Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

SoCalLisa

my middle son did his third year of medical school in

Gillingham, Kent

how lucky was he?

pj12

Did you get to go visit him while he was there? Nice to have a son who is a doctor. Does he live near you now?

Pam 

Isabella4

Re: Downton Abbey.

Years and years ago , more years than I care to remember, before I could go to Agricultural College I had to find a years employment on a farm, to do a years practical experience, on somewhere other than the family farm. I was lucky, and found a placement at a country estate not dissimilar to Downton, and still run in the very old fashioned way. It was a massive place, with a house so like the house in Downton, only slightly smaller.....AND I actually got a small bedroom right in this house, in the attic...right where the servants from years ago had lived. It was magic to me, and has given me a life long love of these big English country houses and estates. After college I went back for 2 more years, and was just living a dream !! The house and estate was called Nun Appleton Estate, near York UK. There is very little about this place on the net, sometimes an old picture of the house will come up....it has been sold, and seems to be falling into disrepair from what I hear. 

It was absolutely steeped in history, and had many, many ledgends. Was once a nunnery, where there was a very romantic elopement from. The nuns were looking after an important young woman, and someone came in the dead of night, carried her off, and married her that night, in the nearby church. Sir Oliver Cromwell, and Sir Thomas Fairfax both lived there over the years at some point, also Andrew Marvell, the poet.,but, there just isn't much to be found anywhere about the place. I haven't been back now for 25 years, I now and then have a look at it on Google Earth.

Isabella.   

pj12

Isabella,

You are amazing. Does your family know this part of your history? What a dull and ordinary life I have lived. Oh, I don't mean that in a bad way. I kind of like dull and ordinary. It suits me. But I can appreciate those of you who have been more adventurous.

Pam 

Alyson

Kent is beautiful, had goods friens living there and visited several times. It is one part of England we know very well.

Evidently Downton Abbey was edited for US audiences - I have been reading about it and the differences in the ITV and the PBS series. If we don't get it soon I will get the DVDs.

Had a lovely morning. Spent an hour cuddling the week old son of young friends; Zachary, after being feed,  just snuggled into my shoulder and slept. Can't wait until our new baby arrives in 6 weeks.GD is very excited about the fact she is going to be a big sister soon.

Must go and get some work done aound here.

SoCalLisa

Hundred of years ago some of my family lived here

and another part lived here..

and the last one had the neatest coat of arms

SoCalLisa

The first one was called Down Apney whatever that means...wonder what Down means

Alyson

Here are a couple of family houses, we have visited both.

The first is Blair Athol Castle where my Great Great Grandmother came from and the second is all that is left of " The Hollows" where another line of the family lived.  We know quite a lot about the family and where they came from. I love the old buildings in the UK and the stories that go with them. I sure if you did some research Pam you would find some great stories but you have to be prepared to accept the good with the bad, there are wonderful tales and very sad ones as well.

I am procrastinating as I should be writing the textbook I am meant to be doing but have little inspiration today.

Lisa, Down means rolling land usually without trees, its a very common part of place names.

SoCalLisa

I am liking that white castle, very nice and it looks

like  it is still well kept up...

Alyson

It's a working building, still in family hands but areas are open to the public. It was really altered during the 1800s when its turrets etc were restored - they had be removed in the early 1700s to make it more fashionable.

BarbaraA

Lovely! That is my next cruise: the British Isles.

Anonymous

OK Barb, Miss smarty pants-yeh the Van Go guy with the sunflowers!! WOW, you guys have pix of family houses that are that old-OK I am going to have to dig deep in the files to get to our family castle. I would give my eyeteeth to have a house like Lisa's family comes from!!!! And hey, my ancestor's castle is nothing to sneeze at-huge fortress guarding the Isle of Butte in Scotland. And Barb if you are going to the Brit isle's...you are taking me along. I always wanted to do something unique like ride a horse around Scotland-or get one of those gypsy carts that horses pull and travel the UK that way!! I want to go looking for "Nessie." Ok, going to go find my castle as I won't be outdone!!! Love ya all-sweet dreams, SV

QCA

What gorgeous "ancestral" homes!  Nobody in my family has ever done any extensive research to my knowledge, probably for fear of what they might find!  I do know that one of my father's great uncles was known as "the patriarch of Stanly County", because he had 32 children.  Took him 3 wives to do it, though.

