Monthly Archives: October 2021

A bigamist in the family

Posted on 17th October 2021 by Ian

After a short life, lived in the shadow of illness, Ellen Miriam Poulton, my great grandmother died at the age of twenty-three, leaving behind three children. Her two sons, Sidney Herbert and Stanley George, for whom there are birth certificates … Continue reading →

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Magpie songs

Posted on 14th October 2021 by Ian

There were seventeen magpies on the roof of a house. Seventeen, never before have I seen so many magpies gathered together. Perhaps an evolutionary adaptation is taking place. Perhaps with the increasing incursions of scavenging gulls, the magpies that survive … Continue reading →

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My great grandfather was a good for nothing

Posted on 10th October 2021 by Ian

It is some forty years since I first obtained a birth certificate for my grandfather Sidney Herbert Poulton. It shows that his mother as Ellen Poulton, a machinist of Chiswick, and that he was born in Isleworth Infirmary. The box … Continue reading →

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I believed I could fly

Posted on 5th October 2021 by Ian

The gradual advance in years bring moments when benches are welcome. So it was that I sat on a wooden bench on steel legs that offered a place for weary shoppers to stop to catch their breath. A line of … Continue reading →

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Learning to learn history

Posted on 3rd October 2021 by Ian

Preparing the First Year history lesson for tomorrow, I wistfully perused the material for the lessons. I wish there had been such resources when I was at school. Before they even begin to look at historical materials, the First Year … Continue reading →

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