All Quiet on the Blogging Front

I haven’t been in Blogland much lately. I don’t know why.

I think the subject of the weather has been exhausted and there’s that other thorny subject that some other bloggers have been brave enough to mention, but I’m not one of them.

But I did find an interesting little snippet during the course of some research I’ve been doing which I’ll share with you.

In 1647 the London Corporation of the Poor was established and one of its provisions was to erect work-houses. Two confiscated royal properties were given to the Corporation and by 1655, one thousand adults and a hundred children were employed there.

Children in the care of the Corporation learned basic literacy. And people didn’t have to live in the work-house, but could either work from their own homes or turn up on a daily basis to work.

I wonder what became of those people when Charles II came back and reclaimed his properties in 1660?

My Gt Gt Grandmother died in the Tendring workhouse in 1904 (the lower pictures if you follow the link). It was a cruel twist of fate that her son in law, my great grandfather, died in that same workhouse at the age of 92 in 1968. It was of course a hospital by then, but it was a grim place and even as a child I felt it had an unpleasant atmosphere, but I did like going to visit Grandfather and he always had a tube of Trebor Mints or Polo Mints in his bedside locker for me.

Anyway, that all very nicely brings me to a bargain I found today!

Among my favourite books (that is books I like to read more than once) along with Jung Chan’s Wild Swans, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Alfred Lansing’s Endurance and Stephen King’s Dolores Claiborne is The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell.

And the bargain - it’s free on Kindle and only £1.99 in paperback. And well worth a read – and a re-read!

Dogs, Dogs, Dogs!

On Easter Monday we braved the cold and went to the All About Dogs Show at the Suffolk Showground.

Dogs were welcome, but we left Indy at home in the warm. He’s very particular about his walks now and, understandably, he gets nervous in unfamiliar surroundings and situations.

It was lovely – so many gorgeous dogs in all shapes and sizes. We stopped at the Retired Greyhounds Trust stand and I watched as my Beloved became completely besotted with a very pretty little brindle greyhound.

The show is well worth a visit and there are more coming up at Newbury, Newark and Norfolk, by which time perhaps the weather will be more pleasant.

Oh and I came home with a puppy. I won him on the Wood Green Shelter stall.

I don’t think Indy was impressed!

What on earth is it? I'm not posing with that!

Oh for goodness sake, all right then, if I must.

You might as well take it away because I am not, absolutely not, going to sleep with it!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Romance Reader!

Please come and say hello to me over at the Romance Reader – and go in for the draw to win an e-book of The Doctor’s Decision.

Speaking of romance… Been reading through one of my teenage diaries. Oh dear. But some things never change, “I was fed up, so wrote out a plan for a story with maps and drawings. I’m getting my petitions off tomorrow.”

Amazing how many girls I went to school with who were catty big-headed bitches and nasty cows and how many boys were gorgeous with wonderful brown eyes/beautiful blue eyes etc etc etc! And how many times can one 14 year old think she’s fallen in love?

One thing that does become very obvious is that I had one really good friend, even if I didn’t realise it at the time and I’m glad to say she was about the only person I never moaned about.

I had a bit of a lament about my bus fare to school going up from 2p to 3p and was pleased with the pouffe I got for my mum from the Green Shield Stamp shop! Then there was the day the school truancy officer came round and told my mum I was playing truant with my mates. So she called me out to prove I was at home. He took one look at my swollen black eyes and said she should keep me home for the rest of the week (I’d had a head on collision with my dog the day before and come off worst).

I was lucky that he’d chosen that particular time to check up on me, although I was caught a few months later.

I complain about one friend coming round and “always ruining my mum’s pens”. Your guess is as good as mine.

And I’ve realised that my parents bought me an Adler reconditioned office typewriter for my 15^th birthday, not my 16^th as I’d always thought (“Oh, well, nearly 15 – getting old.” – Did I really write that? I’m afraid I did).

I saw Monty Python at the pictures. Don’t remember it. I do remember going to see Steptoe and Son though. I “blew” 75p on a trip to London and paid 45p for typing and Dutch evening classes. I spent £1 on make up for myself and two of my friends. Were things ever really so cheap?

