Who do you think you are?

I suppose everyone has a similar photo somewhere in the attic, or perhaps even in a frame on the dresser. I have quite a few inherited from my grandmother. She seemed to belong to one of those families that were always visiting the photographers for a studio picture. The picture above shows my great grandfather Jason and his wife Emily. I am one of those people who has discovered genealogy. I started about five years ago and on my way have found over a thousand relatives that I didn't know existed. This part of the family always fascinated me. Jason lived 1841-1907 and Emily 1838-1908. They got married in 1858 and although it does seem quite young today, at that time it was quite normal. They were married on Christmas Day, this being the only day off they had. Jason was a farm labourer and came from Ticehurst, East Sussex, England. Emily came from the village of Burwash, just down the road so they had probably known each other since they were kids. Their first home was in Etchingham, which was the third village in the area. Their first son was born in January 1859 so they didn't waste any time I suppose.

During their marriage they had 12 children, my grandmother Emily (another Emily) being No. 11 and the youngest surviving daughter, as a matter of fact the only daughter. There were twins born two years before she was born, but they died at the age of one and two years. Then after her there was another daughter but also died at the age of one year. As great grandmother Emily was already over 40 years old when the last children were born, I can imagine that the children had very little chance of survival. It was normal at the end of the 19th century that families were large.

I remember surfing around once on the Internet and found my great grandfather's name mentioned as a witness in an inquest on the death of his second son George. He drowned at the age of six in a pond. I inquired and received all the documents in connection with this tragic accident in 1866

They seemed to have moved around a bit and eventually in 1875 were living at Sissinghurst Castle in the Priest's house.

My dad always told me about his mother growing up in a castle, but things got mixed up a bit. They didn't actually live in the castle, but in a large house in the grounds of the castle. The priest's house still exists today, although it is now in the possession of the National Trust, as the rest of the castle. Sissinghurst castle is today in Kent near the small market town of Cranbrook. At the time when Jason and Emily lived there with some of their children, it was in private ownership. It was before the time of Vita Sackville West who made the famous gardens what they are today. It was then purely agricultural and Jason and his family were employed as farm labourers. I noticed that when the sons got married and moved away they were still employed in the agricultural trades.

What did my grandmother do? That was interesting. About two years ago I was on my annual trip to London and made an excursion to Sissinghurst to do some hunting. I got into conversation with one of the ladies running the National Trust shop and she told me that a group had been formed to show what was in Sissinghurst castle before the Sackville West takeover. She took some particulars and I eventually got a letter. I sent some copies of letters and documents I had, including one signed by Vita Sackville West to my grandmother, and they afterwards informed that my grandmother was actually employed at the diary on the farm. There is actually a small exhibition at the castle this year showing some of the articles they got from various places, and most probably there are some copies of some of the details I sent.

Over the years I have naturally been bothering my dad (who is now 92) about his mother's family. He has some memories of visiting his many uncles for the summer holidays. They were all living in the country and it was a cheap holiday for him and his brother. I remember my grandmother very well. She was a small neat lady and one thing I remember particularly was that she was a perfect pastry cook. She had a recipe for making tartlets with a creamy filling flavoured with lemon juice. I don't know how she made them, and no-one has the recipe. It was just one of her secrets she took with her. She eventually married my grandfather, a 100% cockney from East London. It seems he was also a descendent from a family in Cranbrook and had been on holiday visiting relations when he met my grandmother. I often felt sorry for my grandmother moving to the East End of London after such a sheltered life in the Kent countryside. I found another photo of greatgrandfather Jason and great grandmother Emily with my grandmother when she was a toddler. Note that Jason and Emily seem to have put on some weight over the years. I just love old family photos - wonder if my descendents will be talking about photos of me one day?

Autumn - Exhibition time

It is Autumn and also Exhibition time. In our local town of Solothurn we have the Autumn fair at the moment, but more about that at a later date - I have decided to pay a visit on Sunday afternoon, with my camera of course. In the meanwhile the photo above came into my hands. I was a good bit younger then, the photo must have been taken at the beginning of the 70's. I was working as an export clerk for a Swiss end mill manufacturing company (and am still in the same company after 27 years) and we naturally exhibited at the international exhibitions. It was decided that instead of hiring hostesses for the occasion, girls from the office would be chosen as we knew a bit more about the products that were being shown. Not that we were technically gifted, but we at least knew what an end mill was.

