#Sepia Saturday 112 : Saturday 11 February 2012

This week’s idea for Sepia Saturday, inspired by Linda, the Paper Collector, is a photo of a  man with an impressive ‘tache reading a book – in fact, he looks like he’s been interrupted and is possibly slightly grumpy.

The only photo I could find of a man with a ‘tache and a book is of my maternal Grandfather’s brother, Norman, sharing a very large book with his delightful Granddaughter, Rose, and both look far from grumpy.

I wonder what it was that made Rose laugh so much?  Perhaps he stashed something funny inside the book.  To me, this looks like a professional photo taken in a studio – Rose’s posh frock and the background make me think so.  Norman died in 1995 aged 81, and I don’t remember ever meeting him – he had moved from Scotland to the south west of England.  I don’t have any early photos of Norman, just older ones, when “the Porter brothers” had the time to get together for family reunions, after they had all retired.  Subsequently our families have lost touch.  More “living relative” research required – Rose probably is on Facebook

Jo

Sepia Saturday – Granny and a dog, again, again, again

This week’s Sepia Saturday theme is on the subject of dogs.  Us Brits are notoriously sentimental about our pets, and I remember my Grandad having a Border Terrier (called Doug) who hated children, because he wasn’t used to having them around.  He would pose for photos wearing my Grandad’s specs and with a pipe hanging from his mouth, but he hated the noise we made. We were forever being told “keep away from the dog”.  Dad also had a Border Collie when I was very young, and she was old, snappy and aggressive – collies are notorious for only having one master, and this one used to chase my Mum out of the kitchen on a regular basis.  As a result, I’ve not been as keen on dogs as I have been on other animals.  Granny appears to have had a faithful Spaniel, judging by the photos found in Great Granny’s album.  I don’t know if the dog belonged to Granny, or was just a regular fixture, but it features heavily…

There’s no disguising those ridiculous Plus 4′s that cousin Frank is wearing.  This is Frank’s Dad and Mum, David Hardie and Mary Auchmuty, with Granny in between them.

I’m not sure who the handsome young man is, but I suspect he is a Kininmonth cousin – hopefully my new-found cousin Janet will be able to confirm this for me  He’s a big strapping lad, and there’s That Dog again.

Frank, Granny, Mary, and help?  But That (fatter) Dog’s there again

No Granny in this photo, but I do know that he was Granny’s special friend – I haven’t identified him yet, but he was very important to her.  The young lady is having a bit of a scream – I wonder who she is?  And what he said?  And, Deputy Dawg’s there again.

This must have been taken at the same place, probably on the same day, judging by Granny’s outfit, with the Same Dog – different bloke.  Perhaps a day that they had visitors such as cousins, or a family “do” like a wedding?  Maybe they’re not well-dressed enough for it to be a wedding, another family occasion then.

Now, I’m presuming that this is the same dog, but only because it looks Friesian like in the other photos, and it has been taken in the same place, as the gate is very similar, with the criss-cross wire to keep the rabbits out, high hedges either side, and an interesting roofline in the foreground.  I’m not too sure who these handsome young men are, but I suspect the one on the right is a Hardie cousin.

Deputy Dawg is involved somewhere, he/she was definitely an important part of the family, as the pics show.

Disappointingly, I couldn’t find the couple of group photos that I have which feature cats (my master of choice) but I will wait for Alan to do a “cat theme” and make sure I am at the ready

Jo

See what everyone else has done with their old pics on a Sepia Saturday theme – go on, join in, it doesn’t have to be sepia, in fact it doesn’t have to fit in with the theme, you can go your own way  Chuck something in and see what our interpretations are -we’re  friendly bunch, do it, do it, do it for next Saturday

Fun with search terms

Inspired by Amy Coffin at We Tree I had a look at the search terms people have used to reach my blog.  I feel some of them may have been sadly disappointed.  I hope you are not so disappointed.

sewing box – that’ll be because of my Sewing Box Pyschology post about how two ladies can buy the same sewing box at the same time, but one (grandmother) trashes hers in a few years, while the other one (her sister’s) remains pristine 50 years on.  I have them both and can tell at ten paces which one belonged to Elsie.

granny album – yes, Great Granny kept an album of all Granny’s antics, and I am lucky enough to be in possession of it.  It is causing hilarity at ImagesPast Cottage and I have tagged the posts if you wish to see what she got up to (look for Great Granny’s Album in the tag cloud).

glamorous granny – ah, this is no doubt connected to the above.  Nuff said.

stonehaven fireballs association – we have very “wide and varied” traditions here, this is just one of them.  I can still smell the singeing leg hair and kilts.

car maintenance for girls – well, you probably know by now that I am quite keen on British sports cars, if not the maintenance aspect, but I’m not sure if it’s my post about cars built by women for women, or my racing pram post that people are landing on.  Either is good

grandpa granddaughter – this one’s a bit iffy, seriously iffy, in fact.  I removed some words (cheating, I know, but it was rather unsavoury) however, what they disappointingly landed on was no doubt the beautiful little Rose and her Grandpa, my Grandpa’s brother.  Fabulous photo

oropesa ship – ah yes, some members of the family took a cruise on the RMS Oropesa in the 1920′s and I have a couple of pics.  I suspect this was post-gin o’clock.  Or perhaps that was normal behaviour back then?

royal infirmary edinburgh – I’m sorry if you wasted your time Googling for the hospital during an emergency only to find my Mum’s nursing badges instead.  I hope you survived OK.

sepia + busty – hmm, this is due to a rather inflammatory headline that I gave a post about Granny (she of the album) hoping make the post enticing.   I called it “#Sepia Saturday 99 – Glamorous Granny (no, not busty blonde mother of 6)” but I fear that Googlers may have, yet again, been disappointed with the actual content.

