It's July!

[Rwth of Cornovii]

I can hardly believe the year is half over. Never mind, I expect I got busy and didn't notice. This morning I looked at my Inbox and wanted to run back to the bedroom and cover my head. Nothing awful, just comments about a meeting I arranged for next week, and another rendezvous with my sister for this week. It looked a bit foggy in the distance, and the cows were gone. The sky leaked a lot and everything is a lot fresher looking and now the cows are back so things are looking up. They are very rural looking, like those antique pictures of C18th farms even though they are black and white, there is more white than black.

I thought perhaps a new thread would gee people up a bit.

Later.

[Brians Cravat]

Sorry that I've not been around. Been busy. Yeah I'm retired but, these days I do things that I want to do not, what The Man tells me to do because, he's paying me. I do it because I enjoy. When I cease to enjoy it, I stop.

[An Tarbh Dubh]

Brian, that sounds like a most excellent life plan! So welcome back when you appear, and when you don't - well, just be enjoying yourself .

Yep, July ... on the downward slide towards winter again, as the days start getting shorter ... I'm a bundle of joyous optimism aren't I just?

[Rwth of Cornovii]

Good morning all. The plan for the day was to go and play William Boyce Sonatas with a friend, but the handyman turned up out of the blue so I have to wait for him to finish painting the replacement cladding. He's done the gutter though. He has the same name as Sir Blunderdog's first names, only reversed. In addition I've seen his face around the district, but can't remember where. Maybe he's in a quiz team somewhere. Oh frabjous day!

[Brians Cravat]

Good day yesterday. Went with the Active Retirement Group to Croome Park, a Nationak Trust property near Pershore in Worcs. whilst the park is the prime focus of NT activity. There are a number of buildings the main one being Croome Court but, there is a church and, several follies. All the buildings are slowly being restored. I think that the difficulty for the NT is how to reflect the history of the Court. This isn't a property that has a particular place in history like say, Boscobel House or Moseley Old Hall which were hiding places for King Charles in his escape from the Battle of Worcester. It's fairly easy to to decorate the house as it would loll then.

Croome Court was the family home of the Earls of Coventry from the 17thC and, no specific historical events took place there. It has had a life since the Coventrys departed. It was most recently owned by a business man and, in the 1980s it was owned by the Hari Krishnas who did a brilliant job decorating one of the rooms.

For twenty odd years it was a Catholic-run 'school for disadvanted boys'. Several old boys spoke to us of the cruel. abusive regime that the nuns who ran the place oversaw.

[Rwth of Cornovii]

Often these places have nice gardens so they're worth going to for that reason. I'm going to Westbury Court tomorrow which has a nice water garden.

[Brians Cravat]

OK, another day, another stately(ish) home. We've lived in this area for more that 40 years. Nearby is the former main home of the Earls of Dudley. Their ancestors came over at the time of the Conquest and were granted extensive acreage locally. The subsequently became very wealthy from exploiting the coal deposits under the Black Country and eventually, steel production. At one time the Earl of Dudley was one of the six wealthiest men in the country. Himley Hall which, they built using their wealth is a short walk away. Set in its own parkland, landscaped by Capability Brown, the house is now owned by the local council. Whilst they have done a great deal to restore the house, the Council lack the resources to do so intensively.

Nevertheless, parts of is have been tastefully restored and, it is now used for weddings, conferences and, celebrations of all kinds. Despite our eldest son's wedding re eption having been held there, I have never managed to engineer a tour of the house itself. Fortunately, I mentioned this to our daughter who, held on to this fact and, bought me tickets for a tour of the house as a gift for Fathers' Day. So last night, my wife and I had the guided tour. It was excellent.

Today offers rather more mundane fare. First, a brisk three and a half mile walk for a haircut. The, shopping. Oh, bliss.

Enjoy your days people.

[goodlookingone]

I've been AWOL awhile. Partly due to arm-wrestling with the computer Fairy. The world is full of instructions but still ends with 2 hours of working and another two-days of de-bugging in . I'm thinking of adding a second hard drive to speed up the downloading.

