !

The Sunday we were in Devon was a whole day of fairly relentless rain which kept us in the car longer than usual as Margaret, riding shotgun in the front, gave a running commentary on the various points of interest along the way. Luckily they both thought searching through graveyards for ‘Wakeham’ headstones was fun. As important and interesting as it all was, for them it must have been deathly boring at times.

Funny though, there were lots of smiles !

THE SHOP, NOW A RESTAURANT, IN TORQUAY.

We were lucky to visit two sets of Margaret’s friends who plied us with coffee, biscuits and other assorted yummies. Before the visits we drove down to the beach near Torquay, unsuccessfully trying to find the Fawlty towers hotel. We did see the shop/house where Margaret's grandparents lived and worked during the war. As grocers they were able to quietly assist families in the area who were struggling with war time rationing.  







The waves were lashing the coast and, along with many others, we stopped to take a look. Unlike many others we ended up soaked when William was the only one to spot “a big one” coming in. Have a look at the video below to see what happened.

HE SEES ALL !

We also visited Slapton Sands, a stretch of beach near Torcross, which has pebbles and no sand at all. It does, however, have a WWII Sherman tank. In 1943, this area was the scene of Operation Tiger, rehearsals for the D –Day landings. Approximately 650 US service men died when German E boats fired on several landing craft, many soldiers drowned waiting to be rescued. Some further 300 soldiers were killed by friendly fire from a British cruiser which was ordered by Eisenhower to shell the beach with live ammunition. Apparently he felt that the men must be hardened by exposure to real battle conditions.OPERATION TIGER

TANK NANA !

The Sherman tank was lost overboard during the practice and was re-discovered in 1974 by a local historian. In 1984 it was recovered from the sea, restored and placed near the beach as the first part of a now much larger memorial.

Two novels about the D-Day rehearsals and the enforced evacuation of 3,000 locals from 5 villages and their partial destruction by the Americans are ‘The Magic Army’ by Leslie Thomas and ‘The amazing story of Adolphus Tips’ by Michael Morpugo (a great children’s book).

On the way out of Devon we drove through Dartmoor, inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes classic " The Hound of the Baskervilles". The scenery was fittingly bleak and we did not hit any of the meandering sheep who wandered on & off the road at will.  

THE RANGE ROVER, WITH UK PLATES,
ON DARTMOOR.

THE KIDS ON DARTMOOR.

On the way out we spotted the Postbidge Clapper. Four stone slabs weighing around two tons each have spanned the river for around 700 years. Apparently the day before our visit the river rose to near the top of the support column. POSTBRIDGE CLAPPER

WILLIAM GETS WIMBLEDON.

SNAKE BOY.

The Devon trip coincided with William’s 10^th birthday which was partially celebrated in a B&B in Chilington. He was almost as happy to find a grass Snake as he was with his presents ! His entry into double figures has yet to be marked, as Aisha’s was, with a dinner out with Dad. Mind you he went to centre court at Wimbledon with mum this Friday !

We all recently went to a performance of ‘War Horse’. If we described it you might think it  silly. Suffice to say, if the show ever comes to a theatre near you, do yourself a favour and go and experience one of the most amazing shows you could ever see. The puppetry involved is astounding. The story is powerful and both our kids found it very intense. We all came away very moved by the fate of the characters, including the horses.

Yet another half term break !

Last week we all, Sally’s mum included, returned from a trip to South Wales via Salisbury & Somerset. Boasting its new UK plates the Range Rover took us off for another driving holiday. Leaving on Tuesday of the half term break, Mark, Aisha, William and Margaret went back  to have a better look at Stonehenge, this time in more pleasant weather. 

We went on to West Pennard just outside of Glastonbury where we spent two days with Valerie, Rachel’s mum. She was enormously welcoming putting us all up and preparing not only a delicious dinner but two mornings of ‘Full English’ cooked breakfasts. We stayed with her at Easter but did not actually get too far out of the back garden. This time we made it to the 'Bath and West Show’ the local annual agricultural show. 

Valerie at West Pennard.

The show was similar in size and style to the Sydney Easter Show but with fewer rides. The kids enjoyed watching a sheep dog demonstration, practised their lambing techniques and had a couple of goes on the twister. They also watched a horse shoe making competition and saw a traditional punch & Judy show. William had a go at air rifle shooting, as you do, and after several very wide shots scored a bullseye!  There were some fantastic displays in the flower tent – the sweet peas and begonias were spectacular, while the 60 year old bonsai azaleas were incredible. There were some carnivorous plants which had their eyes on William !

William's Bullseye !

