Alt.Mustardland

Another month. I've just received the first copy of 6 of "Who do you think you are". It was a good deal, but I didn't expect to get any more out of it than I get from the fortnightly Lost Cousins newsletter. But it does ave plenty.

I'm expecting to see my gardener this afternoon, with news of his plans for his own plant nursery.

Another Month... Soon be Christmas - When do we put the Clocks back.
I'm not involved with "who do you think you are", but I did get involved in another outfit of Relatives Searching, some of which I persued with a County group who cammandeered the Library meeting place (before Lockdown). They did give me a few follow up details (but merely confirming things that I was fairly certain of). I am trying to confirm that My Mothers Brothers, who bought their Father - (my Grandad) a house in what was then "Countryside", a few miles from wher I Live, is/is not, a similar name to them (Harry and Wally) were linked to a business herabouts.

Been a lot of Thunder herabouts .... but no rain ... until I started to type this when it is suddenly rained heavily, so I doubt if any Gardners will be gardening this evening. I cannot see as far as The Church-on-the-Hill - my Grandads permanent location through, the rain and cloud.

My birdsong clock is currently an hour slow. It's high on the wall. It can wait until the last Sunday in October, when it will be right again.

My daughter's Ma in law was related to an Essex canning factory family. She was the youngest of a large family. I'm interested in finding out how people lived. Why my great aunt was living apart from her husband in 1901 with her daughters, but she left the boys with her husband. How long had she been visiting this widower? Was the husband a wife beater?

My gardener is distracted by starting up his nursery, and let's hope it goes well. With a wild garden, it can function well with irregular visits from the wild gardener, tamed partially this afternoon with a haircut.

Don't know of a Canning Factory, Here in Essex. Except of Course Britvic (aka, British Vitamin Co) but that was not until the 1940's When Orange Juice was much in favour for the undernourished, especially infants, or Maybe one of the Fishing/shellfish Industries... but the Roman factory (Maldon Sea Salt) doesn't use cans.

Was thinking about putting my Ancestors down in Writing, but no idea what to do with it?
Mum's Dad was a Yorkshireman Who walked to London for work, But Being a Yorkshireman, the Powers-that-be thought that He wouls work with Coal - The Gas, Light, and Coke company coking works where the "Coasters" delivered Coal to Becton. He lived in Bricklasyers Arms - where all the National Industries housed their staff around Waterloo's Station Railway works - His Wife was a Ladies Maid...
Dad's family is far less tracable - His Father Died "somewhere in Europe" in 1914: Wonder How?

A Gardner ...?? Yes,m I need a Gardener.

Have you got a garden? Fortunately mine arrived to see a wilderness and to his credit never regarded taming it to flat lawns and disciplined borders. We looked out on a lovely view of fields and woods. We talked about making something scented, no lawns and recovering the place that used to have two little rotten sheds already demolished. He dug into that and found some paving stones. So he relaid the existing patio and added another 12" depth to the central part. The place they came from received lots of plants including ferns. These have flourished.

Not very hungry tonight so just had spinach, It was very tasty.

Hello..
Yes, I do have a Garden ... But it is fenced on three sides (the fourth side being my house) it is a little "Confined". So I want the Highest Hedges on either side - The far end of the garden is a "Terraced Fence" (No I've never heard of such a thing either) ... imagine a pair of parallel Timber fences - Boarded over with a roof**. Half has a door for one end (Side?) to form a shed - The remaining half belongs to a house in another terrace of houses.
There are some Roses onboard of the hedge/trees on either side, Lawn in the Middlewith a Flagstone path from House Garden Door to Shed. Patio in front of House (Patio window/door).
** The Terraced Sheds extend the whole length of the House of Houses and ditto in the Facing terrace in the Next Courtyard.
In a Diabolical state and needs a good talking to.

OK, another oddity. No Upstares windows on this side of the house so one cannot look down onto the garden (You cannot see into Neighbours Gardens), so the Bedrooms all face the front of the house into the courtyard. The Neighbours on the other side of the courtyard have Sun in the FRONT of the house - One particular outfit set up their Deckchairs in front??

A Swedish design I believe - No road, only courtyads, so no Front Gardens.

It sounds lovely. I expect the people who bring their deckchairs on to the courtyard only get sun there, but you get sun in your garden. You could work out the compass points for your garden, and work out which bits don't get any or much sun. You could put ferns there, unleash clematis to rampage through the roses and bury lots of bulbs in the autumn. You could get a few pots for the courtyard ( big heavy ones, or concrete them in) and have them full of plants you like.

I have cyclamen coming up through the grass on my front 'lawn' and lots of spring flowers. The Witch Hazel leaves turn red in autumn before they fall off.

You are right.. I should sort Compass point from a maP - my approximation is judging from the east-west direction of the railway line - about 400 yds from here, put not visible from the House. The Original London, Tilbury and Southend Route was built as a Connection to The St Pancras line from the Midlands Businessmen to get their goods to The London Docks. The route near here was a Later addition, by-passing the Docks and Military (When Locos could climb a steeper incline) as a faster link for Southend dwellers to work in London, so it is a little bit more curvacious.m Definately needs a Study...

