ANCESTORS

Quick dash down to the village this afternoon for shopping and then down again this evening for slimming group.  Lost ½ pound.  Not much but still a loss.

My daughter Becky went for a job interview last week and she told me that it had gone badly.  However this morning she found out she had got the job.  Well done Becky.

Today's Mono Monday challenge is ANCESTORS.  I decided to blip this photo of my maternal grandparents.  Jessie and Stanley Bracey.

Stanley was born in 1899 in Harpenden in Hertfordshire.  His father Arthur was a coal dealer and greengrocer. At some stage Stanley moved North to South Shields. 

Jessie. Born in 1900. Her father Joseph Brown died in 1907 aged 34 and her mother Jessie died in 1911 aged 36. So as orphans my Grandma Jessie aged 11 and her 7 year old sister Lily  had to go into a Childrens Home.  They went to Cleadon Cottage Homes which provided accommodation for pauper children in family groups of 15 - 20 children. Each group looked after by a house mother or father.  There were boys cottages and girls cottages. In my  extra photo you can see the home as it was in 1910. At least the two girls would have been together.  Must have been very traumatic to lose both parents in such a short time and at such a young age.

Jessie and Stanley married in South Shields in 1921.  They had 7 children.  However the youngest died when he was 3 years old.

When I was little my grandparents  lived quite near me.  Jessie used to be caretaker at the local church and I remember accompanying her when I was 3 or 4 years old when she went to stoke the boiler .  She was a sight for sore eyes shoveling coal as she she was a short lady. But tough.

I remember one occasion when My Dad, Mam, brother and me were going out for the day in our car. The car was an old banger and one of the back doors didn't close properly.  We weren't far from home when we turned a sharp corner at the bottom of a hill, the door flew open and I fell out.  No seatbelts in those days.  I was picked up off the road and put back into the car and taken to hospital my Grandma's house.  She must have sorted me out OK as I never did go to hospital.

When I was aged 5 we moved to Whickham and my Grandma and Grandad moved at the same time - to live next door to us.  It was great having them so close - and at that time 3 of my Aunts and an Uncle also lived next door. ( in a 3 bed semi - it must have been a squash ).

When I was little my Mam's health was poor and she was often in hospital.  During these times Grandma Jessie took care of me and my brothers.  She made our breakfast every morning before we went to school - it was always a big fried breakfast - swimming in lard.  She would have our tea ready when we got home from school and generally looked after us wonderfully.

Grandad Stanley was a " worrywort".  He saw danger in everything. As children living next door to him we were for ever being told things weren't safe or not to do something.  No idea why he was so over- cautious but we just got used to it.  Out of his sight we got up to the usual childhood scrapes - climbing trees, sledging down steep hills etc.

Jessie and Stanley were like chalk and cheese with completely different personalities but they were a good fit for each other and loved each other dearly.

Grandad Stanley died in 1969 - heart attack ( all the lard must have been a factor )

Grandma Jessie died in 1979 - breast cancer.

The photo of them in my blip shot was taken in Blackpool - a favourite holiday destination of theirs.  I love Grandad's holiday attire - he was rather over - dressed wasn't he.

Thanks again to MrsLinda for hosting the Mono Monday challenge.  


Steps today - 9,905