Fearless Females – Day 8

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Julie Goucher

March 8 — Did one of your female ancestors leave a diary, journal, or collection of letters? Share an entry or excerpt.


No Diary or journal is known to have been left by any of my female ancestors.

I have though inherited a series of letters from my Grandmother to me. They are currently in the box that once contained writing paper. The box is not terribly big, about 15 inches by about 10 inches or thereabouts. The box sits in my study and each day I go into the study I wonder just when I will be able to open the box and read the letters?

My Grandmother passed away in 1995 and I still can not read the letters, nothing, but nothing will compensate the fact that she is not here.

It does not matter that some of the letters are rambling, or that the writing is all over the page, due to her mind being affected by the illness and her eyesight. They were her letters to me and I will always treasure them.
Posted in Archive - Imported from Blogger | Tagged | 4 Comments

NaBloPoMo – Day 7 – Friendship

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Julie Goucher


A Golden Chain

Friendship is a Golden Chain,
The links are friends so dear,
And like a rare and precious jewel
It’s treasured more each year…

It’s clasped together firmly
With a love that’s deep and true,
And it’s rich with happy memories
and fond recollections, too…

Time can’t destroy its beauty
For, as long as memory lives,
Years can’t erase the pleasure
That the joy of friendship gives…

For friendship is a priceless gift
That can’t be bought or sold,
But to have an understanding friend
Is worth far more than gold…

And the Golden Chain of Friendship
Is a strong and blessed tie
Binding kindred hearts together
As the years go passing by.

– Helen Steiner Rice –

Posted in Archive - Imported from Blogger | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Fearless Females – Day 7

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Julie Goucher

March 7 — Share a favorite recipe from your mother or grandmother’s kitchen. Why is this dish your favorite? If you don’t have one that’s been passed down, describe a favorite holiday or other meal you shared with your family.


Here are a few recipes that I can, with my Mum’s help remember my Grandmother cooking.


Rasher Pudding

  • Mix plain flour and suet together, using water or milk to bind it together.
  • Roll out on a floured board.
  • Lay the rashers of bacon across and add some chopped fresh parsley.
  • Roll it up and put in a pudding cloth and place in a pan of boiling water and cook.

Mum has said the cloth would be horrid when taken out of the pan, and remembers being given the job of washing the cloth! and suggests using a more modern steamer would better and safer!

Lambs Hearts

  • Buy Lambs Hearts and stuff them with sage and onion stuffing.
  • wrap in tin foil and place in a baking dish
  • Serve with potatoes and vegetables

Cheese and Tomato
A very simple dish and one that I often make during the summer and serve with new potatoes and salad. I sometimes make some amendments and add bacon and mushrooms!

  • Quite simply cut cheese into slices and layer with layers of tomato into a dish
  • Place in the oven and cook for about 15 mins until the cheese has melted slightly

A recipe that has been passed down from my Great Grandmother is the recipe for Wheat Wine, which was sent to my Grandparents.

Recipe – Wheat Wine
Originally uploaded by AnglersRest
Posted in Archive - Imported from Blogger | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

In My Mailbox – Week 5

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Julie Goucher

Despite my husband failing to believe me, I do not constantly buy books. However….

A couple of weeks ago I spotted on a well known auction site a rather amazing scrapbook relating to a distant branch of my family. I watched the item for a week, daring to read each day what the current bid was at. Last Sunday evening was the finish line and I placed my bid, and waiting to see if anyone else was planning to bid. Thankfully no one did, and Friday the scrapbook arrived. It spans the entire political career of my distant ancestor from 1868 – 1874. I sat Saturday morning and looked through the book wondering just who had collected the items, was it a Victorian fan, or perhaps a family member? Maybe even the individual himself. I think I have now worked it out, but more on that later. In the meantime, a little glimpse at the scrapbook!
The only other book to arrive this week has been the latest book by Christina Courtenay called the Scarlet . I won this through an competition on a blog – eating the strangest thing. You can read about my entry HERE.
Rather impressively, I called into the library on my way home and left with NO books! so that has been a small step, at least until next week!
Posted in Archive - Imported from Blogger | Tagged , | 1 Comment

One Lovely Blog Award

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Julie Goucher

Thanks to Fi of Fi’s Magical Writing Haven and to Kathy of Pond-er-Deeply for both awarding me the One Lovely Blog Award. It has been a lovely surprise and I am delighted that you both think that the Anglers Rest blog is worthy.