Guess who was the first lady to be chosen by the company to attend the EMO fair in Hannover. Two of us were selected and I was the one that did the first week. I was married at the time and the kids were all at school. My mother-in-law helped out at home with my husband so everything was set. Before we left we were fitted for the clothes. I was not too keen on the blouses we had to wear, and would rather have had something a bit more free style, but when you had all expenses paid for a week in Hannover you certainly don't get particular. Anyhow we were fitted for the costume by a dressmaker at one of the local shops and we were ready to go.

I remember saying goodbye to my husband after he took me to the station at Solothurn in the evening. From Solothurn it was an hour to Basel and there I caught the night train to Hannover where I arrived in the morning around sevenish. It was a first class single sleeping compartment I had, so I could relax and have a good night's sleep. At least that is what I thought, but I think I was so excited I didn't close my eye once in the night. When I arrived at Hannover station in the morning I got dressed up in the exhibition uniform and went to the station restaurant for breakfast. I had to get to the exhibition halls by nine in the morning, so had plenty of time.

I had never been in Hannover so had to sort of find my way around. I remember asking and was told where the train left for the exhibition area. Hannover is an exhibition town and the people were used to having visitors from all over the world. I got to the train and found it was packed with people all going to the exhibition. I remember my boss laughing all over his face when I arrived at the stand of our company. It was something different to working in the office. I knew quite a lot of the people that visited out stand as they were customers I had dealt with on the phone. One of my jobs was to make sure they had enough coffee and biscuits and I also had to spend time with them. I was working for a Swiss company, but I remember just along the row from our stand there was a very large English company. Word soon got round that an English lady was working just around the corner, so I did have a lot of visitors all coming to have a chat with me.

We had lunch at one of the restaurants at the exhibition. There was a bit choice, and I always went to the fish restaurant. The Germans really had some wonderful fish dishes. The actual exhbition area was huge, about 11-12 halls. There were people of all countries moving around. I remember when the Japanese met there were low bows as a greeting. Nearbye we had Russians exhibiting, there were Indians, Chinese, all sorts of European countries and it was like the tower of Babel sometimes with the various languages being spoken.

At that time we didn't have hotels, but stayed in private homes belong to the people living in Hannover. It was a main source of income for them and I found it quite a good thing as you got to know the people and was not only going from exhibition to hotel. I stayed with a very nice family - husband and wife and daughter. They really looked after me and I remember in the evening watching East German television with them. Apparently at that time it wasn't really allowed, but everyone did it. Willy Brandt was on a visit to East Berlin and everyone was worked up about it as they found he had no business visiting that lot over there. How the world looks different today.

As the people from our company were all living in the same area, we met in the evening at a restaurant for the evening meal, although usually one of the members of our company usually picked me up and brought me back. They probably didn't want to take any chances of their stand lady going missing. Although it was hard work during the day, in the evening everyone was relaxed and we just enjoyed ourselves.

Eventually the time came to go home. I caught the night train once again and arrived back in my home town at about nine in the morning where my husband picked me up. This was actually the only time I was abroad for the company. There were other fairs which colleagues visited, but with time the idea was abandoned. It's one of the memories I will never forget. There follows a photo of some of our company at the fair. I think if it wasn't for us exhibition ladies there would have been no photos.

A visit to the hospital

I have had this appointment for more than six weeks. Hospitals in Switzerland are just as slow as other countries I suppose. Luckily I was still alive to meet my appointment, I have a few relations in England that, well just say they had some bad luck. Not going into too many details why and what, just mention that I had my last meal yesterday lunch time and eat nothing more until this evening. I have had the examination before (once every four years) and if you are courageous you may see something of what goes on inside. I am but something funny happened. They put you to sleep at the beginning and then wake you up half way through. I started asking too many questions it seems as suddenly I woke up a second time and told the nurse I must have been sleepy as I fell asleep again. She said I was talking too much and they had to put me to sleep again.

After the examination I was given coffee and a chocolate biscuit, had a few words with the doc who showed me some nicely coloured photos. I did ask if he had made a dvd, but he said they don't do that sort of thing. With the farewell greeting like see you again in four years I left. Phoned hubby up to pick me up as I wasn't allowed to drive. Whilst waiting for my chauffeur I made a few photos, of course. The photo above is the flower bed outside the hospital.

This one is of the main entrance. I was on floor H. C is ground floor so H is on the fifth floor.

I also took a photo of the waiting room, where I read nearly all the magazines available before being beckoned to the operating table.