SV, that show with Mrs. Bucket, Bouquet as Hyacinth pronounces it, you were trying to think of is Keeping Up Appearances.   I love that show!  Comes on here every Saturday night, just before Waiting for God.

Kathy

SoCalLisa

Well the people who live in those houses never heard of me...our family left in the 1600s

Alyson

Those at Blair castle don't want to hear about us, (well that was many years ago, they are actually quite interested these days). My gg grandfather was a gardener there and my gg grandmother was Grandaughter of the Duke of the time. Her leaving meant that certain money was tied up for a long time and in the end the government benefitted from it. They came to NZ in 1860. Other ancestors were very ordinary people. Most people can find aristocratic roots, one just has to look but it is the others that are usually the most interesting especially their reasons for travelling 12,000 miles in tiny wooden sailing ships on journeys that took up to 4 months. I have lots of stories about their lives in the early days of NZ which I am trying to get written.

How are you all coping with the weather, sounds like an incredible snow storm. Pictures please.

Anonymous

Alyson,   Do you know of some place called Mt. Mongenuey(am sure I am spelling this wrong) in New Zeland....I had a patient who came from there yesterday and he said he came from this small beach town there with the above name when I asked him, but I am sure I spelled it wrong.  I believe he said small town of about 70,000 or maybe it was 700,000, but he had the most charming unusual accent I have ever heard...I know some people from Australia and also know some from S.Africa who speak the "KIng's English", but I had never heard this accent.  He said Chicago...Chi Kah go..he had been working there before coming to Cincinnati.  Anyway, such a nice guy and cute and really nice and I have been wracking my brain for someone to fix him up with, but he's only 32 and my older niece is a deadbeat plus she's in Florida now.  I told him I had seen some pics and his country was lovely.  He said he has seen 33 states so far and doesn't feel the need to see them all, but still wants to go to OR. and NM.  The thing I like best about my job is that I am always meeting new people from all over the place.

Love the estate pics and manor houses or castles or whatever....our great great grandfather's house is still standing in Westheim Germany, but it's just a simple little house...the burgermeister lives there now and we visited it and they served us drinks and tea in the backyard.  I have always been amazed at how gracious they are to Americans visiting in foreign countries....take you right into their home and bring out out the coffee. 

I started taking pics of different architecture in the Cincinnati area, but then the snow came back and I have been busy and sort of got sidetracked.  I don't think this guy was too impressed with Cincinnati, now ChiKAHgo he liked. 

Hope to make it to Portsmouth this weekend before we get a supposedly big snow tomorrow afternoon...am going to leave as soon as I get off work tomorrow.  Will take my little sidekick, Harley along.

BarbaraA

Saying prayers for all the folks in Queensland.

chrissyb

I'm sure they will appreciate them Barb, so I'll say thanks.  Even though the stormhas passed the communities on the coast, it is still heading inland and probable won't be downgraded to a rain depression until tomorrow and boy has the damn thing bought some rain!!!  We, in South Australia's mid north and above have already recieved our first soaking from the moisture that it has pulled with it meeting a cold front from the south.  It is due to dump a whole heap of water on an area that receives very little or no rain.  Give it a couple of months and I wish I could travell north to take some pics as it will bloom like has not been seen for many a year.  With the down side of things, there is always and up.......thank goodness!

SoCalLisa

 marybe, I had some relatives from Westheim also..small world

Alyson

Mary the name will be Mt Maunganui and yes it's a beach town just near to where Rae lives. I don't think the population would be that high but it would get to that over the summer with all the visitors. Rae will know.

Yes we have a different accent from Australians and South Africans but it varies throughout the country just as it does in the States.

