Saturday 21 September 2013

Scary Maths!

I was pretty rubbish at maths in school!  I liked arithmetic, or "sums" as we called it, but I could never get my head around complicated calculus, trigonometry, formulae and such.

 
I found this case of old mathematical/drawing instruments - more like instruments of torture to me!  Don't they look scary?  I wouldn't have a clue what they are for.

 
Funnily enough my husband and sons are fabulous at maths/physics etc.

 
This book was my husbands when he was at college - its a foreign language to me.

 
Were you good at maths?

 
Love, Liz

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Open Doors!

Had a fabulous weekend - it was Doors Open Day weekend here in Greenock.

 
There were so many interesting venues to choose from.  On Saturday I visited the Wellpark Mid Kirk church in Greenock which I had been in before, but hadn't really taken the time to investigate.  The stained glass windows were absolutely amazing!  Its a great chance to take lots of photos and act like a tourist in your own town!

 
On Sunday I was part of a Greenock Cemetery walk - I got the opportunity to talk about some of the research work I had done on various interesting graves - including Walter Washington Buchanan, George Washington's godson who I've blogged about before.  There are some very interesting people buried in Greenock Cemetery!

 
I really didn't think that the walk would go ahead as the weather was dreadful here on Sunday, but we went anyway, and I think those who came along enjoyed it!  So, that's why I've not been blogging quite so regularly, been so busy doing research, which I love!

 
Might have a bit more time for blogging now.

 
Love, Liz

Wednesday 11 September 2013

Yummy!

It is a miserable, rainy day here in Greenock and there was nothing in the cupboards I fancied for lunch.  What's a girl to do?

 
Make some scones, of course!

You can see how unevenly my oven cooks things!
Took five minutes to make and then some time in the oven.  Didn't bother with a poncy cutter - just made a rough circle with the dough and cut out wedges!

 
A hot cuppa and scone (actually that's my second one!)straight from the oven with the butter melting - what could be nicer on such a day.

 
Love, Liz

Tuesday 10 September 2013

What Would Queen Victoria Have Said?

I found this little interesting snippet in the book "1919-1938 These Tremendous Years".

 
Victoria (Viktoria) of Prussia (born 1866) was the daughter of the German Emperor Frederick III and his wife, Victoria, Princess Royal, eldest of Queen Victoria's daughters.  In 1890 Viktoria married Prince Adolph of Schaumburg-Lippe - they did not have any children and he died in 1916. 

However, In 1936 she met and married Alexander Zoubkoff a dish-washer and 34 years younger than her.  You can imagine the scandal this produced!  Within two years she had to sell off all her belongings to pay their debts and was living in a boarding house in Bonn.  He was never at home and had been in trouble with the police.  Victoria began divorce proceedings, but died of pneumonia before they were finalised.

 
Zoubkoff was not permitted to live in Germany (where he had been in trouble with the police) or several other European countries and had various occupations - circus horse-back rider, waiter, luggage porter before his death in London in January 1936.

 
Don't think Queen Victoria would have been amused!

Love, Liz

Sunday 8 September 2013

Tablecloth With A Tale To Tell

I have a confession to make, I've not been in a charity shop for over a month!  This summer has just passed in a flash!  Where did August go?


I had totally forgotten about this pretty embroidered tablecloth which I found in July.  (I will admit that it had been languishing at the bottom of the ironing pile for that time - shocking!!!!!)




It is huge - 50x50 inches and the embroidery is as bright as the day it was sewn.  Intriguingly, there's a single initial in just one corner.  How strange is that?


I've written a wee piece about why that might be.
 
Winnie finished the last stitch of her initial on the tablecloth and decided she had had enough for one evening.  She had nearly completed it anyway - just Bert's initial to add in the opposite corner, she'd do that tomorrow.  She tried not to think of what he would be doing at that moment - on his last home leave he wouldn't say much about the war, just wanted to know how the arrangements for their wedding were coming along.  That was her Bert - always more interested in others than himself.
She was so looking forward to their wedding day in just three months time.  Her bottom drawer was already full to overflowing with all the bits and pieces they would be needing to set up home together.  Before putting the cloth away, she looked again at the three empty corners and blushed to think that perhaps, one day, she and Bert might have a little family whose initials would fill those other corners, perhaps even  the edges too.  Carefully she wrapped the cloth in tissue and placed it in her sewing box.
 
The telegram arrived the next day.


Love, Liz