Genealogy Chat

Thanks for the advice Tabitha, but when I go to London i stay at a Travelodge (bed £9 breakfast £6.50) even when the Company are paying for it)
Again you can take the boy out of Scotland but you can't Scotland out of the boy.

Well thank you for all the help - sounds a bit far out for me - it would be nice to have stayed nearer the centre so we could have walked in.

By the way Frank - did I tell you about my client who was in Glasgow & went to the two fat ladies - he said it was one of the best meals he had ever had.

Somewhere nice to take your OH for a romantic meal.

Robert how did you guess - you know a girls taste in hotels - try looking at St Martin's Lane in London - I can recommend Asia de Cuba if you have the cash, The food is some of the best I have ever tried. If i had a choice and the money I would stay at the Berkeley Hotel if I wanted to stay in London.

I have to admit I love the Country House hotels - went for a visit to Gravetye manor - it is amazing & going through a referb at the moment - Littlecote House is another worth the money. Wouldn't it be wonderful to afford to stay at these wonderful places.

I have a free night at Coworth Park to be used in April - just waiting for them to agree the date - dinner bed & breakfast - it will be nice to be post for once.

I have also won two free nights at a posh hotel in Portugal - only problem is - it is 90 mins from the airport - so will need a car, and the plane tickets & its nowhere near any restaurants so you will have to eat at the hotel, By the time you have paid the airfare, car hire & food you have spend nearly £750 for 2 days away the (£400 hotel room for 2 nights gets lost in all this)

We just can't afford it, I am trying to see if I can get it changed to a 2 night city break, this way I only pay for the air fare & we can find a local eatery cheaper. I may just be able to afford that.

Well can't stay here chatting all the time

Sue hope the journey wasn't too dreadful & your OH met you at the airport - its nice to be home.

One of these days we will all get to meet up together & enjoy a normal party - until then

I suggest a virtual party for the Royal Wedding - can we all agree to meet up somewhere & really enjoy ourselves & Reece may feel like joining us then as well. Just a little something for everyone to think about.

take care all - will try & pop in again later.

bega/WAYNO - are you trying to start a war on here with your comments about us Scots!!!
There are plenty of us in your part of the world, so watch out.
The next time there is a knock at your door it could be Frank and myself come to sort you out.

Welcome back to Aust Sue
I hope you have experienced the magic of flying and JET LAG
Very glad to hear that all went well, but when anything such as this happens we all must get on with our lives and have our quiet moments when we can.

Well I have Nort idea wot al da scribble id 'bout
Scott's so bludy hard to understand.

I once knew a Scott who could drink like a fish but not once could I under stand what he was saying> All I could do was shake my head and agree with him and to top it off he was married to an Aussie and had 6 kids and they too couldn't understand him.
That house was always full of laughter,but alas he died of alcoholic poisoning and smoking.

WAYNO

:))))

Sylvia,

We never have any problem with English visitors unaccompanied by sporran wearing bodyguards.

They're never heard of again :))

Anyway, have you ever tried wearing a kilt and keeping your sporran down as you cross the Erskine Bridge ?

A man was having a drink of water at a highland stream when a local ghillie shouted

"Dinnae dae that, it's fu o' sheep pee & poo."

The English gentleman replied "Good day my man, I'm merely partaking of a refreshment, what did you say? "

The ghillie replied "Use twa hands, ye'll get mair in."

Oooops :)

notice that Frank doesn't answer the query re safety for English visitors not accompanied by sporran wearing bodyguards


:))))))

Quite agree Robert,

It does look rather impressive with a few mixed reviews on www.tripadvisor.co.uk although some of the poor reviews are wedding related but larger parties can prove problematic.

Check it out...........

It's about 10 minutes from Glasgow Airport and about 25 minutes from Glasgow city center.
Also only a quick hop over the Erskine Bridge and you are heading out to Loch Lomond only 20 / 25 minutes away... scenic route to Stirling 35 minutes.... M8 to Edinburgh 80 minutes.

I'm afraid as a biker, I have no idea about car parking but there is plenty of parking in Glasgow.

Tabitha,
Being nosey, I Googled Mar Hall Hotel. It looks very, very posh - just what you are used to.

Its nice to hear all these memories

My mum use to say - she wondered what all the old folk (her grandparents etc) woudl think of the place if they came back for the day.

I do love the time travel programmes - I think the film is called Time after Time - about HG Wells & his time machine & what happened if Jackl the ripper escaped to modern day San Francisco - i love that film.

Frank is Mar Hall Hotel close to Glasgow?

Walking distance - bus - Car - are there cheap car parks in Glasgow - is it safe for the English to walk about unprotected or should they hire Sporran body guards at the border? My OH & I were thinking we had not been over to that side - We have been to Edinburgh a lot. We were married at Gretna & i do like Dumfries where Burns lived & Ayr. Always wanted to go Aberdeen (Dr Watson etc) It was where my favourite teacher grew up - he was from Inverness - I love that area as well & Highlander castle

Oh happy days - i have 2 free nights at a hotel its one of the few in Scotland

Well back to work now - working all day tomorrow

Have a wonderful romantic break Josie

Take care all

Hi Frank,

I remember Glasgow when I worked there in the early 60's and I agree that it has changed considerably. I remember the ash football pitches and going to perform at the senior football grounds before they had all seater stadia and where the crowds could be a bit wild!

