Sunday 15 July 2012

A Proper Sunday Stroll


Life can be just a tad frustrating at times, as I said to GB, only yesterday.  Actually I might have phrased it a little differently .  But at least I didn’t throw a tantrum and stamp my feet on the floor or scream.  I think this showed remarkable self control considering I had just managed to erase a whole six paragraph long e-mail.  Normally I save long e-mails as I go along. But then, normally nothing happens to them; and I have to go to my draft folder and delete them all later.  Needless to say on this occasion I didn’t save a draft.  But you don’t want to know about life’s little tribulations like that. You want to know about the exciting stuff so here it is…

I’ve found a second cousin, Edith.  It’s not that I’ve only got one cousin and I’ve just found another – she is a ‘second cousin’ – my grandmother’s sister’s grandchild.  Or, if I’m going to tell the tale properly, my second cousin once removed – i.e. her daughter, Pam – found me.  She read a blog posting I once did about Grandma Coombe’s birthday book. 




This is the third cousin that this posting has brought to light.  One was from the Lane side of the family, one from the Young side and now one from the Spencer side.  And the most exciting thing about this one is that Edith is the closest cousin to emerge so far - both in terms of relationship and where she lives.  She and Pam both live on the Wirral so there is a good chance of us meeting up when I get home.  We can swap family tales and catch up on relatives who, until now, were just names in our birthday books.  And we were names in their book as well – they have a birthday book that was given to Edith’s grandmother when she was six – by the very same Grandma Coombes.  What a marvellous post that turned out to be.

Friend-über-special told me she hadn’t heard of a birthday book; perhaps this was primarily a British tradition but all of Mum’s family had one.  This was Nana’s.  



I was given one when I was quite small – it had a padded blue cover.  Effectively it ended up like a ‘little black book’ by the time I was in my mid-twenties so when I got married for the first time it was felt it should really be binned.  I have regretted that ever since.  It had so many names in that would now bring back memories.  And, like Grandma Coombes, I got some people to write their own name in it so it ended up a bit like an autograph book as well.

On Saturday morning GB and I called in at one of the local charity shops in Stornoway and I emerged £5.60p ‘poorer’ but with a marvellous thick jacket (with zip pockets) and a book I haven’t read but which looks exciting. 



I do enjoy tripping into charity shops. 



(And nowadays I do trip into a lot of shops unless I get a warning about the hidden steps!  On his way to the bar at the Cluanie Inn GB came all the way back to my room to warn me of a step immediately by a door – the best place of all for trapping unwary folk with visual impairments.)


And as if to confirm that I am well and truly settled in on the Island we have been having coffee at The Woodlands and I have been digging into my beloved Florentines.  We have, of course, been pursuing our habit of doing crosswords over coffee and as yet have not been beaten despite clues like ‘Real tennis gallery; sanded (anagram)’.  Neither of us knew it was a dedans but we guessed it correctly.  

One of the many good aspects of being at GB’s is being waited upon and pampered. 
All my meals are cooked for me which means I have much better eating habits. This has to be doing me good. Although Richard does his best his peculiar sleeping problems mean he is no more regular in his approach to meals than I am.  And Jo works such long hours that she is rarely around at normal meal times.  As for me, I enjoy cooking but all too often don’t feel up to it since my best period of the day tends to be the morning and I find little enjoyment in cooking for one.  I should use the slow cooker more and, indeed, I did hunt out some slow cooker recipes just before I came away. On Friday night I had a fish that was new to me – Basa.  GB grilled it which was fine for me, I like it that way, but he was less satisfied with the result.


 The basa fish, Pangasius bocourti, is a type of catfish native to the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam and Chao Phraya basin in Thailand.  They are an important food fish with an international market. In North America and Australia they are usually labelled "basa fish" or "bocourti" but in the UK, the species is known mainly as "river cobbler", with "basa" also being used on occasion. In Europe, these fish are commonly marketed as "pangasius" or "panga".


And being at GB’s is giving me some time to read despite renewing old friendships and meeting new acquaintances.  I’ve finished Tea Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife at last (thanks Monica for moving it up my To Be Read list).  I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

Right, have a good Sunday, folk.  I’m off to bed…


18 comments:

  1. What a great newsy post. Big kudos for brov coming over to your place to let you know about a step!
    My family has been so disjointed for years, that I have no idea if I even have second or third relatives. Love the birthday book idea.
    Also, I've been looking for a new book. this may be it. Thanks!