Enough of the Boring Stuff - Ancient Houses: There were plenty in Essex. Proximity to the Money Markest: Proximity to London Docks, which Led into The Railway built to the Docks fom The Midlands manufacturing.. In other words - Loads of Rich Families). Unfortunately... Much Labour needed more Modest Houses in expanding areas, And of course, (Especially after war damage and lack of Maintenance) rendered at least Five Grand Houses in this "New Town" either succombed to Road W-I-D-E-N-I-N-G, or Mysteriously getting Burnt Down - conveniently where the next expansion of Building took place.
I did get a visit to Audley End. .. A great regret that converting "The House" into a "Visitor Attraction" has "saved it" but... Well, you get the picture. One tale of interest was by an Elderly Gent (who died about 2000), wheelchaired around the Gardens to restore his thoughts of when He had been an apprentice Gardner in 1912-14. So much of the Garden is now Lawn/Forest with the Limited number of Gardeners/Greenkeepers/Foresters/Plantsmen/Greenhousemen, until the Fit and Mobile staff moved elswehere in 1914. He was able to tell of the vast areas of land just to Feed all these Staff, as well as lasing with Flowers for the Housekeeping staff, Supplies to The Cook(s), and Provender for the Stables. So Much of the Land was organised by the Calender to keep it all "Productive".
It all looks very pretty now (ignoring the Estate Buildings Maintenance workshops), but depressing to imagine how it should be.

[Brians Cravat]

GLO, I have a real passion for visiting old buildings (After all, they're not all stately homes. In Birmingham, the 'Back to Backs' are NT properties consisting of old Victorian or Edwardian terraced houses. ) To me, it's all part of history. By looking at the buildings from a particular time, we can perhaps understand how people lived. Locally, we have the Black Country Museum, a visitor attraction that covers, the buildings, the businesses and, the culture of this region. Entire buildings have been 'de-constructed' brick by brick and, reerected on the museum site. There's a pharmacy which has been recreated, stock and all as it been for thirty years. The attention to detail is incredible, even to a little scrap of paper in the corner of the window stating that "Mrs Smith owes three pence and three farthings."

I remember taking my mother to the museum and, she could remember many of the items. I suppose that's another aspect, the oral history. In Croome Court on Tuesday, I joined the tour that centred on the use of the building as a 'school for disadvantaged boys'. It was fantastic that three former pupils took us round, recounting their times there. It was run by the Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham and the staff were all nuns from the misnamed order of The Sisters of Mercy. The ex-pupils talked of the many aspects of their experiences. There was some humour but, they also talked of the cruelty of the nuns. The term 'disadvantaged' covered a range of conditions: poverty, learning difficulties and, being from an abusive home. One of the men talked of his regular beatings at the hands of the nuns but then said that, whilst he had been moved from one abusive environment to one equally as bad, he was strangely grateful. Had he not been in the school he felt that his abusive father would have eventually killed him.

[goodlookingone]

Hi Brian .. My "Mind" - if it is such - Is meandering everywhere today so I'll limit to three things that came to mind. I had been working Nights in Newcastle, so on my Last Night (The Night that Princess Diana Died if thats a clue to the date), each morning was as refreshed as most Peoples "after-work" Mode. (The Previous week was at Southampton), so I took a Breakfast break on the drive home at a Museum Estate (Before my stroke I could remember the Name). I was too early to get a look in the Mine, but the Dairy Farm, The Schoolroom, and Shops and Workshops were all Interesting, but of course, The Dairymaid, The workshop Foreman and so on could not be seen working. Although The Schoolteacher Lady did make an imitation of Caning any available boy.
Next: on another Computer postboard, I have been looking at my Childhood East London Home. Of course I can re-live the places I was taken shopping, The school where I spent my first few months in Infants school, and so on. But... I then found a Photo of the Pre-war Photo of My road, that I could only remember as Bombsites and (latterly) Prefabs, But in the 1930's those "Working Family" - actually built just before the First war - houses were actually very neat and tidy, well kempt. In those days the Front Minute Gardens actually had some Low level shrubbery, all protected by three-feet high walls and iron railings and gates. I had never seen that, When I was a child, the railings and gates had become "War Salvage", the House fronts were by my time given privacy by 6ft high Privets which bulged out over the paving. Of course, memory Bends reality, and a remnant of the war in my childhood was that Two families were forced into a formerly a two story household so my thoughts of those dwellings were not wholly happy ones.
...and lastly... Near here are the remains of Londoners "Weekend Homes" but of course became many people "Only Homes". Most have been destroyed by age/weather/treeroots (the were in woodland), but one has been maintained and is shown as a Museum. One is reminded that food, gas, and coal all had to be carried from the shop down at road level (I'm told that the weekenders spent the daylight Hours Fetching water and mowing the grass??? and emptying the Lavatory) - damn, I'm digressing again - The Curator of this tiny Museum clearly knew less of those times than I do. (My Grandparents Lived a few miles away in a similar house). The Curator couldn't understand why the Jars of Fruit were unlabeled (They were Home Preserves - the labels were were the sheets of stationery squares that were also present) Equally He could not recognised the grey fruits in the jar (After 70 years?? but of course, the plumbs you grew in your garden weren't the A1 quality you now get in Sainsbury within a few days of its Best Harvesting dates). He also seemed impressed that the Corned Beef (four pound cans of Libby's Canadian produce would be Catering sizes to be consumed within a couple of days in those non-refrigerated days).. But what I ponder is that if me - a townie - knows these few thingsare wrong, How much else is "wrong". Sorry I have gone on too long - You are suffering enough.

