Genealogy Chat

Just a quick update for you Arthur

Went out on Friday evening with the girls

My little treasure always sits on my lap after 7pm - but as I was out would normally sit with his dad - but has gone off him for some reason

So during the evening Shadow made his own mind up to try this strange soft plum coloured thing in the corner

Went over - prodded it - jumped on it – kneaded it a bit – sat down – turned round a few times – had a wash - turned round again
and fell asleep -

OH took a photo for me

I came home around 9pm & as soon as the door opened – John said Shadow leaped out of the bed - sat on the floor all sweetness & light & yawned at me.

I would never believe it if I had not seen the photo.

However Saturday - John’s new chair arrived – we spent an hour putting it together - Shadow decided we were no fun & put himself
to bed upstairs out of the noise

Then we dismantled OH’s old chair - Shadow came down decided this was not the place for a playful inquisitive cat & went to bed again.

We took the chair to the tip, came home & I just saw him leap out of his basket & sit in front of the fire

Saturday afternoon Shadow decided mum & dad were no fun as we were busy – had a good old prod of the basket & cushion Sat down had a good clean & fell asleep for a few hours & looked lovely all curled up

It is now an accepted part of the home & all his – he does not have to share with us . I have my cushion back - i think

Came home from work last night & it was a little chilly – he put one paw out sniffed the air – withdrew the paw & went back to sleep – so much for the greeting i get when i come home & John is at work. Must say when i touched him and the
Bed it was very cosy in there & he was very warm.

He hates John’s new chair - hisses at it every time he walks past - last night he jumped on John’s lap & prodded the chair from above - hissed & settled down for a sleep – so dad has been forgiven & he has accepted the chair is staying.

Wait till the new sofa arrives.

One of Shadow’s Christmas presents arrived in the post – John went to the door to find Shadow had moved the package out of the way & sat on it - took a bit of persuasion for John to get the package from him – honestly he is worse than a dog. John had to hid the package in a drawer for me too as he moved it off the sofa twice.

Shadow is very good really - he does not tend to scratch the furniture -- just rip the wall paper (every now & then when he thinks we arn't looking) - he seems to think it fun to chew the TV guide at the moment - little chewed balls of paper everywhere.

He is so nosey as soon as we open a cupboard or wardrobe he is there – i was on the floor in the bedroom last night with a torch & ruler looking under the wardrobe for one of his soft toys, next min there was a whoosh & the black lightening streak zoomed into the room – pounced on me & started playing with my hair on the floor & trying to get in the way to see what I was looking at.

As soon as I found the toys he wanted to play - so we had a 10 min session of footie & catch (before i cooked the old mans dinner).

That’s when he decided to bring his toys down with him.

He carried his soft balls downstairs - went up twice to bring them down - so we had six downstairs – 2 in the hall & 4 in the lounge - John took them back up for him - Shadow by then was quite happy sleeping under the hall radiator - hour later Shadow was heard going upstairs to bed & came back with his favourite blue ball in his mouth again – walked past John in the chair – kicked out his back leg at him - & jumped on my lap (still with ball in his mouth) – threw the ball on the sofa, sat back looking very pleased with himself & yowled at John & settled down to sleep again. I think he was daring him to take it back again.

When we went to bed John took it back to the bedroom.

I won’t be home till late tonight as going out for authentic Tapas with the girls – it will be interesting to see if the blue ball is back downstairs again.

I have ordered a new Cosmic Catnip Carrot for him for Christmas and some new rubber balls that look like little footballs – they arrived yesterday so had to hide them away so he does not notice. its very hard to try & hide anything out of his way

Ann

What a lovely surprise.

i hope Shadow respects the new sofa.

My old cat, Gemma, did scratch the new 4 seater leather sofa, but not the 2 reclining seats that came with it.

Podge has taken to scratching the dining room chair seats. Not sure what the material is but no damage results :-) Neither of them have scratched my new leather sofa bed :-D

I just got up to go to the bathroom, but it was the time for their evening feed. Both cats shot up and followed me to the kitchen where their food is. Food had to come before anything - result two very happy cats. Next it will be them asking to be let out the front door, easier than the cat flap .

