(Visit of Sylvia, Lois' cousin from Melbourne, and Rod,
Sylvia's new partner)
On Tuesday, September 18th, Lois and I go for a
walk around the village with Sylvia and Rod, and drink a beer or three in the
backyard of The Plough, one of the village's 3 pubs. Lois and I are quite sure
that the two are very much enjoying themselves during the walk, but for the first
time we notice Rod's tendency not to smile in photos or to not look at the
camera - yikes, he "goes his own way", no doubt about that!
Wednesday, September 19th, we visit the Black
Country Museum in Dudley and take a boat trip on the canal.
In the old days, the canal boats used to be drawn by
horses, but this was not possible when the boats came to tunnels, so the
boatmen used to push their legs against the tunnel walls to propel the boats
through the tunnels. On our boat trip, the museum guide asked for two volunteers to
demonstrate that it was possible to move the boat forward in this way. Most of
the passengers were retirees like us, but fortunately there was also a young man
and his girlfriend willing to give it a shot - and they were rewarded with
"legging" certificates.
Friday, September 21, we visit Sudeley Castle in the morning, and in the afternoon, Lois, Sylvia, Lois' cousin from Melbourne and
Rod, Sylvia's new partner, also from Melbourne, do some genealogical research
with a surprising result: all three of them are related - surprising because
Sylvia met Rod "randomly" on a dating site in Melbourne, Australia.
They are all three descendants of Samuel Bowell
(1761-1845), born in Taston, Oxfordshire, and his wife, Elizabeth.
Samuel had a
son Thomas (1792-1858) who married twice: Sylvia and Lois are descendants of
Thomas's first wife, Hannah, and Rod is a descendant of Thomas's second wife,
Esther. Good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!
Thomas Bowell had two professions: coal dealer and also
dairyman as a part-time job - I suppose you had to earn money wherever you
could - my god, what a life it was in those days! I just hope he washed his
hands when he switched between one profession and the other - my god,
what madness!
Lois in front of Sudeley Castle, which we
visit with Sylvia and Rod
Genealogical research with a
surprising result: Rod, whom Sylvia
met on the internet in Melbourne,
Australia, is actually related to both Sylvia and Lois
Saturday, September 22, Brian and Ruth visit us
and stay overnight with us. Brian is Lois' cousin in Bournemouth: further
genealogical discussions follow.
Sunday, September 23rd, I drive Lois, Sylvia and Rod over
to Broadway, a beautiful town located 15 miles north of Cheltenham, and we look
around the town.
I drop them off in front of the town's railway station
and drive home. Sylvia and Rod want to travel on the old railway line between
Broadway and Cheltenham, which has been revived by steam train fanatics.
Later I pick them up at the local railway station next to
the Cheltenham Racecourse.
Monday, September 24, I drive Lois, Sylvia and Rod
over to the city of Worcester to visit the Royal Worcester porcelain museum.
Tuesday, September 25, Sylvia and Rod have to
leave. They are planning to spend 5 nights at a hotel in Weston-super-mare, a
seaside town located a little south-west of the city of Bristol. We drop them off
at Cheltenham railway station and say goodbye.
All in all, an enjoyable visit, but a bit difficult for
me: Lois and I live a very quiet and peaceful life here and I'm simply no
longer used to experiencing the presence of guests in our house, and the
resulting conversations and chit-chat from morning to night - my god, I'm such
a misery, no doubt about that. And I feel very tired after the visit is over. I need a vacation !!!!!
Danish
translation
(Besøg af
Sylvia, Lois’ kusine fra Melbourne, og Rod, Sylvias nye partner)
Tirsdag den
18. september går Lois og jeg en tur omkring i landsbyen sammen med Sylvia og
Rod, og drikker en øl eller tre i baghaven af The Plough, en af landsbyens 3
pubber. Lois og jeg er helt sikre på, at de hygger sig meget under turen, men
vi bemærker for første gang Rods tendens til ikke at smile i fotos eller til
ikke at kigge på kameraet – yikes, han ”går sin egen vej”, ingen tvivl om det!
