Looking back: light and heat

As I turned on a light this morning with a flick of a switch I thought about how easy this is to do. As listened to my furnace making noises downstairs I thought about how I keep warm. Electricity for lights and everything else and then natural gas foe heating have always been part of my house life in Ottawa.

In my past it was always electric lights and the house on Princess Street was heated by electricity too. There was no furnace in the basement.

For a long time there was a free source of electricity - a perk from my dad’s work at Ayers and because we were living in a former company house. This changed some time after my dad died and my mom had to sign up with Hydro Quebec. Then my mom was more careful with the lights that she had on and also the heat in unused bedrooms during the winter.

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In 1916 in Trois-Rivieres when my mom was born there was probably electric lights and heating by coal.

In 1885 in Middlesborough England when my mom’s mom was born there was probably candles - maybe gas lights somewhere - and heating by coal.

These are educated guesses only.

I have been watching Lark Rise to Candleford - a lovely series of two small villages in the late 1900s. I can understand why a good friend liked them - a nice feel to the story.

Looking back: news

As I went upstairs to my computer this morning I thought about news and how I know about what is going on in the world.

My first choice is the Internet and the 2nd is the television. I listen to the radio very seldom and a printed newspaper has not existed in my house for a long time. The exception is when my sister visits and I remember my mom liking to read a newspaper too when she came to visit.

So where did my mom  get her news from?

She listened to the radio a lot. She watched television a lot. She read the newspaper as long as I could remember.

The radio was often on in her bedroom. She had it on in the kitchen in the morning.

Going back another generation to my mom’s mom who was born in 1885 in Middlesborough near Durham in England. Both radio and television were a long time away.

I checked for a local newspaper in Durham. There is the Northern Echo and it did exist in 1885.

I expect my mom’s mom was literate and did read the newspaper - she was a kindergarten teacher.

Looking backward - way, way back

I have been part of several 100th anniversary celebrations in the past - SSJD, St. John’s Anglican Church, Trafalgar School for Girls.

Now there are starting to be 125th anniversary celebrations. I much enjoyed last year’s at the convent in Toronto.

Now St. George’s Anglican Church which I attend on Wednesday morning is celebrating 125 years. They are planning a dress up event and a meal with recipes from that era.

When I thought about the date I realized that in 1885 my mom’s mom was born. She died 25 years ago at the ripe old age of 99 - just a few months short of her 100th birthday.

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day

Being an early morning person it is not often that I have stayed up to see the New Year in. I do remember though from my not too distant past being at various gatherings. One of my long time friends often had a gathering at her house. She is Malaysian and the food was always very interesting. Another nice tradition was a church group that met for a meal, some fun time and sharing and then a Eucharist towards midnight.

When I was growing up in Lachute we remembered the English tradition of first footing on New Year’s Day. It was good luck for the year if the first person coming into your house was tall and dark haired. My dad’s dad did this. He was tall but quite bald!

Before we had our own colour television we went to a friend’s who was more up to date. We watched the Rose Bowl Parade on his colour set.

Two men - a former soldier and a soldier

The picture was taken in the side yard of the house where my dad grew up in Lachute. It was also on Princess Street close to where Kathi and I grew up.

I did a bit of research online and in the family archives in my basement. Unfortunately there are fewer records about my dad’s side of the family.

The Gallipoli campaign ended in January 1916. Sometime around that time or earlier my grandfather went home to England. My dad was born in July 1917.

I have a feeling that my grandfather was enrolled with the Lancashire Fusiliers. I found them online quite easily. They have a museum and their headquarters are in Bury where my dad was born.

There are other famous folks in this regiment.
- Duke of Wellington- Battle of Waterloo
- James Wolfe - Battle of the Plains of Abraham
- J.R.R. Tolkien - Lord of the Rings
- Earl Grey - a tea was named after him

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My dad took his dad to a performance of a Military Tattoo in Montreal. I think I found the program from this performance when I was cleaning up the house in Lachute. My grandfather was most impressed by the Tattoo.

I share an interest in military music. My grandfather and my aunt (his second wife) would take an extended holiday in Florida in the winter. My dad would go into the house to check on things and I would often go with him. For entertainment he would put on some of the military marches on the record player - maybe a stereo system?

When my grandfather’s household was being dismantled I got these records. I kept them until I disposed of my stereo a few years ago. Not too long after this I bought some Cds of military music.

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This remembering of World War I veterans was highlighted this year as the last one in England died. There is only one Canadian left and he is living in the U.S.

Hold onto your hat

My grandfather wore a cap like this. He had to be reminded sometimes to take it off when he came inside.

My dad had quite a small sized head. When he picked up someone else’s hat by mistake he knew about it right away - it was way down over his ears!!

Get your hat…the line in a movie I was watching. That dates the movie because men do not wear hats any more only those baseball type caps that are not appealing to me at all.

There was an urban legend that JFK did not wear a hat to his inauguration and therefore the wearing of hats by men took a steady decline. This fun website refutes this popular myth.

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/jfkhat.asp
　

St. James' Anglican Church in Trois-Rivières, Quebec

“Saint James Anglican Church was originally a chapel erected by French Récollet monks in 1703. The chapel served as court and prison after Britain’s occupation of the city in 1760. Anglicans acquired the church in 1823.”

“This is one of four formal "rectories" in the diocese. They were created by letters patent under rules set out in the Quebec Act. The Archbishop holds the title and office of Rector. St James found at 787 des Ursulines, Trois-Rivières, QC, G9A 5B7 is along with Montreal and Quebec the oldest Anglican parishes in the province.”


From various places on the Web which no longer work - December 20, 2009.

http://www.quebec.anglican.org/Front%20page/Parishes%20congregations/Quebec%20Deanery/Trois%20rivieres.htm

When I was checking this last site I relized that the clergy in charge was our former rector from St. John's in Ottawa. He is now the Executive Archdeacon for the Diocese of Quebec.

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I must admit that the only memory I have of being inside the church was when my grandmother died in 1985.

As it turned out, the family met in the rectory and then we went off to have a short graveside service so there was no actual service in the church.
　
　

Elizabeth

So I came to watch today the episode of "All Creatures Great and Small" where the Coronation happens.

If you wanted to - you could find the video on the British Monarchy Web site.
http://www.royal.gov.uk/RoyalEventsandCeremonies/Coronation/Coronation.aspx

Siegfried has rented a television set for the occasion but as the final moment unfolds everyone has departed. He is busy delivering a calf and after that he pulls out a bottle of champagne to toast the new Queen.

It is a new Elizabethan age.

My second name is Elizabeth. She was not yet Queen when I was born.

My mom was Betty - but not Elizabeth.

My grandmother was Elizabeth and her friends called her Lily.

So there we are - 3 generations of Elizabeth.

New foods

I was probably thinking more about food lately as folks start to think about Christmas traditions which often include food.

I think I have in my fridge at the moment various items that my mom let alone my two English grandmothers would not have recognized.

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Couscous in a salad - a nice texture.

Hummus from Costco - to eat with veggies.

Three bean salad in a jar from Loblaws.

Chicken quesadilla - I have been known to order one when out to eat at a restaurant.

Pita bread - for eating with the hummus. It also toasts quite well and then the jam melts in easily.

Jalapeno dip - for eating with veggies or pita bread.

Salsa - excellent with chicken.

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So what would my English grandmothers have said to all these food offerings?

Pass the salsa dear!!