Arthur

Sounds like you had fun - at least my little terror only plays with his toys.

He is a very good football player & will play catch as well.

My Oh is 6ft 2 tall so I think the cat bed is out even for me at 5ft 1 its a bit of a long shot - but it is a nice cat bed & a very soft comfy cushion - rather than a hard floor in a draft.

At the moment we are playing who can sit on the sofa first - if he wins he gets ratty & hissy when I try & move - so much that I ended up sitting on him (well nearly) he does not want to share - he wants my side of the sofa only.

My M in L wanted to know what I wanted for a small tree gift - went through the usual – but as i rarely drink or eat chocolate that’s out, so is the gloves/scarf/tights thing & certainly Not let her pick slippers/dressing gown as the last time I gave them to a charity shop. So she gave me a catalogue and asked if there was anything i wanted.

Well the only thing that came to mind was a throw for my old sofa - so i said if she wanted to contribute to a throw it would be very handy as the one I saw in the sale was £44.95 reduced from £95.00. so she said that was fine & she would buy it for me as it’s not often I find something I like, that way I can buy a couple of smaller ones for the two arm chairs.

She asked what was wrong with the sofa as we wanted a throw or was it to stop the cat from scratching. Well he doesn’t anyway - so I told her my suite is over 20 years old & looks a bit shabby now & well worn & as OH said its a bit saggy too, so we were trying to liven it up.

Next day M in L calls us & said they have decided to buy us a new Sofa for Christmas as well as the new throw. If we wanted to go out & choose one in the sale she would go to £500 or near.

So lots of thank you & off we went shopping last weekend.

Found a lovely one in the D** sale (as per the TV ads) reduced from £1500.00 (its only a 2 seat for goodness sake) but it was £689 plus £55 delivery, £25 for gliders & one off £80 for stain protection.

Delivery in 11 weeks time & we get to choose the colours - Walnut on the seats & Bisque on the frame (dark brown & cream)

M in L calls us on Saturday – have we found anything - so Oh told her it was bargain but a little more than we thought but we would put the extra to it , so he told her it was £650.00 & she said oh that’s ok dad & I will pay the whole lot. So we ended up just paying the extras. In which case the money i was saving for a new sofa would go towards a new chair for OH

So the next day we started looking for a chair for him - the one to match the sofa was at normal price & was £549 far too expensive for us - he then said he wanted one of those leather swivel seats instead – so we went to another well know show room H*****’s and found a lovely one for £199.00 except it only came in cream - so we are still going to have a throw. That chair arrives tomorrow.

All we need to do now is get someone to remove the old ones

So all in all its been a very strange couple of weeks full of unexpected surprises - if only Shadow used his new bed we would all be happy.

I don’t think he will like our new sofa so i get it all to myself

Ann

You did make me laugh.

You wrote ". I spent ages testing them out in the shop – colour – softness – size - fur or fabric sides up or doughnut – igloo or flat bed - Oh said he thought i was going to try & curl up in it myself – even used a tape measure to make sure it was big enough for him"

I had the vision - normally shown when couples go to buy their first bed - of you bouncing on the beds Then you used the tape measure to make sure your OH would fit in it.

As my two grew they outgrew the bed they came with.. I, like you, spent time reviewing beds for the two to fit in. They loved the chosen bed and for probably two weeks they curled up together. People who have two cats will probably guess what came next - they fought and one decided a cushion on the settee was just as comfortable and she avoided her sister.

This has been the situation for more than a year with one difference - both abandoned the bed. Whilst one sleeps on a cushion the other sleeps on my bed - where she dive bombs me in the morning to make me get up.

Maybe it is the onset of winter but the one on my bed has now returned to the bed. This morning she did not wake me up and I overslept for the first time in months. How long this will be the case only time will tell.