Here are the rules for accepting the award:

Here are the rules for the award:

  • Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and their blog link.
  • Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
  • Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
I consider myself very fortunate that I have been introduced to lots of new blogs & their authors by the blog hops I have taken part in and from various genealogical tweets! Choosing just 15 has been difficult but here it is, my list of award winners:

Posted in Archive - Imported from Blogger | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Fearless Females – Day 6

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Julie Goucher

March 6 — Describe an heirloom you may have inherited from a female ancestor (wedding ring or other jewelry, china, clothing, etc.) If you don’t have any, then write about a specific object you remember from your mother or grandmother, or aunt (a scarf, a hat, cooking utensil, furniture, etc.)


All around the house there are items that I have inherited from my Grandparents. I talked about a few of those bits in one of the recent Family History Writing Challenge posts (day 17).

I do have my Grandmother’s wedding ring, a rather bent 22 carat gold plain band. When I got married my Grandmother was still alive and a few days before the service she gave me the ring and said that I should wear it as my something old. I accepted it and did as she requested. I now have it in my jewellery box.

When I got married I did the traditional, something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. I wish now that I had asked my Grandmother if she did the same and what did she use for each of those things.
Posted in Archive - Imported from Blogger | Tagged | 1 Comment

Treasure of the Month – February 2011

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Julie Goucher
My treasure for February has to be my Grandfather’s medals. When I inherited them they were still individually wrapped in the greaseproof paper envelopes they had been dispatched from the War Office in and in the original box.
They remained like that from the moment my Grandfather received them until I inherited them about 14 years ago.
We were in a shop in Rugby Warwickshire and in the window was an example of various types of framing available, including a set of medals. I went in and selected the backing, the frame and the metal plaque which has my Grandfather’s name, his Army number and the years of service, which were the duration of the Second World War.

The medals now hang where I can see and treasure them every day. My Grandfather also features as one of my Ancestor of the Week posts.

Posted in Archive - Imported from Blogger | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Sunday Salon – Books & Quilts

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Julie Goucher


I have not written a fuller Sunday Salon post for over two weeks, although I did write last week about the situation in New Zealand.

The last few weeks have been busy, with work and proof reading the final days of the Family History Writing Challenge. I did manage to return my library books last Monday without incurring a fine – hooray! and collect a few more. I cannot resist, but I did try….honest. I also collected my stash of books for World Book Night, but more about that later.
My latest book review was the latest in the Lindsay Boxer series by James Patterson – 9th Judgement.
A few weeks ago I dropped a note on a blog hosted at Dizzy-C Book Blog of the strangest food eaten. My comment was that I had eaten, even the smallest, minuscule bit of snake. I promise a blog post on it, which I finally did yesterday and you can read about it HERE, the result was my comment won me a lovely signed copy of the latest book by Christina Courtenay called The Scarlet Kimono, which looks at first glance to be a great book, more when I have read it.
One of my favourite author’s is Marie Bostwick, who writes a great series called the Cobbled Court Series, which is essentially about quilting. I highly recommend the series and have read books one and two, have book three on the bedside table and yesterday I have received an email advising that book 4 is due to be published later in the Spring.
Also mentioned in the newsletter was a great link to a website called Jo’s Library Quilt and you can also join the Face Book page which accompanies the web page. There are a few link to follow if you are interested, but it appears that the original concept was a patten created by Christine Thresh. The whole purpose is to raise money for a new library in Coalville in Utah USA, and what a wonderful way to raise it. I am planning to purchase the patten from Christine Thresh’s website for a project of my own.
A couple of weeks ago I spotted on a well known auction site a rather amazing scrapbook relating to a distant branch of my family. I watched the item for a week, daring to read each day what the current bid was at. Last Sunday evening was the finish line and I placed my bid, and waiting to see if anyone else was planning to bid. Thankfully no one did, and yesterday the scrapbook arrived. It spans the entire political career of my distant ancestor from 1868 – 1874. I sat yesterday morning and looked through the book wondering just who had collected the items, was it a Victorian fan, or perhaps a family member? Maybe even the individual himself. I think I have now worked it out, but more on that later. In the meantime, a little glimpse at the scrapbook!
Posted in Archive - Imported from Blogger | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Ancestor of the week – Willliam James West

