Category Archives: The stuff of daily life

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

The poster on the toyshop window announced that Thomas and Friends were in stock. Another generation would grow up, as I did, with the railway characters created by the Rev. W. Awdry. Growing up? It seems an odd concept, both … Continue reading →