Please do leave me a comment to let me know how amused/disappointed you were.

Jo

Sepia Saturday – more from Great Granny’s album

For Sepia Saturday this week, I scanned another photo from Great Granny’s album.  At first glance, compared to the other images of silly antics and general high jinks, this photo didn’t seem to have much going for it, however on close inspection, you can almost feel the fun between the two of them.

I don’t know who Granny’s unknown friend or relative is (yet) but he’s obviously someone she feels close to, judging by the way she’s holding his arm.  He has his hand on his heart – I wonder what he was thinking?  They both look a bit crumpled.

Here’s a more recent photo (1964) of Granny at the age of 55, my Dad and Yours Truly.

Have a close look at what my Mum did to my hair!  The cheek of it.  That’s my Mum up in the banner with me in my racing pram.  I remember that hideous kitchen wallpaper – we had it for years, but sadly we only had Granny for another 3 years, so I’m getting to know her better through the Album and feel very lucky to have it

Jo

Check out what everyone else is posting for Sepia Saturday!

A skeleton and knee-grappling (again) – Sepia Saturday 108

Alan found an interesting photo of a levitating hat for this week’s Sepia Saturday and, as Granny always seemed to be wearing a hat in the 1920′s, I had a look in Great Granny’s album to see if I could find a particularly flamboyant or interesting hat.  Sadly, the fashion was for cloche hats, so I didn’t find anything over the top.  Apart from her behaviour at times…

Butter wouldn’t melt….

“Alvi Glen May 1928″ is written on the back of the photo, but I think it should say Alva Glen, which is to the north of the town of Alva, at the foot of the Ochil Hills about 7 miles from Stirling.  It’s now a very popular peaceful  place for outdoor activities but not long ago it was the centre of the Clackmannanshire textile industry.

Granny certainly wasn’t wearing the right gear for going walking, but she always seems to have been smartly dressed no matter what she was up to – climbing trees with her cousins, having a picnic or sitting on the roof of a car.

Don’t they look as though they’re having fun?  I don’t know who her friend is, but Granny’s indulging in her knee-grappling habit again

An interesting story about Alva Glen Quarry which was used as a source of rock and gravel for centuries until the 1920s:  On Christmas Eve in 1913, James Murdoch was working in the quarry when he noticed an area of rock that didn’t look like a natural rock face. Mr Murdoch started removing the stones and, lying there with its knees drawn up, was a human skeleton.

The skeleton was examined by experts who concluded that it was prehistoric – an unusually short person who was not the victim of some prehistoric mining accident, but had been placed in the cavity after death.  The story had a sting in its tail.  At the same spot a few days later, a slab of rock fell on James Murdoch, and killed him. Some saw this as coincidence, but others saw it as retribution for disturbing the dead…

To the best of my knowledge, Granny wasn’t into rock climbing, but if she had been, she’d probably still have dressed up for it.

Now off you go to Sepia Saturday to see what the other Sepians have posted.

Jo

Sepia Saturday 107 – a kleptomanic pet

My tree-climbing Granny is holding her Border Terrier and I’m sure he didn’t steal much – hopefully not, as I once had the misfortune to share a holiday cottage in North Yorkshire with a collie who had stolen and scoffed half a stilton.   Far Side’s well-mannered collie, Chance, wouldn’t do such a thing  The original photo is so tiny that I had to scan and enlarge it to work out what Auntie is holding – my Dad’s pet jackdaw, Jackie.  I’ve posted on Sepia Saturday about him before – click here if you would like to read the original post about naughty Jackie Jackdaw

There will be an interesting (and amusing) variety of other posts on Sepia Saturday, so have a rummage and see what you can find.

Jo

Pipers and the Internet

This time last year, when Images Past was in it’s infancy and I was still fiddling about wondering how to shape the blog, I posted this photo of a mystery piper and appealed for help in identifying him (or not!) as John Hume who was born in Haddington in 1854 to William Hume and Margaret Veitch.  John is an American client’s ancestor, and the client was happy for me to post the photo, just in case it led somewhere.

Nothing much came of it, but I knew as long as the photo was “out there”, there was always a chance someone would find their way to it.

This morning I had a phone conversation with a very excited lady called Heather who is also a descendant of William and Margaret.  When her aunt (the family historian) died she inherited furniture, table cloths, photos and original 19th Century documents, and had spent some time over the holidays going through the papers.  Heather originally thought she was the last surviving member of her family, but has discovered living relatives using the records she inherited.  A quick Google of some family names led her here, and I am terribly excited about putting her in touch with her relatives in the US.

What fun for New Year’s Day – oh, the joy of the internet!  :-)

Jo

PS:  Check out the Duelling Pipers – it’s funny