I must find those maps - A Emergency Planning Manager, dumped some Maps outside my office when they were out of date ... 56 inches to the mile OS. They don't cover much area - but the detail is superb.

I have established that althogh my house is an "L" shape, if I put my back to (one of) my fromt wall of the "L", I would be facing South - The other wall of my house front is exactly parallel to The Meridian (but about 15 miles Down-Thames from it at Greenwich) The Railway (and The Thames) are meandering so not exactly East to West parallel.
I'm trying to find where, and what time, I must look to find Comet Neowise.

All the time in the North sky below the Plough, right of Capella and left of Arcturus.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/53331739

Thanks, but I think I#m going to find somewhere with Less Light Polution. The only lightless place within Walking distance is near/under/downhill from the Summer Tree foiage ... and No Midnight public transport.

It didn't rain yesterday. St Swithin's day is quite ticklish and I think it stayed true to the prophecy last year or the year before, with 40 day's rain. After he was made a saint, the Church thought they should dig him up from the churchyard and give him a grand grave in the Cathedral. Every time they tried, down came the rain until they decided to leave him in peace https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swithun I like to post what I know then check afterwards, I get more fun out of it that way.

Up on Bossington Hill, there is hardly any light pollution and a walk at moonrise is magical. But dark of the moon gives more dark for stars.

Ah... That was Winchester, not here in Sunny Essex. Its just wet all year.
Winchester rings a bell. One of my jobs was in "every-little-helps, stack-it-high-flog-it cheep" There was a lady in the Clothing dept (She was 85, about 15 years ago" Who had been a "Ladies Maid" in Winchester, and living (with her colleagues) an an eyrie in a "big House" - so at Night they would see the "Dog-Fights" over Southampton Docks.

Strange how unepectedly some obscure conversation sers a spark in ones mind.

Just Googlied Bossington Hill. I bet some clown wants a street light put up there, and a few miles of three-core-cable. ... but yes, There are better view from the countryside. When I "did" Holidays in The Peak District (an old and beautiful House in Edale). ... Remembered partly because of playing Croquet in late evening on the Lawn - but also because of Mine-Host setting up his Telescope, Late Evening, to study the moons of Jupiter. There are just too many arterial roads (and Dartford Bridge, and the Thames/Thameside) around here to leave some darkness.

Although I was brought up in the country, I have seen better dark here than anywhere. There are still morons who insist on shining bright lights over everything, but mostly one can get a good view when the sky is clear. I remember that in Birmingham, although there were horrible lights on the main road, coming round the corner into my avenue, I could still get a good look at the stars. Often, you could see the full moon over the East end at the road junction, and one morning as I nipped out in my nightie to but the bins out I saw above the skip on next door's drive, the setting moon. I couldn't post the image.

Ah... In this Estate, the Lighting through the Courtyards has been replaced by "Economy" Lighting - Far too bright for my Liking, but at least the Light is aimed Downwards rather than into the Sky.

You remind me of my mispent time working in Local Gov. At Certain times of Year there is Low Sunlight shining down The London Road to our Office in Ilford (East London). My Colleague (an Amatuer Painter, Poet, Short Story Writer - 30 min on The BBC Home Service; Stories in the London Evening News - ,something of a Whit, and Photographer). was Waxing Lyrical of How a photo would be framed ... ending with "But of course, if you have a camera handy, you would never get a photo like that?" ... The anomoly is, that my only current need of that office is that the Lady in charge of Pension payments is in My old Desk??? So from time to time I have to tell her to let the whole management "Wash over You", and study the view.

Yes, I have some wonderful pictures in my head. One day in the market I saw a young man dressed all in cream, with a hat to match. He was coffee coloured and the sun shone down on him through a skylight in the Birmingham meat market. He wasn't very tall, but was all in proportion and was standing in a perfectly relaxed position like a Braque painting. I didn't have a camera but I've never forgotten. Maybe he was a model, or a pimp. I also saw in Selly Oak Park, a green woodpecker in a tree on the underside of a branch. No camera, but I'm pretty sure he was laughing at me,

We've had heavy rain today and the 2nd batch of oriental lilies are flowering. I removed a couple of red lily beetles but I don't like to squish them so I suppose they'll be back.

Hi Rwth.
'fraid not going well today - the least of which is that I couldn't find my phone. Now found it, Loaded monet. now charging.. But A lot to sort in the a.m. Unfortunately I was unable to contact my friend who can type - (more than one finger and both hands).

Photo's... I inherited some photy's. One of my parents wedding - Dad in RAF uniform, but out here in Sunny Essex, at Mum's Dad's House. I don't like to think that the No 100 bus stops on the site where it was...

I've been to do the shopping on the last day of the month. I had to go and draw cash for the man delivering wood chip mulch. I am irritated because as a tax accountant I am fully aware that it's a tax dodge on his part. I've often thought I'd be better served if I refused to pay cash for anything.

My gardener is distributing it around the garden. It casts the plants into relief.

Hi?
Should we be on a New Month..
I'm too tired to sort it... I'll try to catch up tomorrow.....