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the curious past

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Prizes

In 1965 and 1969 the shortbread clearly needed work! Not sure why I didn’t enter in 1966.

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Family history thoughts

Too many ancestors and not enough time………..
Time changes things – please don’t judge your ancestors

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#genealogyphotoaday #shoes #weddingday On a trip to London during the sales in 2010 I saw these @lkbennettlondon silver shoes. From memory at half price. Thought perfect for @gemdewhurst wedding shoes. Think I sent her photos and I had the advice of @slevans__ who was with me. We choose the middle pair. Looking back it was a very random and risky thing to do. But thankfully they fitted and were the right heel height for her beautiful dress. Phew. Also a pic of me changing from driving shoes to wedding shoes. Yes I drove to the wedding as my new car arrived the day before, it’s all about timing. 😂 @gemdewhurst @marcdewhurst celebrate their 10 years in April. ❤️❤️❤️ and whoosh where did the time go. #weddingshoes #10yearanniversarytin #tin

Saturday morning chill. And thank you to @longeatonsofas for producing the matching blanket for Pixel my cat. It’s proving very popular with me and the cat. Hope your weekend is going well. #weekendchill #pixelmycat #mycatpixel #weekend

What happens when you get a routine that suits you. Thanks Ryan and @blaze_derby @davidlloydderby xx #hiitworkout #hiitclass #blaze #davidlloyd #66yearsyoung till tomorrow lol.

Fallen behind with #genealogyphotoaday so combining two together ‘home’ and ‘rusty’ (chosen something rust coloured.) This Buddha is a relatively recent purchase (last few years) from @finewood_studios and I just love it. I went to look at furniture ! The cinnamon sticks were on offer after Christmas for £3.50 and they smell fabulous. The little plump Buddha was purchased from @hopkinson21 for £12. It was described as bronze but it cleaned up as brass. I see them as I come into the main living area and for me they dispense calm. Which makes sense as the wooden one is the Meditation Buddha. Not my religion as I’m a Christian ✝️ but these are cherished. #genealogyphotoaday #buddha #meditationbuddha #treasuredpossessions

‘Instrument’ #genealogyphotoaday when I searched google photos this one popped up. My maternal Grandma, Sarah, clearly posing for a photo at the piano and looking quite serious. I have a vague memory of a piano at their house but absolutely no memory of her playing. Her love for it is probably why my Mum had lessons. Now my Mum reportedly only had 6 months lessons and had the ability to hear a tune on the radio then play it. 🏆. How’s that work! I had 3 years worth of lessons more due to my parents perseverance not mine. As my teacher once reported I was a ‘mechanical player’. Oh dear. On top of my grandmas piano is the painting of my Mum done by Grandpa. Now near my computer. A photo of my Mums 1st husband which dates the this photo between 1943 and 1948 (divorced after 5 years) and hence my Grandma born in 1887 is between 56 and 61 years old. Either a painting or photo of a church. But which one? My first instinct was Ilkeston but need to have a look at significant church’s for the family. On the wall is a flower painting also painted by Grandpa, which now hangs in my guest room. The photo has been hand coloured by my Mum. A pastime of hers. 😀 #familyheirlooms #familyhistory #familyarchives #pianoplaying

I seem to have acquired a new ornament to adorn the new footstool. So much for the expensive velvet sheet made specially for the sofa. Have to tell you this is one expensive ornament. #pixelmycat #footstool @tkmaxxuk

‘DNA’. #genealogyphotoaday Purchased a @living_dna kit at RootsTech and just had the results. They differ from Ancestry as they don’t show Scandinavian. However this profile with living is my recent ancestors. It does all fit in with most of my research. I just need to find that North Yorkshire connection because that is where my heart favours. #livingdna #dnatest #dna

‘Book’ #genealogyphotoaday 1. My Mum reading in her parents garden. Love this photo albeit very tiny and soft focus. And that dress ❤️ and lots of gorgeous hair. I just don’t remember ever seeing my Mum read a book. Magazines definitely but not books. In contrast my Dad used to take me to the library and use most of my tickets for his reading material. Think you were allowed 4 books. He Consumed around 8 books a month. Thrillers and crime? It’s a long long time ago. I loved being in the library (St Barnabas, Leicester) and I was an avid reader of the Famous Five etc. When I finally got the bedroom to myself (sharing with sister) they removed the centre bulb so I just used a torch under the bed clothes. Did you? Actually when I got older and skipped college lessons I could usually be found in the library on New Walk. Well couldn’t go home. Mind my first report said attendance ‘fairly good’ whoops. 2. My Granddad Moses. I so want to know what he is reading. It looks a heavy tome. 3. For quite a few years now I have got out of the habit of reading. Spend too much time researching. In fact the last book I probably read (besides chapters in reference books) was the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy 🤣🤣. One of my new year resolutions is to change that. Currently half way through The Farm, purchased from Abebooks. An excellent secondhand book website. #books #abebooks #thefarm