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    1. I had no idea birthday books were so uncommon. I guess I've always taken them rather for granted.

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  2. I love the idea of family members finding one another through blog posts. Well done!
    It sounds like you're having a really good time while away - may your holiday go on as it has!

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  3. I think you'll enjoy the Claude Izner book -- the whole series is excellent.

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    1. I commented to GB that I knew I'd seen the cover somewhere. On your blog perhaps (couldn't check - no search engine on it!!)

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  4. Indeed, how good you wrote that post and have family members appearing because of it! The birthday book sounds a lovely idea; I don't know anyone here in Germany who has that kind of book. Instead, people used to write down the births and deaths and weddings at the back of their family bible.

    Pangasius has become a "fashion fish" over here during the past few years, and it is largely sneered upon by the gourmet community (not that I belong there, mind you!), but it is said to be "boring". I wouldn't know, since I don't think I've ever had it on my plate.
    And that large florentine... now there's a mouthwatering picture!! I can't even remember the last time I had one.

    Here's a limerick I learnt in my 2nd or 3rd year of English at school:

    There was a young lady of Riga
    who rode with a smile on a tiger.
    They returned from the ride
    with the lady inside
    and the smile on the face of a tiger.

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    1. GB has been quoting that all his life! I'm not sure who wrote it (if that is known) but it appears in W S Baring-Gould's wonderful book 'The Lure of The Limerick'. GB has a whole host of limericks stored in his brain but some of them would not be suitable for a 'family blog'!

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  5. I admit I've half forgotton the clue, but I'd still be interested to know what the answer to that crossword question was?

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    1. I've looked through thr book but can't identify which crossword we were on in the Garden Centre at Ottery St Mary - which is, I assume, the one to which you were referring. Give me a clue!!

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    2. Hmmm. Tricky. It was the crossword from the day before Otter Nurseries - a clue you and GB didn't manage to get on the way down south. The Otter Nurseries one had Salisbury (Harare, plain etc) across the middle. I've totally forgotton the clue I was trying to get, but I know the word ended in g_t. No problem if that's not enough to go on - should have asked earlier!

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  6. Nice post. Your charity shop finds look excellent, I love them too. I guess a slow cooker and a freezer are the answer, do a few different things now and then and freeze what's left over, then vary the meals you take out of the freezer. Assuming you're organised to actually take them out, which is where this plan always falls down for me.

    Maybe I'll put some of my family tree online - just found a bit of it that someone else had written out. I never can get down to it.

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    1. I have the same problem over stuff in the freezer, Jenny.

      I think it's always worth putting family tree stuff down - who knows what distant relative might be looking for just that piece of link?

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    2. OK - that was awful English but you know what I mean. And it is three o'clock in the mornIng!

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  7. Excuse my ignorance - I've never heard of a slow cooker! I looked it up in Wiki just now, and I've never seen one either.
    Myself I tend to use the microwave more and more ... it's quicker!

    Congratulations on finding a second cousin. I just found a very distant relative through a Facebook group about the history of my town. My maternal grandfather, who was headmaster of one of the schools here, was mentioned; and I commented to say I was his granddaughter. Another member of the group (which has something like 16.000 members by now) then commented to say that in that case we're related, because my grandmother and her grandfather were fourth cousins... I'm afraid it makes my head spin to try and figure out what that makes her and me!

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    1. Slow cookers sre not especially popular here but I think they can be found more in the USA though I've forgotten what they call them (sorry Marcheline - I know you told me!).
      I think it's sixth cousins but I'm not betting on that...

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  8. I love the way you take America's boring "To Read" list and change it into a magical "To Be Read" list. Sounds so much nicer! Also, I NEED to eat one of those thingies with the chocolate on top...

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    1. Those things with ther chocolate on top are my beloved Florentines. I was so taken with them the first year I had them, here in The Woodlands, that I went home and reporduced them on The Wirral. But Wirral Florentines are nowhere near as nice and don't come with an accompanying crossword!

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