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Julie Goucher


This is the belated post from 26 February.

William James West was born in Aldershot Hampshire in 1898, the son of William Arthur West, a military man and, Emma Jane Ellis (Harris).

I had always known that my Grandfather’s first cousin had died in the First World War, and then I was presented with a photograph of William, such a handsome young man! The moment I saw that photograph I wanted to know all I could about William.

Private William James West served with the 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment. He is Commemorated at: Ligny-Sur-Canche British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. He died of wounds on 5th September 1918, aged just 20 years.

He is commemorated on the War Memorial at Stony Stratford Buckinghamshire, where his parents, William Arthur and Emma Jane West lived & ran their newsagents business at 63 High Street.

I submitted the details for William James to the First World War Digital Archive whilst material could be submitted. As I wanted to further preserve the details of William.

William James had two army numbers and was Private T4/212898 William James West, Army Service Corps, and later was 51275, 1st Bn. Cheshire Regiment. His T4 Army Service Corps prefix indicates he once served in transport.

As I said I submitted his details to the Digital Archive and they further spotted a detail I had not known about the photograph, as he is rather oddly, pictured above wearing a ‘lamb and flag’ cap badge, relevant to neither unit he was known to have served in, (unless he served for a time in the small Army Service Corps Armoured Car Companies, recruited from transport personnel. Their ‘Light Armoured Motor Batteries’, operative in Palestine, wore a similar badge unofficially).

Bombing during the Second World War destroyed some of the records from the First World War.

I was lucky, in that William James’s record survived and is a total of 24 pages detailing when he enlisted, his service and which regiment he was attached to and then, finally his gun shot wound to the chest leading to his death in 1918, just months before the war ended.

I have downloaded a copy of his Service Record and have just noticed a mention of the Devonshire Regiment that I had been unaware of.

His medal card, confirms what medals his family were entitled to claim after his death and this corresponds with the Service Record.
Posted in Archive - Imported from Blogger | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

NaBloPoMo – Day 6 – Books

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Julie Goucher

I love books, always have done. I especially like old books and the musty smell they share. I don’t know if I had a fabric book, you know the sort that babies have that can be chewed, sucked and washed! I do still have my very first set of books which were Noddy books by Enid Blyton.
I remember being allowed each week to choose a book. Mum tells me that even then, I was somewhat obsessive about having a set, and purchasing and reading in order. That is something I still do today and even now I won’t start reading the beginning of a series unless I have the next one ready in the wings. Obsessive I know, but it is part of me and I guess that is all there is to it.
I like buying books on line then having them delivered, it saves carrying them from town and they are often cheaper, but you can not beat wandering around a bookshop, reading the titles, perhaps selecting a title, enticed by the cover, reading the rear cover and perhaps a page, or two from the inside.
There are often books which just have that pick me up and touch me cover. Do you know what I mean? The Elm Creek novels by Jennifer Chiaverini books have just that sense about them. I think it is down to the covers, which in the case of this series is about a fictional quilting school, and not too surprisingly the covers are pictures of quilts. – In essence they are feel good books!
Posted in Archive - Imported from Blogger | Tagged , , | Leave a comment