[Rwth of Cornovii]

Really interesting to hear your memories GLO. Keep them coming. Maybe the places will identify themselves in due course. Remembering the county is a start. The bottled plums would probably have been put into pies so didn't have to be of the best dessert quality. Yellow Pershores were definitely bottling and canning type, excellent stewed and pied.

Had a lovely day. The water gardens were a joy to behold, but we didn't have any food to satisfy the open jaws of the largish carp who had grown accustomed to gullible visitors. The Red Lion was dog friendly, but had a lot of steps, so a bit of a struggle, but good exercise.

I actually remember visiting friends living in back to backs in the 1960s. I haven't bothered to visit the museum for that reason. Watching the Mexico Olympics on their rented telly while she was bathing the children in a jug was somewhat surreal. Jonathan's Victorian restaurant on the Hagley Road/Wolverhampton Road junction had a minor museum reconstruction as part of the entertainment. The food was good too. I still use his recipe for my boiled ham.

I keep having to sign in on here even though I tick the box to "Remember me (but forget my fate)"

[goodlookingone]

G' Morning each.
' fraid I'm still in reminiscing mode - I promised myself to do a visit to my ancient past - but Things change so quickly that the "past" is coming up more frequently. As a Kid I was kept awake by the Shunting of Loose coupled coal wagons in Temple Mills. - A series of clangs as the buffer of each wagon struck its neighbour all the way down the train, then anothes series of clangs as each coupling tautened until the whole damn things got on the move. Then years of silence until the Japanese Railway took possession for the Olympic trains, and the French replacemant for the Eurostars.. Nope Enough.

Must get into 2017 Mode. I'd better get to The Bank, Having Had a Varied working Life, my pensions come from different sources. One has been late this month, so I'd better check the next one - before I consider a trek to childhood home.

[Brians Cravat]

Good evening all.

A good day here. It started with a walk of a little over five miles with the Action Heart Group. A new walk for us, The Cotwall End Valley Nature Reserve which is actually quite close to Castle Cravat.

Returning, if I may to the discussion of old buildings, I was interested to note whilst on holiday in France that the French have no equivalent of the National Trust. There is the Fondation du Patrimoine but, it doesn't offer an identical service to NT or English Heritage. While we were in Avignon, we had the pleasure of visiting The Pope's Palace which, I believe comes under the umbrella of the FdP. They have have made no attempt to return the Palace to the state it was in during the eighteen years or so that the Popes were based there. No period furniture is installed and, the beautifully painted walls in some of the halves have holes in them that have been simply filled with some sort of render. The holes were made when Napoleon billeted some of his troops there and, they crudely chipped out the heads of the saints and other figures depicted and, sold them to supplement their army pay.

GLO, please use these boards for your reminiscences, we are only too pleased to read them.

Probably won't post at the weekend. Tomorrow is household shopping day and, the afternoon provides the opportunity for me to doze in front of the cricket on TV. Sunday sees us in Worcester for a performance of 'Charley's Aunt' by Worcester Rep in the old Civil War Commandery Gardens. It's an opportunity to take a light picnic and a bottle of wine and sit and watch a play. Bliss!

Enjoy your weekend people.

[Rwth of Cornovii]

Well, I have to have another practice for the music we are playing on Sunday, then go to bed so that I will be up in time for the rehearsal tomorrow. Gardening went well if you don't count the tall pile of cuttings. I have had a set of other cuttings of witty items for the Parish Magazine, one of which I shall use this month. It's fairly short so won't take too long to transcribe electronically. One likes to encourage people to send things in. Not sure if the story about God and Satan arguing over the engineer who arrived in Hell by mistake should have gone in last month. The last word was Satan's "Where are you going to find a lawyer?"

In return for allowing the Power company to put in a pole, I will be able to pay for having my steps redesigned. The top one is quite a stretch for an old person.