These days waiting rooms look more like lounges for a five star hotel. When you examine the prices you pay for just a general illness insurance in Switzerland, then I suppose you have to get your money's worth. There was naturally a very "arty" poster on the wall

which doesn't exactly calm the nerves before having the examination. Was that the doc's pet cat or should it have been on the floor as a rug. Another ornament was a snake

very colourful - was a sort of symbol for the something you might have. or perhaps it was just there to lighten the atmosphere. Eventually hubby turned up with the car. I was waiting outside for him but got a bit engrossed in taking photos so he couldn't find me at first.

At least you have a nice view from the hospital window. If it looks a bit shaky it is because there is a very fine wire mesh over the window. To stop patients from escaping or to stop someone breaking in perhaps. The beds in our local hospital cost around five thousand swiss francs per piece, and the apparatus used for various examinations probably goes into hundreds of thousands of francs. I know for a fact that the examination I had today costs over one thousand francs - but we are insured. The last time I had a stay at the hospital I was paying more than I would for a holiday in a five star hotel in the South of France, and I wasn't even getting proper food, but diet stuff.

Autumn is here and so are the mosquitos

I did not take this photo, I do not allow a mosquito to use my arm as a feeding place if I see one. The problem is you don't see them. You just feel that something somewhere itches and no matter how much you scratch it doesn't help. After a closer look you find a red sort of bump on the skin and you know - you have been the victim of a mosquito attack.

You may be lucky and live in an area where there are no rivers, streams or anything providing a suitable breeding place for mosquito parents. They even have the ability to walk on water and it's not even a miracle. They lay their eggs in water and when the little mosquitos hatch out, you wouldn't even think they would one day become the vampires of the insect world. We have the disadvantage of living a five minute walk away from one of Switzerland's biggest rivers, the river Aare. It flows along at the edge of our village. What wonderful breeding grounds for the mosquito. On warm Autumn evenings it is advisable not to put the light and to keep the window shut. They seem to smell human blood from miles away and if the light is on, they arrive and get about their work.

Not to mention having a good nights sleep with a mosquito in the bedroom. Just as you are dropping off you hear the constant buzzzzzzz in your ear and know, they are there. Even worse when the buzz stops. The mosquito has landed somewhere on you skin and is having a drink. If you wave your arms around you will scare it off, but it will soon find another resting place and carry on his meal. Of course, you can cover every part up with the duvet/sheets, which means having a very uncomforable night, especially if temperatures are high. But have no fear, war has been declared on the mosquitos by the economic system.

At one time you went to the drug store and was given a repellent to keep them away. The effect only lasted a few hours and you did not exactly smell like a rose, but now the warfare has become much more refined. At first an attachment was made to be plugged in. A paper was inserted which had been treated with repellent and this kept the mosquitos away, there was something on it which they did not like. With time, industry found they were not earning enough so the paper has now been replaced by a small glass containing liquid. I have often asked myself, if it is dangerous for the mosquito what is the effect on humans. The only alternative being to fix mosquito nets on the windows, I decided on the plug thing with the liquid. At least we are now bite free, and they really do seem to be an Autumn appearance, unless you live in the swamps. I was in our local supermarket last week-end and saw that they were really helping us to get prepared for the mosquito invasion. So sleep well and may the mosquitos stay away.

The Grasshopper, the cat and the big rubbish collection

My cat Fluffy, the blind one, was sitting in the garden concentrating on a twig of one of my buddleia (butterfly bushes), so I wondered what he had had a sniff of. Sitting on a leaf almost hidden from view was the grasshopper as above. I naturally fetched my camera and made a few photos. This was the only one that was clear enough to show, grasshoppers just don't like being photographed. We always get a few during the summer, but this summer did not seem to be grasshopper weather. Fluffy was fascinated by this insect and just would not leave it alone. I put my camera away and came back to the garden. What did I see - two grasshopper legs poking out of each side of Fluffy's mouth, he had already devoured the head and shoulders. I suppose it's nature. Like all good cats he had a good washing sessions afterwards as if to make the most of his protein rich evening meal. I just wonder how a blind cat manages to find such things.

