Again the shuffleboard tournament – she lost. She went to the gym. Played a lot of ping pong. Danced only a little. She felt ready for excitement but not very ambitious. She had fun flirting with a deck sailor.
#52Ancestors: Do all Americans “love” Cornish pasties too?
Rest assured this IS an ancestry post, #52ancestors:love, related to my Cornish ancestors! But I begin with a question ….. what is England’s favourite dish or food? Well, depending on how the question is worded, what year the question is asked, and from what regions the answers are drawn, the answers will swing wildly between Chicken Tikka Masaala, Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding, and Fish & Chips. These answers represent the multicultural makeup of our society together with the extent to which English people have travelled the globe. However, some of these surveys can be taken with a pinch of salt! Visit any expat area of towns in Spain for example and you will find the Brits overall frequenting the English Pub sticking like glue to a “full English breakfast”. Secondly, spend a little time in the North of England counties of Northumbria, Cumbria, Yorkshire, Lancashire, plus the South West…
View original post 668 more words
A Postcard Found
A postcard I purchased quite a few years ago at one of the Dublin City Bookfairs. I thought the woman resembled my mother. It disappeared for years, but today it unexpectedly reappeared. Hooray. I still think the presumably English woman resembles my mother.
In this photo taken in Lincolnshire in 1934, the woman in the center is my mother (but before she married and gave birth to me)
Day 7 – My Mother’s European Trip
A better day – some sunshine. She was busy getting participants for various tournaments and talking with various people, including crew members. She played, and won, 2 rounds of the shuffleboard tournament. After Libby went to bed she had a “wild” time with one of the crew. ( Hmm – is this my mother at age 22?)
Mrs Dalloway
Mrs Dalloway, written by Virginia Woolf in the early 1920’s. I can’t help but compass this cover with the photo of my mother Dorothy and her sister Elizabeth (Libby). The sisters were traveling in England and Scotland in 1934.
Trip to Europe -Ex Boston – Day 6 – Thursday June 14th 1934
Katerina did not want me to write this entry earlier today
then after feeding the cat I could proceed
They were still experiencing rough seas and strong winds on board the Laconia. Aunt Libby slept and my mother continued her social activities. She met a lot of people by getting them signed up for pingpong tournaments. And she danced a lot by cutting in. She descended to 3rd class to see a fancy dress dance. “Not so nice down there, but a very gay friendly spirit.”
My Mother’s Trip to Europe – Day 5 -1934
Still at sea
It’s windy and wet. The sea is rough. But she has breakfast as usual. And she went to the gym again. She had a big dinner and danced with the steward, “the best dancer.”
My Mother’s Trip to Europe – 1934 – Day 3
Day 3 = On Board the “Laconia”
The Laconia
Again she played shuffleboard. And she exercised in the gym. And she talked with people, including one of the crew who told her about movies in Cuba.
Day 2 – My Mother’s Trip to Europe 1934
At Sea Sunday June 10
They are at sea. It’s slightly rough. They played ping pong and shuffleboard and talked with various people. Some fog.
Day 1 of European Trip
June 9 Saturday Boston (1934)
This is the first entry in my mother’s diary of her trip. The day starts out with quite ordinary things. She finished her packing after lunch. Someone named George came at 6 p.m. and took her to Old France. She danced, had a cocktail, and after a little trouble (unspecified) they got to the boat there in Boston at 8:10. She lists the people who came to see them off. And then she writes “After waving + waving sailed about ten”. Then she notes the various gifts from friends, including roses from George. She and Aunt Libby watched the lights of Boston as they sailed away.
There is another curious item about this entry in the diary. She mentions candy from Aunt Lena. Lena is one of her father’s half sisters. There is a family mystery about my grandfather’s half siblings. This stirs me to dig a bit further to try to solve it.
