Virtual Advent Tour – Lockerbie

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Julie Goucher

I am delighted to take part in the Virtual Advent Tour hosted by Marg & Kelly. This is the third time of taking part. It is a wonderful way to meet other bloggers and spread festive cheer! When I decided to take part I selected two special dates – this is the second of those two dates.

The 21st December is my husband’s birthday. He is the ultimate Christmas baby –  and loves the whole Christmas hype, foods, tree decorations and lots of sparkling, twinkling lights.
Sadly, there is also another dimension to the day. On my husband’s 16th birthday in 1988 the Lockerbie Air Disaster happened. Pan Am flight 103 fell from the sky a victim of terrorist activity and landed in the Lockerbie area. The main fusilage fell in the parish of Tundergarth, a rural hamlet about 4 miles from Lockerbie whilst another part of the aircraft fell into a residential street in Lockerbie. 

My husband always remembers those events and the lives lost. Not just the 270 people, both passengers and crew on the plane, but the residents of Sherwood Crescent including a friend of my husband.

Lockerbie remembers the tragic event in such a tasteful and sombre way. There are various plaques and memorials in Lockerbie and Tundergarth.
  1. A Series of plaques at the Church in Tundergarth Parish, Lockerbie
  2. A Memorial at the location where some locals were killed – Sherwood Cresent, Lockerbie
  3. The Memorial at Dryfesdale Cemetery, Lockerbie
  4. Plaques at Dryfesdale Cemetery, Lockerbie
  5. Tree Plaques at Dryfesdale Cemetery, Lockerbie
  6. Headstones within Dryfesdale Cemetery, Lockerbie
Over the last 20 odd years I have visited the memorials fairly regularly and taken photographs. It was a truly tragic event and yet the locals of Lockerbie have embraced the situation with such a degree of decorum that is refreshing. 

The town will never forget the bond that exists between the border town and the United States. It will never forget the disaster, nor that in a split second or two the lives or so many were lost or changed beyond comprehensible thought. The population of Lockerbie tend the memorial and graves of all as if they are tending one of their own and that is what is so refreshing.That even in death strangers are welcome and remembered.

Dryfesdale Cemetery and Memorial Garden
Taken by Julie Goucher April 2006
You can view the range of photographs commemorating the disaster HERE at GraveEncounters
Tagged | 1 Comment

Book of Me, Written by Me, Prompt 17

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Julie Goucher

Today is week 17 of what is going to be a 15 month project. Each Saturday, at around 12.30am UK time I will release the prompt for that week’s Book of Me, Written by You.

 If you are new here, welcome! The details, background flyer and Face Book link to the Book of Me can be found HERE. 

This week’s prompt is – Toys & Games

  • Can you remember your first toy, or game?
  • Do you still have it?
  • Who did you play with?
  • Did you play board games?
  • Have you inherited any of your family games & toys?
  • Share some pictures if you would like to!

Tagged | Leave a comment

Postcard Friendship Friday – Christmas Card circa 1843

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Julie Goucher
First Christmas card
Submitted as part of Postcard Friendship Friday hosted by The Best Hearts are Crunchy 

Tagged | 4 Comments

The In-Depth Genealogist – Digital Magazine – Issue 11 – OUT NOW!

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Julie Goucher

Picture
The next issue of the free digital magazine is available NOW!

//e.issuu.com/embed.js

You can read my Introduction post HERE and you can follow the column by visiting The In-Depth Genealogist website and subscribing via email or via twitter and Facebook.

This month’s Across the Pond column is about Festive Spirits

Happy reading & researching!

Tagged , | Leave a comment

A Merry Little Christmas by Debbie Macomber

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Julie Goucher

A Merry Little Christmas (A Cedar Cove…
A delightful little book with two festive reads from Debbie Macomber. Both stories are centred around the fiction and lovely town of Cedar Cove.

1225 Christmas Tree Lane

 Continuing with the popular Cedar Cove stories. This festive catch up is based around divorced Beth Morehouse. Beth has been divorced for a few years and has two adult daughters who conspire to get their parents back together. Following her divorce Beth gave up teaching and purchased a Christmas tree farm. She also has a love of animals and her Christmas is further complicated when she finds 10 black lab puppies on her doorstep. Meanwhile the daughters have asked that their father,Kent, join them for Christmas as the start of the plan for reconciliation with their mother. Kent meets a colleague at the airport and confesses he is miserable without his wife ex wife and he decides to make her jealous. Meanwhile back in Cedar Cove Beth is starting a friendship with the local vet. Will they get back together?