Must go and get breakfast as DD1 is arriving home from Canada this morning.

SoCalLisa

Alyson, I have a friend who lives near Christ Church and every year

she sends me a New Zealand Calendar..with the most beautiful

pictures. She is a New Zealander and her husband is retired us navy.

They lived here in San Diego..

SoCalLisa

A friend of mine gave me this little fellow

pj12

The castle-homes are fabulous and what a treasure to have a family connection to one of them. That's a wonderful story, Alyson, about your GG grandparents. Sounds like a true love story and how brave of them to set off to the other side of the world to make a life together! And how that twist of fate formed your life in New Zealand. Or is it providence? Sso often genealogy is just a bunch of names and dates but to know  something about the people is wonderful.

DH did his mother's side of the family years ago and was shocked to learn women lied about their ages. He would trace them through the censuses every ten years. So "Catherine" would be 10 years old in 1830, 20 years old in 1840, 28 years old in 1850 and 35 years old in 1860.  I don't think he had any ancestors who could top yours, QCA, for numbers of children but many of the men had "first" families, then "second" families when the first wife died after 12 children. Wow, things are a bit better now!

Marybe and SoCalLisa.... you are probably fourth cousins, thrice removed! It truly is a small world. And we really are all related. 

Pam 

Isabella4

I need the patience of Job tonight.....my computer is well on the blink...it has crashed 13 times in one and a half hours. like a fool I just go and reconnect, hoping each time it will stay with me.

We are in the middle of a vicious storm, lashing wind and rain. My phone line runs for nearly three quarters of a mile right thru' the middle of an overgrown hedge/ line of trees, so I presume the line is swinging among the trees.

No use staying here as I am sure to be knocked off very soon, early bed with a new audio book for me.

Isabella.

Elisimo

Wow what wonderful pictures of the castles and estates.  Most of my family homes were North American Teepees.  At least up until the goverment had them all relocated to the reservations. And then marched across the country to another reservation.  And we were one of the peaceful tribes.  Some of them escapce from the reservation to go to colleges and married outside of the tribe, but noone has ever done any research on any of those people.  My great grandfather was one of the first ones to marry outside of the tribe and that started the infusion of "foreign" blood lines into my family.  I think at last count I was American Indian, French, English, Scottish, German and Jewish.  Who knows I may be the original Heinz 57 variety of American.

Off to bed before my DH falls asleep and leaves me in the dark to find my way around to the bathroom and then to bed.  Night all and hope everyone has a restful evening.

Joy and blessings, Amy Jo 

SoCalLisa

another bird

SoCalLisa

one more

SoCalLisa

ok just had to put in  a flower

Anonymous

OMG-AmyJo-you have me just cracking up-Tee=Pees are awesome.Spent the summer with a Park Ranger in one (a true original TP) and if I was younger-I'd go for it. Oh, the memories!!  Cabela's has a great looking T-P package!!! And yeh, the great 'secret in our southern blue blood family is that Uncle Frank "did not do it." Lots of Cherokee where I grew up. And Isabella, the very defination of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.:o>}}}}}} Lisa, gorgeous pix as always!! Very tired tonight and I still have the 'bug' though which bug I have is a mystery. Trying to stay down on the couch, take my Auntie B's..... but I feel so guilty doing nothing!! ERRGH-I just got the application for the cottage and I am scart to fill it out-my credit past is in the toilet-oh well, I have to do the honesty part and leave the rest to HP!! I got the full estimate to move in and it is near $2,000 in deposits-OUCH!! Ok, i need to go cuddle up under the covers. I hope all is well with everyone-or at least a light at the end of the tunnel is appearing. I have been watching American idol for the first time-only to see "omg brain fart" he wears more make-up than me and man he pops out beautiful girls-well he contributes anyway-oh oh, I think it's Steve Tyler??? Good grief no excuse except that my night meds are kicking in and I am about to go brainless and melt into a puddle!! Love you all, SV

mcbird

Lisa, love the bird pics.  I am a bird brain and I miss my birds soooo much I can't hardly stand it.