My 100th Blip

An exciting day because this is my 100th Blip! I have in fact, posted 102 blips, but apparently, back blips don't count - good job I checked! I dedicate this blip to my friend, Louise's, grandmother Gwen, who is 100 years old on Sunday!

Psalm 100 or in Roman numerals Psalm C - is from an old Family Bible, which was given to my Grandfather and Grandmother in 1933 by my Grandmother's father. Although I have been researching my family history for sometime, I cannot find out anything about my Great Grandfather, George Rout, despite making extensive enquiries.

However, an inscription inside the Bible, written in Copperplate, dates back to 1850 - 163 years ago so how my Great Grandfather acquired it, I don't know - but he was a General Dealer, more commonly known as a Rag & Bone Man, in London in the late 1800s, I understand, so perhaps someone was throwing it away and it ended up on his cart. It is quite tattered and the front cover is falling off, but this could have happened at any time!

After the Bible was given to my Grandfather, he wrote all the family names in there - and others carried on doing this after his death. Looking through them brought back many happy memories, especially as quite a few of those mentioned have also died.

The other photograph in this 100th Blip collage is of me and my husband, John, who has been very supportive and is always interested in my blips - in fact, it has become part of our lives now and he is getting quite used to me talking to complete strangers!

To close, thought it would be good to listen to Psalm 100 sung to the tune, Old One Hundredth. This version was sung at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, with harmonisation and arrangement by the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, who was born only 15 miles from where I live. He composed the music for the hymn "Come Down, O Love Divine" and the tune is actually named after his birthplace, Down Ampney.

I particularly like of two pieces of his - Fantasia on a Theme By Thomas Tallis and Fantasia on Greensleeves - and I remember being really moved by his Sinfonia Antartica when I heard it many years ago in our School Music Club.

Ralph Vaughan Williams was born on 12 October 1872 in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, where his father, the Reverend Arthur Vaughan Williams (1834-1875) was vicar. The surname Vaughan Williams is an unhyphenated double-barrelled name of Welsh origin. Following his father's death in 1875, he was taken by his mother, Margaret Susan (née Wedgwood), the great-granddaughter of the potter, Josiah Wedgwood, to live with her family at Leith Hill Place, a Wedgwood family home in the Surrey Hills. The composer was therefore a great-great grandson of Josiah Wedgwood. He was also related to the Darwins, Charles Darwin being a great-uncle. Though born into the privileged intellectual upper middle class, Vaughan Williams never took it for granted and worked all his life for the democratic and egalitarian ideals in which he believed.

You can find much more information about him

Thank you to all my blip friends who have supported me over the last 100 days - and have encouraged me with their comments. Have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend.