General Chat

bridget i love listening to the stories of generations like this , its fascinating, i never think of them as boring, see the old soldiers sharing their history on tv news and in papers, its nice they do this, carry on bridget,

Bridget, keep writing it is fascinating reading someone elses life story. I have been writing my own for a few months now off and on - on about page 50 now. Don't you find that the more you remember, the more you remember? I am sure the children (mine are the same) will be interested later, if not in your life time, after you have 'moved on'. It is usually the death of a parent or grandparent that arouses our interest in what went befoe. When the children are young it is too much like school work, then when theya re a bit older theya re too busyw ith their own families to be intersted. When they become 'the older generation', they will be interested I'm sure so it will not be wasted. Ann Glos

I wonder why it is that is seems to be later in life that we start to wish we'd kept diaries or some kind of record of earlier events. When I started doing my family history and hit the preverbial brick wall I turned my attentions to creating a 'Memory Book' starting with the very first thing I could ever remember and working my way through from there. It's amazing the things you suddenly recall that you thought had been forgotten. I added photographs to it and odd mementos of visits,holidays etc. and am now up to the present day. Now,at the end of every year I look back at what has happened -however trivial-and it has become a diary. I found it fun to do and hopefully my children and their children will find it so.

For many years I have meant to commit my memories to paper and I began this some 3 weeks ago - have 3 pages done and only at age 5! I hope it will be of interest to g.children and possibly generations after that - I know I would love to have come across memories of my g.parents. It has always been the same - family historians are always busy researching others but forget that their memories will be of interest to others in the future. Good for you Bridget - your stories are interesting and may be your thread will inspire others to do the same. Ann

I love your tales Bridget you have such a good way with words. Yes you should wirte a book. One of my first memories was when my Dad had polio. Every Saturday the milk man would call for me take me round when he was collecting his money and give me a wage when he took me home. A bottle of orange juice it was the highlight of my week. I was 4 at the time. Also my Dad took me to his work and one of the bosses gave me a box of Dairy Box choccies and it wasn't Cristmas. I think that so much happened that 12 month I remember it all. My dad rigged a pulley up to work his arm, they said he would never use it again it would wither like a babies but he worked it and eventually went back to work as a store keeper. He amazed everyone. They used his idea in the hospital for exercise later. Although he could never raise his arm above his shoulder he worked till he was 65. He was one of if not the oldest person in the country to get polio he was 42. Once on the tele they were asking people not to forget their childrens jabs and the doctor said but don't worry if you are over 21 you won't get it. Well you can imagine what my dad said. Germaine x

Hello Bridget, really are enjoying your memories. One of my early memories when I was 6, I got out of bed my mother was baking I was watching from the door and all of a sudden she put her head into her apron and sobbed this was just after my father had been buried,I knew why she was crying and that memory will never fade this was nearly 60 years ago. You have got a talent Margaret

Hi Bridget You are never boring I enjoy all you stories. Keep them coming My first recollection that comes to mind. Seeing my mother bent over a washtub with a scrubbing board, Posser and hand wringer doing washing by hand for 7 people boy when I think of how easy it is today they did it hard in those days. Another thing that springs to mind is the old Black Lead fireplace we had where my mum did all her cooking. It had two round arms that you put your kettles and pots on and an oven at the side and she used to black lead it religiously once a week. Also remember Yellow stoning the steps that led to the house. She always used to say 'Always have a clean step first impressions count' lol Could probably think of more but got to go out soon Have a nice Day Regards Jackie

Bridgit, no way is what you write boring please put all of these thoughts in to a book there will be a time when your children will wish they had listened so if its on tape with your voice and also written down they will be blessed , how I wish I had listened and asked more questions but you get caught up in having children paying the mortgage etc and then all of a sudden it's to late , where do all the years go ? I remember going to the saturday matinee at the movies and then coming home and acting the story out i was fascinated with the veiled women in the harems and we use to dress up and sit around on cushions so funny and as the boys brotheres and neighbours would participate and so it was a girl only thing unless movie was a cowboy or war one , we used to lay rounders in the street till dark , chase the iceman and collect ice of the road and eat it (No germs )get the bag of broken bikkies of the local grocer , the salvation army playing carols at xmas and we used to follow them around , oh for these days again safe and sound children allowed to be children and not having to be scared to move , The Good Old Days, Lara

Bridget, there you have it - the title of your book - MY FAMILY PATCHWORK BLANKET..... I have found what you have written fascinating and as you may have noticed, can relate to a lot of it with no problem (I am now 58). I think I must really start writing down things for my son before I too forget, and while I can still pick the brains of a few cousins a little older than me. One suggestion for you, if you can't type it fast enough, how about talking it all onto a tape. You can then type it at your leisure and listening to the stories may spark new memories too. Type it up and then juggle pages around to follow on - memories don't always come in date order!! My best wishes to you to get down what you want - one day your family who don't seem interested now, will be so grateful to you, I am sure. Liz

Bridget, I am a young member here and I would NEVER find your tales boring. They are so interesting and funny and down to earth and real. This is the real life grit and hard work that most of our relatives lived with. Please, get these down on paper and send them to a publisher. You have such a knack of telling them you will for sure sell them as a book. Keep giving us more Bridget, I for one am amazed and entertained. Natalia xx

I really enjoy reading your stories Bridget. You are writing them down somewhere else aren't you? Your descendants will gain so much pleasure from them. Keep them coming :-)

bridget, i will never forget,the outside toilet,with a large gap under the door,knowing it's only a matter of time,before i was joined by a neighbourly adder,slithering towards me. and i wonder why people are so afraid of spiders :o) bryan.

Were you to ask me what I did two days ago, in all honesty I don’t think I could tell you! Yet I ask myself how I have managed to dredge up events and happenings of 60yrs ago. Had those memories been so bad they had embedded themselves in my mind never to be forgotten? Certainly not, while they might seem so to others who had, fortunately not known what it was like to live in such conditions, to me and my family (and thousands of other families) it was the norm, what had we to compare it with? I can honestly say the only bad memory I have to this day is that of the rats which invaded our home and the homes of those living around us. My mind is like a boiling cauldron of memories waiting to boil over and spill out on to the pages, the memories coming so rapidly I cant get them down quickly enough! Alas, if they could but come in their proper sequence they might make better reading. Like a child, randomly plucking the petals from a flower so I write as I greedily grasp those memories from my mind in whatever order they come. I can’t explain the urge and compulsion which has come upon me to commit them to paper! Fear perhaps that maybe a year or so from now they will have been obliterated from this old mind like snowflakes falling on wet ground. Coming into genealogy late in life has taught me the value of diaries, records and papers, second of course to the spoken word. How many of us on the boards regret not listening to the words of older relatives of yesteryear? On the rare occasion when I have sat with my two grown up children (both living abroad) recalling events of my childhood, relating stories of not only their grandparents but also great grandparents I have noted the polite replies of “Really? How interesting” or “That’s great Mum, I am so pleased for you” on finding an all important certificate. In my heart I know they are not really ready to become part of this wonderful imaginary patchwork quilt which to me, represents my family. The recently added rich colourful pieces representing the new additions, our babies, coming into a world where hopefully they will never know want or hunger. And as I travel back in time with my blanket some patches retain their brilliance while others lose it, the pieces becoming dull, dark and courser, the far edge leading me to my great great grandparents and The Irish Potato Famine. In time, I hope my children will become interested in their background and add a rich vibrant colour to that patchwork blanket, the real reason perhaps for starting the thread “Childhood Recollections”? And so, I shall inflict some more memories to the board and offer apologies to our lovely young members who I must be boring to tears. Bridget x