5-B Poppy Lane

A spin off from the Cedar Cove series. The central characters are Ruth, a post graduate who is completing her teacher training at the local college. It’s the festive season and she randomly writes a Christmas card to a marine based in Afghanistan and over a period of months they develop quite a friendship. Will it develop further? Once the marine, Paul, is home on leave they see each other often and the relationship develops. Ruth’s Grandmother upon meeting Paul is taken back to the years of the Second World War and over the course of a few weeks she shares, previously unknown to Ruth, information of her time in France, the Resistance and then a concentration camp.

The two stories are lovely, lighthearted festive reads and whilst Poppy Lane deals with some serious issues, it highlights the point of talking to your elderly relatives and perhaps uncovering some long hidden truths.

Tagged | Leave a comment

Virtual Advent Tour – Kiva – Genealogists for Families Project

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Julie Goucher

I am delighted to take part in the Virtual Advent Tour hosted by Marg & Kelly. This is the third time of taking part. It is a wonderful way to meet other bloggers and spread festive cheer! When I decided to take part I selected two special dates – this is the first of those two dates.

The 18th of December always signifies two things in our family, exactly one week to Christmas and my late beloved Grandmother’s birthday. Today she would have been 101 years old and I so wish she was here, more so this year than any other.
Back in 2011 I made my first loan of $25 to the Genealogists for Families Project at Kiva. The basic principle is that you loan $25 through the scheme to individuals who do not have access to traditional banks. When the loan is repaid you can either withdrawal your money or loan again. You can make many loans or just one or two. The choice is up to you. I should point out, that you don’t need to be a genealogist to join the genealogist team, who have made loans of a staggering $82,250 at the time of writing this post. To demonstrate how successful the project is, when I wrote a similar post in 2011 the team had loaned $5,350. In fact for the last two years I have made regular loans and I always make a loan commemorate my Grandmother’s birthday.
My Grandmother was a true inspiration to me. We spend many, many hours together, shared shopping trips, hospital visits, conversations, jokes, hugs, cuddles and laughter. When she passed away she left a void that was very big and I knew that I would never fill that void. That has indeed been the case and today, I feel a real sadness, not just that she is not here, but that Mum is in hospital and I so wish that my Grandmother was here, so that I could share my worries and concerns and tap into the wisdom font that my Grandmother was.
So, in memory of an outstanding lady, who gave me so much I have made another loan with Kiva.

Christmas is the time for giving and I want to commemorate the lady who was my Grandmother. Acknowledge her achievements and values and to assist others in her memory.

The photograph here is of my Grandmother, Lilian Edith Butcher nee Matthews (1912 – 1995) on the occasion of her 21st Birthday.

If you would like to join the team, then please click HERE

Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The Newfound Land (Graham Saga Book 4) by Anna Belfrage

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Julie Goucher

Back in October I read and reviewed the three earlier books in the series.

Book 1 – A Rip in the Veil
Book 2 – Like Chaff in the Wind
Book 3 – The Prodigal Son

In this latest book, Matthew and Alex continue their journey in Maryland in 1672. The family have been fairly successful. They own land and the family are thriving.

Sadly, their enemies have found them, their is a degree of ill-health and there is a general feeling of unrest.

Slave traders, missing children, men capturing women and the white man ignoring the Native Americans.

Like with the earlier books in the series, there is a sense of similarity with the Outlander Series Diana Gabaldon. This is a great series of books and I look forward to reading the next in the series.


About the Author

I was raised abroad, on a pungent mix of Latin American culture, English history and Swedish traditions. As a result I’m multilingual and most of my reading is historical – both non-fiction and fiction.

I was always going to be a writer – or a historian, preferably both. Instead I ended up with a degree in Business and Finance, with very little time to spare for my most favourite pursuit. Still, one does as one must, and in between juggling a challenging career I raised my four children on a potent combination of invented stories, historical debates and masses of good food and homemade cakes. They seem to thrive … Nowadays I spend most of my spare time at my writing desk. The children are half grown, the house is at times eerily silent and I slip away into my imaginary world, with my imaginary characters. Every now and then the one and only man in my life pops his head in to ensure I’m still there. I like that – just as I like how he makes me laugh so often I’ll probably live to well over a hundred.