Well I really struggled to find old photos relating to ‘work’ (except for my last two jobs which I will feature another day). #genealogyphotoaday We left our home town of Leicester in 1976 to venture north to Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, with a job promotion for Graham. With his Textile Institute qualifications he moved out of sales into production at Thomas Burnley’s large factory. (now houses). In 1979 we travelled even further north and to a different country, when he took over as Area Sales Manager for the Troon Office, Ayrshire. (Covering the whole of Scotland travelling around 45,000 miles a year in his company car). After just a year I was working for the company too and we operated the office from our home in Maybole. We invited key customers to the launch of the new office in the October. By November we joyfully announced we were pregnant. We hadn’t made a secret of this possibility to the company as we had been trying to conceive for nearly 12 months. In the main things worked well - most of the time. Even if sometimes whilst on the phone to a customer Gemma was lying on the desk having her nappy changed!! And as you can see she spent quite a few moments helping 😂😂. Scotland was our best of times and some of our worst of times. when Graham moved to a new company and it closed down. We did everything we could to stay but it just didn’t seem possible. His skill set meant a move back south and after a false start ended up in Derbyshire. Selling the house in Scotland was one of the most stressful times I’ve ever been through. When we moved to Derbyshire I had no idea at the time just how many ancestors I would find here. #workingfromhome #scotland #thomasburnleys

That’s me sorted for this evening - mind at some point have to get up to make dinner ! Watching the real time steam train journey on Channel 5. It’s one of my aims for this year, to visit the highlands of Scotland. But unsure whether to do the journey by train with a tour company or by myself in the car. Or a mixture. This will be a good indicator. #trains #channel5 #steamtrains #holidayplanning

‘Winter’ #genealogyphotoaday 1 and 2. The winter of 1949 in Embsay, North Yorkshire. Featuring Bert and Edie Scott (my Grandparents in law) with Eddy their son. 3. 1963? Me, my Mum and sister on Spinney Hill Park, Leicester. 4 And 5 - 1977 or 78. Heavy snowfall in Liversedge Nr Huddersfield. I don’t remember it lasting too long. The milkman delivered by horse and cart! 6. 1980 in Scotland. Hubby with his Mum, Joan, who was visiting. 7. c 1986 @slevans__ and @gemdewhurst outside our house, well dormer bungalow, in Maybole, Ayrshire. Home for 8 years. Made the classic error of cutting their feet of in the photo. 🤦🏻‍♀️ 8. c 1994. The girls again this time in Chaddesden a Wood just a short distance from our home in Oakwood, Derby. 9. 2006, a trip to Lapland courtesy of my work at East Midlands Airport. Not my most fetching outfit !! #winter #snow #itlookscold #familyarchives #familyphotos #thecuriouspast

‘doc’ #genealogyphotoaday My No 1 family history treasured document. A large hand written scroll done by my Great Grandfather, Moses Knighton, b. 1835. I would guess the scroll was started around 1876 after the arrival of their daughter, Elizabeth. With my Grandfather, Moses Junior, b 1888 somewhat squeezed on to the bottom of the document. I had a conservator remove the sticky adhesive tape keeping it together and she added the tape and patches. It is fragile but on fairly thick paper. I love looking at the handwriting and imagining my Great Grandfather planning what font to use, how to lay it out, cutting out the coloured images to decorate it and then sitting doing it. How good was the lighting, how comfortable was the seat? And just how long did it take to do. He was taking art exams at the age of 64. From a family history point of view the only mistake he made was to use his wife Annie’s married name rather than her maiden name, Naylor. Always credit this side of the family with giving me my love of genealogy. I have 10 DNA matches with his father William. The birthday book is A6 shown to give scale of the scroll. So far this has belonged to Moses senior, Moses Junior, Katherine (My Mum) and now me. #familyhistory #document #familyarchive #oldestdocument #calligraphy #handwriting #thecuriouspast

Gallery

My Grandfather - Moses Knighton Jnr

My Grandfather – Moses Knighton Jnr

Sarah Elizabeth Fearn 1887 - 1963

Sarah Elizabeth Fearn 1887 – 1963

Two Little Ducks

Two Little Ducks

Moses Knighton in Uniform

Moses Knighton in Uniform

Marriage of Katherine Fearn to Gerald Lacey 26th December 1925

Marriage of Katherine Fearn to Gerald Lacey 26th December 1925

School Class circa 1899, Sarah Fearn top left

School Class circa 1899, Sarah Fearn top left

Version 2

On holiday in Cleethorpes?

On holiday in Cleethorpes?

My sister and I

My sister and I

Me and my Grandfather

Me and my Grandfather

Moses and Moses My Grandfather and Great Grandfather

Moses and Moses My Grandfather and Great Grandfather

Sarah Fearn

Sarah Fearn

Sarah

Moses Knighton Jnr

Moses Knighton Jnr

Moses Knighton Jnr

Moses Knighton Jnr

Daisy and Harry Pearson

Daisy and Harry Pearson

Paternal Grandparents and me - aged about 5 to 6

Paternal Grandparents and me – aged about 5 to 6

Harry Pearson

Daisy Pearson

Moses Knighton Senior

Moses Knighton Senior

Sarah Elizabeth Fearn

Sarah Elizabeth Fearn

Sarah's sister - Mary Jane

Sarah’s sister – Mary Jane

Me and my Mum - Katherine

Me and my Mum – Katherine

Painting by Moses

Painting by Moses

Painting by Moses

Painting by Moses

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