Another event this evening was clearing out the cellar and putting out the rubbish. Tomorrow morning is the big collection and more or less anything is taken. I took a few photos of the deposits outside where we live and would add not all was from us. The gentleman with his back to us is my husband, and the tall bloke is my oldest son Patrick. Although he is autistic, he is completely there to help when you need a strong person. The large black trunk in the picture has been with us for many years. When my husband went to England for a year to learn english his parents bought the trunk for the transport of his luggage. In those days it was done more than today. We have kept it since, but it is just not ideal in the modern days for travelling. Actually we got rid of quite a lot and now have some space in the cellar to be able to collect more rubbish for the next collection next Spring. Someone once said to me you should live as if you were going to move every month, and there is a bit of truth in it.

As soon as people had put the stuff out I noticed three or four cars driving past very slowly. A young man even came up to us and asked if the trunk could be had. We told him it would be ok, but when he found out there were no drawers in it he left it. In the big towns there are sometimes fights about the stuff left to be collected. Various families and groups organise themselves and the wife sits on the rubbish put out until the family comes with a transporter to take it away. I won't go into details about the nationalities of the people that take the stuff, but some are Swiss. As I sit here writing, my window looks out towards the path and I hear the sound of people pushing trolleys down to the corner where the rubbish is being collected.

It's just Rubbish so let's recycle

When I was a kid we just threw stuff away we didn’t need. We had a milkman that delivered the milk in bottles and he collected the emptied bottles and brought new bottles of milk. If you bought something at a grocery shop it was packed in a paper bag. This was thrown away, without any burden to the environment, after all paper can be burnt or it just disintegrates. Electrical gadgets were repaired as far as it would go. If you got chips in the local fish and chip shop they were wrapped in newspaper (when I was very young) but later in white paper bags. Who remembers buying a packet of Smith’s crips with the salt packed separately in a little blue wax paper wrapper, there was no system for including the salt with the crisps. Oh happy days, you had no feeling of guilt and could just go through life without having a bad conscience. Even smoking wasn’t a danger to your health although that is debatable. I gave it up about ten years ago and would never start again, but my grandfather managed to live to the ripe old age of 89 and rolled his own. Now I am getting off the beaten track.

Where I work we have a recycling company next door. Actually they don’t recycle but supply the various bins for putting the goods in. The company mainly deals with old metal, but also has containers for glass. The glass containers are naturally sorted in clear glass, green glass and brown glass. I remember once watching the men from the council emptying the glass bins. They opened it up and guess what? It didn’t really matter where you religiously put the glass, it all ended up in the same place. The main thing I suppose is that we all sorted the glass before throwing it away. We had a machine at the local supermarket where you put the big plastic bottles in and it automatically squeezed them to make more room. The problem was that the squeezing bit did not always work properly and most of the time you just heard an automatic siren going to warn the personnel to come and have a look. Did they? Well not really. Eventually they put up three enormous containers with a poster stuck on the side to show how to take the lid off the bottle, tread on the plastic to force the air out and then put the lid back on. However, this was not popular so now you just throw the plastic bottle into the container and take it that someone does the work for you – perhaps a professional plastic bottle squeezer.

We also used to have bins for aluminium foil. Luckily the use of aluminium foil to wrap up chocolate is not longer necessary. This has now been taken over by a sort of paper which looks and feels very much like a synthetic paper. Whether this is more environment friendly or not I don’t really know.

Our cars now have catalysators, but still run on petrol. I wonder how longer our oil reserves will last? In any case, no worry, I am sure Mr. Bush will make sure that they remain in the hands of the most competent. The only reason why I actually try to save on throwing stuff away is because we are only allowed to use special plastic bags to throw the stuff away in where I live. They have to have the crest of the local rubbish burning place on them and cost about one Swiss Franc each which is not cheap. Apparently it is to cover the rubbish disposal costs at the main dump. They have now found out that the rubbish disposal unit is not being used to the full as they are not getting so much rubbish as they used to.

Another thing that comes to my mind are the rubbish disposal places being watched by a hidden camera. Big Swiss rubbish disposal brother is always watching and there is many a Swiss citizen that has been in court for throwing something away that could have been got rid of properly (naturally by paying for it extra). We even have people that examine the rubbish. If something is found that is suspect, the rubbish is examined and be warned if you have thrown perhaps an envelope away with it showing your name and address. The rubbish police are soon knocking at the door.

We are lucky in the village where I live. We have special rubbish collections, usually taking place at the end of September and March, the reason being that officially in Switzerland you are only allowed to move on these dates. If you move in between and find no-one to take over the place where you are living, then you are liable for paying the rent until these moving times. These special rubbish collections are divided into general stuff like furniture and metal objects.

Actually I took the photos as I was coming out of work as I found it interesting material, but the photos lead me to thinking things over.