One thing I do know – reading through my teenage diaries, I would never want to live through that again. Although things did improve the following year when I met my husband!

Don’t forget to visit me at Romance Reader! I’d love to see you over there.

Reality!

Thank you Patsy for nominating me for The Reality Blog Award. 

I love this! It’s nice and short and easy to do.

The rules are - Visit the blog of the person who nominated you and link to them on your post. Answer the questions, nominate more bloggers and let them know.

1.   If you could change one thing, what would it be?

I’d make everyone vegetarian “ping” – there, done, you won’t miss those bacon sarnies at all.

2.   If you could repeat an age, what would it be?

I’d be anywhere in my 30s again. Happiest time of my life.

3.   What one thing really scares you?

Cruelty. To people and animals. We should have got on top of it by now!

4.   If you could be someone else for a day, who would it be?

Thought long and hard about this and in the end decided I’d like to be an astronaut on the International Space Station – closer to the sun, no rain, no snow. Plus I would weigh next to nothing and I have it on good authority that they have ice cream.

I’m nominating :

Wendy at Wendy’s Writing Now

Maria at First Draft Cafe

Unikorna at Why I Wake Up Every Day

Anne at The Busy Teapot

And for no other reason than I haven’t posted any photos lately, here’s one of Indy playing with his treat cube. It takes him a while to sniff out all the kibble that drops out as he pushes it round with his nose or bats it with his paws – unless there are little people on hand to gather it all up for him which he doesn't object to at all!

Keeping a Diary!

My father-in-law started copying his father’s diary into Word some time ago, but circumstances have made it difficult for him to continue, so my oldest son has taken over.

My grandad-in-law was a lovely man. I know I say a lot of things are lovely, but he and Nanna were very special to me. My grandmothers died before I was born so I grew up without, but I had two wonderful nanna’s in law.

My grandad-in-law cycled to Lambeth every day to work and every night he wrote in his diary, usually in the air raid shelter.

My mum often spoke of WWII – my grandfather had the family moved to West Ham because he thought they’d be safer there than here and they lived through the Blitz - until they came out of the air raid shelter to find their house had been flattened so back they came.

But nothing has brought home what it must have been like more than reading my grandfather-in-law’s diaries. Night after night of sirens blaring and planes going over and bombs dropping. I must admit there were tears as I read as I thought about what it must have been like, never knowing when it would end.

But one thing that shines through his words is that he never complains. Not once!

So I had a look at my diaries. Oh dear. Moan, moan, moan! I dread to think what future generations will think of me if they read them. “What a moany old bag,” they’ll say. So, inspired by my late grandad-in-law, I am going to try to up my game when it comes to keeping a diary.

So now to put a positive spin on snow in March! Who’d have thunk it? 

Leap Year

One of my favourite short story writers, Marilyn Fountain, has written a People’s Friend pocket novel Leap Year. It’s in the shops now. Get one if you can – I guarantee you’ll enjoy it. 

Isn't that a lovely cover?

Back in the days before I actually knew any other writers, I used to look out for Lyn's stories because I knew they would always be a good read and nothing has changed. I am so pleased she's started writing longer stuff - more to enjoy!

Reading!

I love Call the Midwife on television and I enjoyed the book very much too. In fact I found it very difficult to put down.

Some time ago I read In the Midst of Life by Jennifer Worth and I intend to treat myself to her other two books, Shadows of the Workhouse and Farewell to the East End.

At the moment I’m reading My Future Husband by Karen Clarke – it's a lovely, fun read!

This week I took Indy for his check up and – I hardly dare breathe this – I don’t have to take him back for three months as long as he continues to do well and doesn’t start to lose weight again. The worst part of all this is his blindness. He has to stay on an extending lead now on our walks because he gets worried off the lead.

But he’s sleeping through the night which is a huge plus, especially as some nights I had to carry him up and down the stairs. It must be better for him if he can have a good night’s sleep. And he enjoys playing with his treat ball – I save some of his kibble to put in that.

I know he’s nearly thirteen, but I still look at him and see a puppy. He has never really grown up and he still has his naughty moments – I am very glad to say!