[goodlookingone]

A slow catch-up.
Holes in the wall, Brian... One of my many workplaces was a Big hospital of some dubious fame - some as recently as the 20th Century. The Pub opposite, The Blind Beggar, Had its Gangland Bullet Holes in the walls. These were filled in and repaired. The Tourists looked for the Bulletholes, so for awhile "Fake" Bulletholes were reproduced??? Subsequently re - repaired. (The Tourists had moved on to The Jack the Ripper walk... )

I'm afraid, Rwth that I have lost the thread of your Music for Today, Sunday. I'm sure that it will go well.
At the risk of a sad note. I have just found out that a long-ago Friend has died. A Singer of The Harlow Chorus, and a Fellow Organisers of The Essex Ramble's.

[goodlookingone]

Just been Lurking in Peets: Looks like Grace is back in (another - this time local) Hospital. Low Blood Pressure.

[Brians Cravat]

GLO, I was aware that the Blind Beggar pub was where one of the Kray twins shot dead a member of the Richardson gang in front of witnesses. However, there is even more of a history apparently.

The name, the Blind Beggar relates to the legend that Henry de Montfort lost his sight at the Battle of Evesham, an hour's drive from where I'm sitting composing this post. He returned to London where, he took to begging. The fact that someone, once a member of the landed gentry was reduced to begging obviously merited being marked by having a pub named in his honour. Interesting local history. Just returned from a three mile walk, my Active Retirement Group having ceased activities until late September.

[goodlookingone]

Hi each.. There was also The Maurice.. which I believe was also a titled Gent. The Blind Beggar had has indeed a chequered past. A Woman (Winter 1887/8) was assaulted in Hanbury Street. She managed to walk for Help at the London (Now "The Royal London") Hospital. She waited hours (Then as now), Crossed the road for a warm and a drink in The Blind Beggar. She Died later of her injuries. It is beleived that the Fame she, The area, and the Pub, and of course her assault, were the trigger for Jack to start his "Hobby".
Because of a) my working in that Hospital (incl The Medical Record' some of which Must be retained), and b) my previous job had been at another Hospital - and using the Artists home/studio of two of Jacks (one a Royalness) "people of Police Interest in Jack" as an office, I had an unhealthy interest in his 1988 anniversary. The most likely Candidate to be Jack was described by a Detetective College who had charged his students to Locate the name and Last known address of the man they would like to have interviewed. Oddly, Nephew of alledged Jack was interviewed, in the bullet holed room of The Blind Beggar!!!
The Detective Students also found alledged Jacks current addressed (City of London Cemetary - as was one of Jacks victims - and the Much Later Blind Beggars Causation). Alledged Jacks Actual last Address... Over the road in a Ward inThe London Hospital.

There were all sorts of Links with other Histories connected with Alledged Jack.. The new Railway to Liverpool Street, Sydney Street, Hanbury Street (as in the Nearby Hanbury Chemists, and Truman Hanbury and Buxton). The Hospital has an interesting History too...

No, I'm going on too much Change the subject someone.

[Brians Cravat]

Of course one of Jack's victims has strong links with the area where I live. Catherine 'Kidney Kate' Eddowes was born in Graisley, Wolverhampton on April 14th 1842, one of eleven children. Her parents, George and Catherine Eddowes took the family to London in 1843 but young Catherine returned to Wolverhampton some years later to work as tinplate stamper. However, she lost this job shortly after and, established a relationship with an ex-soldier called Thomas Conway, who lived in Birmingham. They subsequently went to live in London where she bore two sons and a daughter.

She took to drink and, left her family and a year later was living with one John Kelly in. Common lodging house in Flower and Dean Street, Spitalfields. To pay the rent she engaged in casual prostitution.

In the Summer of 1888, Eddowes and a friend went hop-picking in Kent. At the end of the harvest, they returned to London and proceeded to spend their earnings on drink. It didn't last long so, on 29th September she told her friend that she was going to Bermondsey to try and borrow some money from her, now married daughter. Early that same evening she was discovered by a police officer, lying drunk in the street. She was released at 1 o'clock the following morning have sobered up sufficiently. Instead of returning home, she headed for Aldgate where she was last seen talking to a man at around 1:35. She is thought to have been murdered within the next ten minutes and her body, dumped in Duke St.

Elizabeth Stride had been murdered earlier the same night and, it was was believed to be the only time that the Ripper had struck twice in the same night.

[Rwth of Cornovii]

Thank you Brian. Quite often Ripper stories just imply that the victims were 'only' prostitutes, which may have been why they were selected in the first place, but your story shows her off as a real person who had a family life and a proper job or two. I don't doubt that all the victims had real lives too.

GLO, stories of old London are complex and very interesting. The police have always been interested in the story, since they did their best to find him but there was too much confusion. I remember a doctor, a woman who was probably murdered in Birmingham, but most of her friends were Polish and I suspect that the police couldn't get their heads round their names. A friend of mine knew her well, and I have my own ideas of how it happened.