Onsdag den
19. september besøger vi
Black Country Museum i Dudley og tager en bådtur på kanalen.
I de gamle
dage, plejede kanalbådene trækkes af heste, men dette var ikke muligt når
bådene mødte tunneler, så bådsmændene plejede at skubbe sine bene mod tunnelens vægge for at rykke bådene
gennem tunnelerne. På vores bådtur, bad museums guide to frivillige om at
demonstrere, at det var muligt at rykke båden fremad på denne måde. De fleste
af bådens passagere var pensionister, ligesom os, men heldigvis var der også en
ung mand og hans kæreste, der var villig til at give det et skød – og de blev
belønnet med ”legging”-certifikater.
Fredag den
21 september besøger vi
Sudeley Castle om formiddagen, og om eftermiddagen gør Lois, Sylvia, Lois’
kusine fra Melbourne og Rod, Sylvias nye partner, også fra Melbourne, noget
genealogisk forskning med et overraskende resultat: de er alle tre slægtninge –
overraskende, fordi Sylvia mødte Rod ”tilfældigvis” på en dating-websted i
Melbourne, Australien.
De er alle tre
efterkommere af Samuel Bowell (1761-1845), der blev født i Taston, Oxfordshire,
og hans kone, Elizabeth. Samuel havde en søn Thomas (1792-1858), der giftede
sig to gange: Sylvia og Lois er efterkommere af Thomas’ 1. kone, Hannah, og Rod
er efterkommer af Thomas’ 2. kone, Esther. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi
lever i !!!!
Thomas Bowell
havde to professioner: kulforhandler og også mejerist, som deltidsjob – jeg formoder,
at man på landet måtte tjene penge, hvor man kunne – du godeste, sikke et liv i
de der dage! Jeg håber bare, han vaskede hænderne, når han skiftede mellem den
ene profession og den anden – du godeste (igen), sikke et vanvid !
Lois
foran Sudeley Castle, som vi besøger sammen med Sylvia og Rod
Genealogisk forskning med et overraskende resultat: Rod, som Sylvia mødte
på internettet i Melbourne, Australien, er faktisk beslægtet med både Sylvia og
Lois
Lørdag den
22. september besøger
Brian og Ruth os og overnatter hos os. Brian er Lois’ fætter i Bournemouth:
flere genealogiske diskussioner.
Søndag den
23. september kører jeg
Lois, Sylvia og Rod over til Broadway, en smuk by, der ligger 15 miles nord for
Cheltenham, og vi kigger rundt omkring i byen.
Jeg sætter dem
af foran byens banegård og kommer hjem. Sylvia og Rod har lyst til at rejse på
den gamle jernbanelinje mellem Broadway og Cheltenham, der er blevet genoplevet
af damptog-fanatikere.
Senere henter
jeg dem ved den lokale banegård, der ligger ved siden af
Cheltenham-hestevæddeløbsbanen.
Mandag den
24. september kører jeg
Lois, Sylvia og Rod over til byen Worcester for at besøge Royal
Worcester-porcelænmuseet.
Tirsdag den
25. september skal Sylvia
or Rod til af sted. De planlægger at tilbringe 5 nætter på et hotel i
Weston-super-mare, en havneby der ligger lidt syd-vest for byen Bristol. Vi
sætter dem af ved Cheltenham-banegården og siger farvel.
Alt i alt et
nydeligt besøg, men lidt vanskeligt for mit vedkommende: Lois og jeg lever en
meget stille og roligt liv her, og jeg er simpelthen ikke vænnet længere til at
opleve tilstedeværelse af gæster i vores hus, og de resulterende samtaler og
snik-snak fra morgen til nat – du godeste, jeg er sikke et pivehoved, ingen
tvivl om det. Og jeg føler mig meget træt efter endt besøg. Jeg trænger til en
ferie !!!!!
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