Monthly Archives: August 2021

Did you ever meet yourself?

Posted on 5th August 2021 by Ian

There was an episode of one of those television series where the programme tries to trace family members. A woman of sixty-seven had discovered that she had an identical twin sister from whom she had been separated when they were … Continue reading →

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Who writes the first version of rude lines?

Posted on 4th August 2021 by Ian

Writing of Roger Luxton’s “rude songs” yesterday, I pondered where the Bratton Clovelly farmer might have heard the songs that he passed on to Sabine Baring Gould and which were revised because they were considered unsuitable for publication. Did Roger … Continue reading →

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Rude songs

Posted on 3rd August 2021 by Ian

A wander through the family history of the Luxtons, my maternal grandmother’s family, brought an encounter with Roger Luxton of Bratton Clovelly in Devon, a man presented as an ideal grandfatherly figure by the clergyman and writer Sabine Baring Gould. … Continue reading →

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Astonishing greed

Posted on 2nd August 2021 by Ian

The afternoon was passed researching family history. Stories of my great grandfather, Albert Luxton, are part of family tradition. Only by reading through his military records this afternoon did we discover that, born in 1880, he was the youngest among … Continue reading →

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Sunday trading

Posted on 1st August 2021 by Ian

The sound of an ice cream van on a Sunday afternoon, a jingle that has probably not changed in decades. Children line up with excitement to buy lollies that will colour their mouths blue, red or orange, their adult companions … Continue reading →

Posted in Unreliable memories | Leave a comment