I did enjoy my time there.

What I notice from the fifties (when I was a boy) is how dirty everything was.............. or is that because I was a typical boy?

Looking around these days all back courts are grassed over or paved while in my day, they were rubbish tips just perfect for exploring with your pals.
Our lowly swing parks (I think they call them adventure playgrounds nowadays) consisted of a roundabout, couple of swings and a chute all with a good solid concrete slab base, not the wimpy soft coverings you get now ;))
Aye Robert, we new how to scrape a knee in those days.......... not like the girls who were warned to stay away from those awful boys!!

But of course it was all filthy and in the winter you got these terrible fogs, smogs,etc it's amazing that we actually survived if you think back and compare it with the modern day.

Elf 'n'safety ?

Sylvia, what you said about changes certainly rings true with Glasgow as even my daughter gets confused with the city she grew up in and that's only after six years away in America.

They are coming over in April for a friends wedding so we are on babysitting duties for that weekend with the very young lady who managed to put her foot in her diaper when I changed her.

Yeeuucchhh.

It wasn't my fault, I mean they have two arms and two legs wriggling all over the place while a strange coloured concoction was trying to liberate itself from the diaper.......and wee men only have one pair of hands !

I wasn't allowed to do it again...................... heh heh ;)

Anne, I did enjoy that series about the old days, it was very good.

As for the Royal Wedding, it seems that only public servants or those with English head offices will get the holiday in Scotland which is a bit odd as Alec Salmond is hell bent on turning us into an independent country and they did in fact have a holiday for St Andrews Day which the rest of us sort of missed out on.

With regard to emmigration, all of my family relocated to France as Dad's French so this was always his dream to go back.
I was working seasonal and had intended to join them at the end of it but they beat me to it and all came back after only six months

Homesick, except for dad who had a broken ankle.......... c'est la vie !!

Hi Everyone,
A couple of years ago an Englishman aged 101 married a NZ'er and wanted to emigrate here, It was a bit of a quandary for the Govt as no one of this age had ever applied before,
they finnaly said yes after he proved his health was good, he could still walk on his own and had sufficient finances of his own.

He died last year at 106.
So Robert if you want a new adventure why not emigrate to New Zealand, you could live in Dunedin which is considered to be the Scotland of the South but with a much warmer climate,
you could come out of your Shell more often.

I have some cousins in England I have not seen since I was 7, The family of 4 decided to Emigrate to NZ and initially stayed at my Grandfather's place which was a 10 min walk from our House.

But after nine days they were so Homesick for England and fearful that the Hills [Wellington is built on Hills] would fall on them that they packed up and went back to England.
I have been hoping since joining Genes back in 2004 that I might be able to find them and make contact, but still have had no success.

We will not be getting a Holiday either, for the Royal Wedding, however we get the first Monday in June off for The Queen's Birthday.

The New Royal Couple could be heading here as well, as William has stated he wants to attend some of the World Rugby Cup Matches. Whether his new 'Missus ' lets him is another thing.

A beautiful Hot Summers day today,
OH and I am heading up the Coast to- day, to a beach community 30mins drive away, where we are going to spend 2 nights at a delightful Bed and Breakfast. This is our yearly Romantic getaway and the way we celebrate our Wedding Anniversary.

I have now been married for 31 years. It Was our Anniversary on Wed9th and Monday Valentines Day is The anniversary of our first date. 35 years ago.
It seems a long time to me, but I am probably a Spring Chicken in comparison to you lot.

Catch you all in a couple of days, take care Josie

Hi all


I think the problem for those of us who emigrated is that the change has not happened gradually, as it does when you are living through it

As an example, I married and left the UK in August 1967. My father died in September 1970, just 3 years later.

I went back for his funeral, and spent 2 weeks staying with my brother in Manchester. We went up to Oldham nearly every day as I tried to sort out things that I wanted to keep. One day, I decided that I would go to see the mother of my best friend, and so bro left me to find my own way there and then back to his home.

The trip from my old house to hers involved 2 buses, one into the town centre, and one out in another direction.

That's when I discovered how many changes had taken place in renovation and re-building


Three years after leaving the UK ................ I got lost in the centre of my home town!

Not only had buildings been replaced, but roads had been changed, closed, and re-routed.



Now imagine what that is like if you wait 10 or 20, or 50, years before returning?


We were back in the centre of Oldham in 2001 .................. now mainly a pedestrian precinct, with a newish shopping centre etc.


The weird thing was that many of the buildings were exactly the same as they had been in the 60s, some even with the same occupants, or same sort of business. BUT the roads to get there were different. There were ring roads, by-passes, etc etc.



I found my way by myself around Melbourne in Australia when I went down there alone in 2000 much more easily than I think I could around Oldham!




It's lovely and sunny, if a bit chilly, at the moment. But THEY are saying it will cloud over and rain by tonight ...... that means it will become warmer!