As I have said before one catches the rodents and the other, Podge, chases them round my lounge. When there isn't a live mouse she makes do with a tiny toy mouse. She murders it, throwing it 4 ft into the air and catching it, before racing around the house with it in her mouth.
Yesterday a dead mouse was brought into the house. Podge seized on it and proceeded to treat it just like her toy - only difference was the real dead mouse was probably twice the size. It seemed a shame to take it away from her but I did.

The family inheritance seems further away than ever. Helen has said that in addition to the German relatives she has no information on George. She has done the sensible thing and contacted the Probate Research Company for help.
PS One of her cousins had emigrated to Australia and they had lost touch. Somehow she now has contact and has received a chatty letter.

Watch this space.

Arthur

ann :-D :-D

we had igloos for our cats they love them and all ways used the same one

we do not keep them in the kitchen at night any more so they sleep where the fancy takes them so got rid of their beds

it is very cold here today

sally w

<3

Arthur

I think Sally may be on the right wavelength and the Perambulator maker sounded more important or he worked his way up the ladder.

Shadow is in very good health (thank you for asking) but does not like the cold & wet weather & we are very pleased he does not bring us any gifts. I think your girls sound lovely - shame they dont like the wet food.

This year he has found his way to the hall radiator & thinks this is the best gift we can give him except when the gas fire is on & that takes preference. He gets a close as he can for as long as he can.

I decided this year to purchase a cat bed as he seems to feel the cold. Oh thinks I am mad as old cats do not change a habit of a lifetime. I spent ages testing them out in the shop – colour – softness – size - fur or fabric sides up or doughnut – igloo or flat bed - Oh said he thought i was going to try & curl up in it myself – even used a tape measure to make sure it was big enough for him.

Eventually found a nice very soft sides up cat bed with lovely soft cushion you can plump up in purple.

Shadow took one look & walked away – OH put his toys in it & Shadow took them all out one by one - so the game begins.

Sunday while we were eating lunch - Shadow went in the basket to prowl around & find a toy – but got his claw hooked & started to back out struggling with it – once the majority of his body was out he gave a tug & the basket flipped over on top of him.

All went quiet (except the hysterics of OH & I) – upside down basket & a black tail sticking out the side. – toys scattered all around - then the basket moved across the floor slowly the cushion fell out & then it flipped over with cat back inside still tugging – once we had stopped laughing I tried to help him out.

He was so not impressed with us or the basket. I put the basket back in the corner with cushion – Shadow came over to watch – crept up to it – hissed at it & gave it a hearty kick with his back leg.

Left it & us alone all afternoon. Removed himself from our view all evening too.

Yesterday OH put the toys back in & Shadow has just taken a few out - still hisses at it as he goes by.

Think I may have wasted my money – i even put it in front of the fire for him – but he looked at me as though I should know better & went out to the radiator & came back to the fire once the nasty thing had moved back to the corner.

Oh well he may get to like it

Sally
Nice try but I think Perambulator Maker would have looked better on his marriage certificate. <3 :-) <3

Arthur

Arthur surely they put paint on prams and use greese on the wheel cogs or some thing like

sally w <3

Anne

I have had difficulty finding the 'ancestor' on Census records in 1861 and 1881.

On the marriage certificate he was "Oil and Colourman" In 1871 he was a 'Perambulator Maker' and in 1891 he was a 'Foreman Perambulator Works'.

His father was shown as an 'Engineer' on the marriage certificate.

There is no obvious connection with either Food, Drink or Paint.

I thought I had his father identified, but recently a direct line relative of the person I had on my tree sent a message to say it was incorrect. May post details on Genealogy Chat to see if anyone can help or suggest ways to crack the problem.


Your OH's family history was fascinating. I have a friend whose mother and father came from large families and he still attends an annual family gathering with a sadly dwindling number of Aunts and Uncles.

Hope Shadow is well. My two were off their food for a couple of days (wish I could lose my appetite for a couple of days). Tried them with some wet food, but after a mouthful left the bowls untouched. Tried a different flavour of their dried food and it worked the trick. Both back to full health and continuing to massacre the local rodent population.