Beautiful Begonias

Sweet William & Sweet Peas

A carnivorous plant has its eye on  W !

On Thursday we reluctantly left Valerie and went into Glastonbury and visited the excellent rural life museum, which gave us a good insight into the hardships of ‘the good old days’. 

Glastonbury is a small town that in recent times hosts the annual Glastonbury festival but has been of significance since Neolithic times. It is associated with the legend of King Arthur as well as a supposed visit by Jesus and his great uncle, Joseph of Arimathea. Across from the Tor is a smaller hill where the ‘Glastonbury Thorn’ could be found. Legend has it that on arrival there Joseph struck his staff into the ground where it took root and grew. A cutting of this thorn bush survived until last year when vandals cut it down. There have also been suggestions Glastonbury  is a possible location for the Holy Grail, again brought by Joseph of Arimathea. 

The top of the Tor has been important since the 5^th Century when an Iron Age fort stood there. Later it became a site of pilgrimage where a medieval church of St Michael was built and stood until around 1275 when, on September 11^th, an earthquake shook south west England and toppled the church. This was replaced in 1360 which survived until King Henry VIII’s purge of the Catholic churches when it was largely ruined and the Abbot of Glastonbury hanged atop the Tor.

The climb up the Tor was much steeper than we expected. It was another blisteringly hot British day with clear blue skies and temperatures hovering around 26!!!  Margaret, at 73 with arthritis and various artificial bits and pieces but minus her walking stick, did a great job being hauled up by Mark. The kids raced on in no time at all but were a bit puffed at the end.

Margaret made it !

Resting Kids.

We stopped off at Bathampton to visit the grave of Arthur Philip the founder of the first colony at Sydney Cove in 1788. For a figure of such significance to Australia’s history, his grave is fairly unassuming and in fact his final resting place was forgotten until 1897. 

It has also been suggested that his grave is in fact not where it is currently marked but either outside the church or possibly lost altogether. 
For more information on him see this link. Arthur Philip

 

On Thursday night we stayed at a rather nice though slightly ‘Fawlty Towers’ style farm stay near Cardiff. The kids shared the luxurious king size bed while Mark and Margaret took the singles. There was a small gym at the farm stay and the kids had fun ‘working out’. Aisha took things too seriously though and ended up slipping off the treadmill and ‘skinning’ her shin. Ouch.

We drove on through Swansea to one of the kid friendly surprises Mark had organised – a visit to a local chocolate factory. Mark required extra protection from the chocolate (or was that the other way around ?) The kids had a go at making next year’s Easter bunnies and eggs. 

We then drove on down to the Gower Peninsular where, with temps hitting 27, we again went to a sand beach and went swimming this time in water that was surprisingly pleasant.  

   We impressed the locals with our style both in and out of the water. 

After a couple of hours at the beach we drove up to The Brecon Beacons National Park to a Youth Hostel we had booked for two nights. The hostel was nestled in between classic Welsh valleys and not far from a large lake/reservoir. As Mark drove back down the Cardiff to collect Sally from Cardiff train station, a Friday night hot spot for the hip, young and horrendously drunk, he had a fantastic view of sunset in the Brecons, sadly not recorded.

Part of the view from the hostel

A boy and his Nanna.

The Hostel.

Getting back to the YHA close to 11pm we were amazed that it was only then almost dark. We again had very good weather for most of the trip although Wales did live up to its reputation of changeable weather by giving us swimmable weather on Friday, cool cloudy weather on Saturday followed by cold drizzle the final day. 

On our way to the next kid friendly surprise we stopped at another bit of 'boring stuff' - Brecon Abbey where we were amazed to see a ‘William Strutt’ hanging in the Abbey. 

William was an English painter, whom we knew about, who came out to colonial Australia and became a significant colonial artist. Most notable is his work on the  'Black Thursday' fires in Victoria of February 1851 as well as his works surrounding The Bourke & Wills fiasco. 

Black Thursday.

Bushrangers.

The burial of Burke.

We finished our time in Wales with a visit to the 'Big Pit', a former Welsh coal mine now a museum run by the former miners.Their aim is to act as a tool for educating about coal and to teach and hopefully hand on aspects of Welsh culture. It was a poignant visit for those who could still remember the Thatcher govt’s attempts to close down the mines and the subsequent miners’ strikes of the 1980s.

We drove from Big Pit’ 4 hours or so back to London, mostly in pouring rain, in time to finish homework and start school the next day.

We also had to get ready to go off the following weekend to Devon to retrace some of the Wosrfold family tree. 

We have just returned from that trip, the highlights of which will be ready in a few days.