Fairies in the garden ???

We moved here 21 years ago from Cottingley.
Cottingley is famous for it's Fairies and so we thought we would see if any had hitched a lift when we moved here... a good search and look what we found. You may have to reeealy reeealy look hard but we think we have little friends.

Silver Work

As a hobby I have been attending the Jewellery and Enamelling Classes run at Fydell House in Boston. The house is an old merchants house built in the 1700s and is part of the Boston Heritage. Next door to the house is the Guildhall where the Pilgrim Fathers who sailed on the Mayflower were incarcerated prior to sailing to the Americas. A very big restoration project has just been completed at the Guildhall which was opened to the public again at Easter.


We students were asked to exhibit our work during the opening. As the security would be a problem it was agreed that we would exhibit our work by photograph. Now that the exhibition is over the photographs which were taken have been given to us. Below are the photos of my work.


The first is of a bangle and under that a pendant and broach

The next a pair of boxes - sorry that the size is not clear but the round box is 5 centimetres tall and 4.5 in diameter - the other box is 7.5 long 4.5 wide and 1.5 high. The bangle fits me.

Thimble - candle stick and spoon with "strawberry forks"

A selection of rings and a bangle and broach which are made from the offcuts of silver from other work. This is one of Margaret's favourites

And finally a pendant which was my first attempt at mounting a stone.

Easter Sunday 2008

Both our children aquired a dog at about the same time - both for some reason and unknown to each other called their dogs Max. Robert and Zarah's Max appears in this blog in previous posts so here is Samantha and Jim's Max for R & Z to see.




Easter Sunday dawned to a small blizzard.

Much to the grandchildren's ???????? delight

A job well done apart from him loosing his hat.

Some snow left over for a seat

Wedding Lists

We have been ferreting about in the bottom of the old oak chest. There are a lot of carrier bags in the bottom of the chest containing lots of old papers and photographs. One of the many things we have found is the list that Margaret prepared to give to family and friends as a guide to what to buy us for wedding presents. It makes interesting reading

I know that we did not get the clothes line and pegs because that is what we gave to each other for our first Christmas presents - the 6 odd plates and the cheap tea service bemuse me but I think that it shows how much the standard of living has changed in the last 44 years.

Rob asks "What is prestige about a Prestige Whisk"

Here is a photo of the whisk purchased for us as a wedding present in 1964

Still working after 44 years and looking good as new. Over engineered - high quality.

IN MEMORIAM

Geoffrey Rushworth died 1962

Dorothy Rushworth (Nee Lockey) died 2008

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Photo of their wedding 25th December 1939

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In civilian clothes

Old Family Photos

We have been going through Margaret's Mums things and found the wedding photos taken when her mother - Margaret's grandmother - was married at the turn of the century. The photos were taken in the Botanical Gardens Sheffield in 1911 and judge for yourselves the opulence. First a photo of Margaret's grandad




Now a family group


And now the whole wedding group

The wedding breakfast was a quiet affair at the bride's home

Winter 2007/8

It has been a quiet time as the weather has not encouraged much outside activity. However the daffodils are now showing and the world is waking up to 2008 so here are a few photographs to see us into Spring.

The new owner of the field around us has been busy ploughing and planting - the field is now covered in Polythene fleece and looks like a series of lakes which have waves on them in the 70mph wind we have today.

The view from upstairs gives a wider angle

The daffodils are out both full size and miniature

We are visited by the cock pheasants each morning so that they can eat our chicken's feed - if one of them catches a chicken will we end up with phicken eggs ??

The Council have spent the winter working on the road outside which has been closed to traffic for 8 weeks - what peace - no cars or lorries. We have of course had the works going on as they widen the road. First the road edge was dug up then the new wider tarmac was laid then rolled and then we got a set of curbs - nothing posh just enough to protect the new telegraph post which has been put just for us !!!!

Between the road works - the earthquake and the gales our brand new chimney has been damaged and I can hear it banging back and forth as I sit here underneath it. Micheal says that he will come and look at it as soon as he can but he is flat out with all the work to repair the damage the earthquake etc has caused.

Roll on the spring and a bit of warmth so that we can get out and garden etc.

R & Z

At the Registry

The Register

Witnesses

Registrar filling in the book

The Wedding Breakfast

Foooood !!

The Restaurant

Out with the old

When we purchased the cottage it was in a poor state of repair and we decided to also purchase an old living caravan to use as we "did up" the house. The caravan has given very good service as both holiday accommodation and latterly as a store. However as the years have passed it has become increasingly damp and moldy so as the new shed was finished we took the chance to clear out the unwanted stuff and put the other "wanted" rubbish in the shed. Allan offered to come down for a few days and give a hand to demolish it as the vegitation had grown up around it and it was impossible to move without damaging other things. So out came the wrecking bars and the hammers and off we went

Once the walls were
down and burnt the
floor came up and
thechassis was cut up
into decent size for the
scrapman to shift






Then the area cleared up and left nearly neat and tidy

The next job is to complete the soak away where the blue bag is showing to give good drainage to the shed roof and then get a few tonnes of gravel delivered and make a good hard standing area.

ON A HAPPIER NOTE

As a side to the destruction and mayhem we should tell you that the shed has now been "adopted" by this years influx of Swallows who after a lot of chatter and false starts have built a nest in the roof

We also have a pair of residents who call for lunch each day


We have not seen them for a few days and assume that they are sitting on this years brood.