I was always going to be a writer. Now I am – I have achieved my dream.

For more information, please visit Anna Belfrage’s WEBSITE.

Disclaimer – I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Sentimental Sunday – Polio and the Journey Ahead

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Julie Goucher
Poliovirus by Jason Roberts
Image courtesy of
 www.virology.ws

Back in 1953, so 60 years ago, my Mum then aged four and a half contracted Polio. All through my childhood I was aware of the impact that the disease had, had on Mum, although she never used a calliper or a stick.

Fast forward to 1997 and Mum was diagnosed with Post Polio Syndrome, a condition which affects those who suffered from Polio back in the 1950’s. There is no cure and year on year I see Mum battling to remain independent and strong. Mum is Fiercely independent and stubborn.
As I type this Mum is in hospital, and has been for about 5 days. She looks vulnerable and older than her years. The NHS here in the United Kingdom, envied across parts of the globe is feeling the pinch in the global recession. Wards, with 20 or so patients looked after by a team of six, three nurse and three auxiliary nurses. I am frustrated beyond belief with the care Mum is receiving, almost as much as Mum is frustrated because her body can not do what her brain believes it can.
The situation is woeful and I could seriously sit down and weep. How do people with no family, much less those who do not spot the medical issues because those family members are not equipped to spot such things deal with the inefficiency or concerns?
Through the whole of my professional career, I have cared for the patient in front of me, as if they were my relative. That I learned as a newly qualified professional and I always stuck to that belief and passed it along to newly qualified or trainees working alongside me. 
I recall in my post qualified days those who worked within the hospital sector sneering at those who had opted for the retail sector, as if we were a poor relative. I did my stint in the hospital sector too, both within the NHS and private, within the Prison Service medical teams and industrial settings. I always returned to retail settings because of the interaction with the patients and health professionals, but one thing that has always been consistent  across all those different settings is the frustration I feel when the organisation puts profit or money before people, patients and their needs. 
The road ahead for Mum is going to be rocky, frustrating and I suspect a battle. As I told the staff today.“I have one Mum, and she is in your care. She is a patient not a piece on a chess board. Please treat her with dignity and respect” I wish I could say that this is a one off, but sadly no, the same applied to yesterday too.
By coincidence, Sky News ran an article yesterday about the NHS virtually grinding to a halt because some departments and staff do not work weekend. Excuse me? My personal views are this. The NHS is run by the department of Health and funded from the Government by the taxes and insurances that are paid by those who work and/or pay such taxes. 
The NHS is a multi tiered organisation. Each of those levels has a management structure that is perhaps too manager heavy. With each level of manager, those who have a professional qualification – nurse or medical background, are removed from the ground level objectives, which is fundamentally the patients. As policy and bureaucracy are introduced, so is a new manager level, so as to cope with the endless spreadsheets, policies and alike.
As I looked around the ward today at the staff the average age was probably 30, which is half of the time that Mum had Polio. In fact when I was talking to one of auxiliaries, she told me that she thought polio had been eradicated and what was post polio syndrome?   Through no fault of their own there is a generation or two that has no idea of the legacy Polio has left behind. These are though the health professionals of the future.
Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Weekend Cooking – Nigella Christmas – Star -Topped Mince Pies

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Julie Goucher

Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends,…
As promised, this is the second of four posts taken from this delightful book. The second recipe is Star-Topped Mince Pies and this recipe makes 36 of them! This comes from Nigella’s fabulous website



For the pastry


240 gram(s) plain flour
60 gram(s) vegetable shortening
60 gram(s) butter (cold)
1 orange(s) (juice)
1 pinch of salt
350 gram(s) mincemeat
1 sprinkling of icing sugar (for dusting) 
For the cranberry studded mincemeat – makes about 600ml

75 gram(s) soft dark brown sugar
60 ml port
300 gram(s) cranberries
1 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon(s) ground ginger
½ teaspoon(s) ground cloves
75 gram(s) currants
75 gram(s) raisins
30 gram(s) dried cranberries
1 clementine (zest and juice)
25 ml brandy
3 drop(s) almond extract
½ teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
2 tablespoon(s) honey
Method