Arthur

I emailed a friend who use to work at an archive & she said a lot of people had 2 jobs - so he could have been an oil man and a colourman

Were his family from the selling trade?

Victualler: a civilian merchant who sold provisions to the military

Did your person live in the Dover/Folkestone area as there were a lot of Army people in that area - Whitfield & Cheriton as well as Canterbury I believe

One of my OH’s Great greats was a Licensed victualler she ran a public house & guest house - her son was a Victualler and Marine Store dealer – he traded with the Army & Merchant Seamen & some of the Navy in Chatham. He originally came from the Romney Marshes.

His Grandparents traded in all sorts of goods around the country - the children were born wherever they were selling at the time – but they all came back to Margate for the children to be Christened – all the remote families would go to the Grandparents for the day. Even up to the 1920’s his Great uncle still had the Rag & Bone yard in Dover & his Grandmother went out on the horse & cart.

He remembers when he was little boy meeting all the aunts & uncles at the Great grandparents in Margate once a year, going to Dreamland for a treat & seeing the fireworks.

So they were still carrying on the tradition right up and in to the 1960’s.

Ann

The definition I found was for "Oil & Colourman" and gave the definition Victualler. Cannot really see the derivation.

Dictionary of Old Occupations

Oil Colour Man: manufactured paint, responsible for mixing the required colouring.

Victualler: a civilian merchant who sold provisions to the military. A Licensed victualler is a pub landlord.

Colour Man: mixed coloured dyes for use on textiles. The term may also refer to an assistant to a House Painter

Oilman: a tradesman who sold oil for use in lamp lighting.

Sally

I googled Oil and Colourman and was surprised to find it had nothing to do with paint.

Definition is "Dealer in the victualling trade" I wonder what he dealt in :-S

hello all

sue I hope the op goes all right

Robert have you got your shell some thermels I think you might be in need of them this week have had frost here

Sylvia did you send us the cold weather :-D

Arthur have you tried googleing

sally w <3

Can anyone tell me what an "Oil & Colourman" is. This was shown as an occupation on a marriage certificate of 1860

Thanks

Was contacted by a Probate Research company and am a beneficiary of a second cousin.

I signed up to the company as I had no idea who had died without a will.

I was then contacted on Ancestry by Helen, the daughter of a second cousin (a third cousin?). She revealed who the person was (Grace Hack) and said she had applied to be the Administrator of the estate - this has been granted.

I thought it would be a simple matter, My brother, sister and I are descended from a sister of Grace Hack's mother, and Helen, her brother and 2 cousins is descended from the other sister. There was a bother and I thought all Helen had to do was trace any descendants from him. It is now clear it will not be so simple..

Grace Hack was the daughter of August Haack (name changed before WW1). He was born in Germany in abt 1867. He had 3 brothers and a sister, I understand that Helen must trace their descendants to see if anyone is a beneficiary. I think this will be some challenge.

Any money is likely to be small, but I will get details for the family tree.

The Probate research company have offered to help her but Helen has not replied to them. I have emailed Helen to' encourage' her - said I hope she was making progress' killing off' the German relatives .
:-) :-) :-)

Will keep you updated on progress.

Sylvia

Envy you the dry cold days - much preferred to damp 'warm' days.



We have a forecast of another wet winter.

Lat year you had an appalling winter that lasted months. What is forecast for this winter?

Arthur

Hi Susan, and everyone


yep, I'm still alive :-)


Robert .................... it is surprising how bright everything is after having the cataracts done :-D



we've been in a chilly spell here for almost a whole week .................. sunny, blue skies during the day, getting up to around 5C, but then down to below 0C overnight



"They" are saying it is about to change ....... it'll get a little warmer, and rain by Thursday



guess which day I HAVE to go out :-(




take care everyone



s
xx

Hi Susan,

Yes, Robert is well thank you.

Getting the shell ready for the Winter.

Had a cataract operation a few days ago and the World seems a much brighter place.