We are waiting for the cheque for the generator ......... the assessor talked to me on Tuesday, and there were 2 options. The first was they would issue the cheque in the name of the store where we got the quotation from, and that would include the amount of HST (ie, your VAT). The store is in the town closest to the cabin, and I pointed out that we would not be going up there until May or June ...... so he offered to issue the cheque in our name, cost of replacement minus the HST. When we buy the generator, we can go back to the insurance company and get re-imbursed for the HST.

They are paying us a lot more than we paid for the generator 5 years ago ........... but we do have Replacement Value insurance, and prices have gone up. We'll get close to about £1200 back




take care everyone



s
xxx

You and me both Robert, I remember when that nasty man Hitler sent his planes over and bombed us out of our house,(not a pleasant experience).
It would be easier for me to fly to Southampton Ann.
I was brought up in Weymouth Dorset Robert so not that far from Bournemouth.
The weather here today is wet and windy a good day to remain in doors.

Yes folks, I remember the 50's and the 40's and the 30's and the War (WW2 that is!)

Ah memories Sylvia - I wasn't around in the late 40's early 50's - but having seen a few programmes I would have enjoyed living here then - but would miss the computers & internet.

We had a series a few weeks ago where they took a dying market town and took 4 or 5 shops close to each other.

https://axptravel.americanexpress.com/consumertravel/cardbenefits/plat/ccsg/fhrintl.do?request_type=fhrintl&action=1&lang=en&ctry=UK&pdtyp=ccsg&cdtyp=cent

They then recreated them in various years
Victorian 1870's - Edwardian 1910's - 1930's - WW2 - 1960's & 1970's
You saw how the shops came to life & then how they died it was a very good programme.
I think the 1930's were the best of the lot & everyone was happy & enjoyed life, they worked hard - but also had time for fun & money to enjoy life.

I have to admit - thats how i think of the 50's

Looking at life through rose coloured glasses etc.


Robert you are not too old to travel - look at the lady who had only flown for the first time on her 95 birthday as she thought she should find out what all the fuss was. The next year she went on a cruise & the following year she did a helicopter flight. She is wondering what to plan for her 99th now as it has to beat the others - she said if Concord was still around she woudl go on that.

Now thats living Robert - a little trip down south is nothing - If i lived nearer to Bournemouth I would pop by for a visit, & i am sure Evelyn would jump on a plane from Guernsey as Bournemouth is very near by plane.

Well I have to go back to work now

Safe journey tomorrow Sue - speak to you once you are back home again

Take care all

To be honest, even though I live in England, I know it isn't what it used to be but I guess that is how it should be as we move onwards through time.


I think too many people watch programmes like Midsomer Murders and Miss Marple etc. and hanker back for the 'good old days' where everyone lived in tiny picturesque hamlets in rose covered cottages etc.


Truth be told, of course, we didn't all live in that scenario at all but it's lovely to dream!


A very pleasant morning here but I had difficulty in encouraging my OH to go out. Eventually managed to persuade him to go to M & S for coffee and, who did we bump into, but some old friends so we had a good time having a chat over our drinks. I came out feeling extremely pleased with myself.


Now girding up my loins to clean the inside of the car which is a total disgrace at the moment - I will give OH the job of cleaning the windows I think.




Take care all. Cx

Anne

5 of my cousins, sisters, emigrated to Australia between about 1957 and 1968. One of them only went because her sisters were out there and kept saying what a marvellous opportunity it was, etc etc.

We spent a year in Melbourne from mid-1975 to mid-1976, and saw a lot of 3 of the cousins, including the "reluctant" one


She hated Australia, could only talk about how much she wanted to be back in the UK. She did admit that they were much better off, and had great opportunites. It must have been very hard for her husband.


In 1978, they got long service leave, and she, her twin sister, and husbands went back to England for almost 2 months.


It was NOT the England she remembered.

She was remembering as it had been in the late 1940s and through to about 1956/7, when she was a teenager and young woman.


There had been so many changes over the 20 years.

She admitted that she had a better life in Australia, England was not attractive any more, and her kids and grandkids were down under.


She settled a bit better ........... but the hankering for the "old" England was still there.

Margaret died in 2004 ......... and her husband took her ashes back to England and spread them on the Lancashire Moors.



As for me, I don't miss England, or much else. Sometimes I think fondly of the warmth and companionship we used to find in a certain country pub or two. And the greens of the countryside are still a vivid memory

We can buy most "English" condiments such as Lea & Perrins, HP, Colmans dry mustard, Branston Pickle etc etc. I can even buy Melton Mowbray pies ............ although the current supplier is not using a pastry that takes well to freezing. There are several butcher's shops that even make Haggis at New Year or Robbie Burns night.


Just like Margaret, the England of today is not the England that I grew up in, being a teenager and young woman in the late 1950s and 1960s

........ in fact, now I feel like a tourist when we come over, not a return "home".





lovely and sunny, and chilly here!



s
xx

Tabitha - I knew I would get a reaction.

I haven't been in Brighton for some years but I'm due to go further along the South Coast to Bournemouth in April But it is a long way to travel (at my age!!)