  1. Make the mincemeat in advance.  In a large pan, dissolve the sugar in the ruby port over a gentle heat.  Add the cranberries and stir.  Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves, currants, raisins, dried cranberries and the zest and juice of the clementine.  Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes, or until the fruit has broken down and has absorbed most of the liquid in the pan. (You may need to squish the cranberries a little with the back of a wooden spoon to incorporate them fully.)  Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little.  Add the brandy, almond extract, vanilla extract and honey and stir well with a wooden spoon to mash the mixture down into a paste.  Spoon the mincemeat into sterilised jars and, once cool, store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
  2. Then once you are ready to make your mince pies, get out a tray of miniature tart tins, each indent 4.5cm in diameter, along with a 5.5cm fluted, round biscuit cutter and a 4cm star cutter.
  3. Measure the flour into a shallow bowl or dish and, with a teaspoon, dollop little mounds of vegetable shortening into the bowl, add the butter, diced small, shake to cover it, then put in the freezer for 20 minutes. This is what will make the pastry so tender and flaky later.Mix together the orange juice and salt in a separate, small bowl, cover and leave in the fridge to chill. 
  4. After the 20 minutes, empty the flour and fat into the bowl of your food processor and blitz until you’ve got a pale pile of porridge-like crumbs.  Pour the salted juice down the funnel, pulsing until it looks as if the dough is about to cohere; you want to stop just before it does (even if some orange juice is left). If all your juice is used up and you need more liquid, add some iced water.
  5. If you prefer to use a freestanding mixer to make the pastry, cut the fats into the flour with the flat paddle, leaving the bowl in the fridge to chill down for the 20-minute flour-and-fat-freezer session.  Add liquid as above. I often find the pastry uses more liquid in the mixer than the processor.
  6. Turn the mixture out of the processor or mixing bowl onto a pastry board or work surface and, using your hands, combine to a dough. Then form into 3 discs (you’ll need to make these in 3 batches, unless you’ve got enough tart tins to make all 36 pies at once).
  7. Wrap each disc in clingfilm and put in the fridge to rest for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7.
  8. Roll out the discs, one at a time, as thinly as you can without exaggerating; in other words, you want a light pastry case, but one sturdy enough to support the dense mincemeat. This is easy-going dough, so you don’t have to pander to it: just get rolling and patch up as you need.
  9. Out of each rolled-out disc cut out circles a little wider than the indentations in the tart tins; I use a fluted cookie cutter for this.  Press these circles gently into the moulds and dollop in a scant teaspoon of mincemeat.
  10. Then cut out your stars with your little star cutter – re-rolling the pastry as necessary – and place the tops lightly on the mincemeat.
  11. Put in the oven and bake for 10–15 minutes: keep an eye on them as they really don’t take long and ovens do vary.
  12. Remove from the oven, prising out the little pies straight away and letting the empty tin cool down before you start putting in the pastry for the next batch.  Carry on until they’re all done.
  13. Dust over some icing sugar by pushing it through a tea strainer, and serve the pies with one of the butters from “Nigella Christmas”.
STAR-TOPPED MINCE PIES
Picture courtesy of Nigella’s website

Weekend Cooking is hosted by BethFishReads

Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Book of Me, Written by Me, Prompt 16

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Julie Goucher

Today is week 16 of what is going to be a 15 month project. Each Saturday, at around 12.30am UK time I will release the prompt for that week’s Book of Me, Written by You.

 If you are new here, welcome! The details, background flyer and Face Book link to the Book of Me can be found HERE. 

This week’s prompt is – Message in a Bottle

  • If you were to physically write or virtually write a message to place into a bottle what would you write?
  • Do you live by the sea and are able to potentially throw into the Ocean? Or perhaps a river
  • Do you feel strongly that you would not “litter” in this way – in which case you may complete the task virtually
  • What would you like to happen with the message?
    • Do you hope it is picked up somewhere, miles from home?
    • Are you going to create a secret email account in case it is picked up and someone emails you
  • Or would you like to write an anonymous note to someone that you know
  • Or write a message to a deceased loved one?

Tagged | Leave a comment