Friday's Favorite Family Foto

Girls day out in London town..................

How wonderful to be surprised by a long lost photo of oneself. Can I sneak these in as favorite family photos? In the batch of photos recently received from my cousin in England, following the death of our last Aunt, there was this one among her possessions.

It was taken in 1953 in Trafalgar Square in London, home of the tall column bearing the statue of Britain's famous naval hero Admiral Lord Nelson, and a million hungry pigeons. Oddly enough I was on a visit to that same Aunt, and Uncle (my mother's twin) who lived in London. Can you believe I was put on a steam train in Devon, at such a young age, and sent off on my holiday! Guess they met me at Paddington Station following the 200 mile trip. Life must have been so much safer in the 'olden days' as our kids call them! The little girl, named Jacqueline, was the daughter of their neighbors.

Now, glance down at our feet. What do you see? Just as I told you recently, EVERY British child wore Clark's sandals....and this photo proves it!

Wait for it, story doesn't end there. I already had in my possession this second photo taken at the same time. As you can see, I was quite popular with the pigeons!

I remember this coat so well. My mother made it from a length of beautiful dark teal wool with a waffle texture. I also remember the pin I'm wearing. It was a little golden metal book which opened and several miniature b/w photos of Queen Elizabeth II folded out - it was a memento of her coronation held on June 2, 1953, a few months before my trip to London.

Visit our FFF hostess Deborah at Pictures, Pots & Pens to see more great family photos.

Friday's Favorite Family Foto

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My maternal grandfather was born in Toronto, Canada. I don't know a lot about his younger years other than he had two brothers who moved to New York to become stock brokers. Grandfather left Canada to serve in the Canadian army during the Boer War (1899-1902) ~ this pic must have been taken during that time ~ and, following that conflict in South Africa, moved to England and continued his military life by joining His Majesty's Coldstream Guards. Not long after my mother was born, he was assigned to Windsor Castle and the family lived in the lovely town of Windsor where my mother and her siblings often played in the castle grounds.

Windsor is the largest inhabited castle in the world, dating back to the time of William the Conqueror. It is one of the principal residences of Queen Elizabeth II.

Aerial view of Windsor Castle.

Unfortunately, this is the only photo I have of my grandfather. I recall seeing others of him in his Coldstream Guards uniform, complete with bearskin hat, however they have disappeared.
Following retirement from the Guards, he purchased a pub in Devon and moved the family there. Later, during WWII, he returned to London and owned a pub across from the famous Harrods department store. He died shortly after I was born and, as far as I know, never met me.

Visit our Favorite Family Foto hostess Deborah at Pictures, Pots & Pens today to enjoy some fun photos and family histories.

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Friday's Favorite Family Foto

This photo would have been taken in early 1945. My father was in the Royal Air Force during World War II. My mother left the Air Force to have me and was most likely working as a dressmaker in my home town of Torquay.....................and you can bet your boots she made that stylish dress with the Peter Pan collar just for me!

Notice I was wearing the famous Clark's sandals even at that young age. I remember having them in brown, navy and a deep red, with the non-slip crepe rubber sole.......just like every other British child. I think I continued wearing them until age ten as they were standard issue for kids, then finally put my foot down - no pun intended - and begged for grown-up footwear!

Have to say though, they were very comfortable.

The wall we are sitting on is still there and is a favorite spot to have a photo taken along the seafront promenade.

This is the only photo I seem to have of myself with both my parents when I was very young. I'm guessing it was due to it being wartime.

Visit Deborah, our hostess, at Pictures, Pots & Pens today, just know there are other great family photos to see.

Friday's Favorite Family Foto

t my brother's home in France in October, I was pleasantly surprised when he shared some very old family photos I had never seen before. They were recently passed along by a distant family member in England. This was my paternal grandmother whom I knew nothing about. Because my father was raised in foster care, I always thought his mother must have died young. Obviously this lady lived to be a good age and I see so much of my father in her. I wish he had been more open in discussing his roots - I believe his childhood was sad and he would never talk about those early years. I don't even know this woman's first name but do know she was from Brixham, Devon where my father was born in 1900.

Perhaps this is not really a favorite family foto, but seeing my lost grandmother's face is special. I notice my hands look a lot like hers with long fingers and pronounced bones. I wish so much I'd had the opportunity to know her when I was a child. I only lived a few miles from her.....................a scenic twenty minute ride around the bay on a double decker bus and I could have been tapping on her door!

Visit Deborah at Pictures, Pots & Pens to find out who else is sharing favorite family photographs this week.

Friday's Favorite Family Foto

Driving to Spain from the South of France takes you through the incredibly picturesque Mediterranean seaside town of Collioure. Just a few miles north of the Spanish border it has a strong Catalan culture. The beautiful ancient terraced vines in the hills behind the town produce a fine full-bodied red wine and also the tiny sun baked grapes for the famous Banyuls aperitif and dessert wine.
Sharing a short travelogue from a favorite place plus pics of family having fun.

These favorite pictures of my brother, niece and granddaughter were taken when we stopped here for a quick beach breakfast of pain au chocolat and croissants, followed by rock climbing and a whiz around the local outdoor market.

Collioure - June 2006



Collioure's famous lighthouse converted into a church, Notre-Dame-des-Anges.
The medieval streets and the Royal Castle on the distant hill.
Today, August 15, Collioure starts its famous 3-day Summer celebration and the population doubles with visitors coming from all over France. I wish I could go back and join in!!

Deborah at Pictures, Pots & Pens is our hostess for Friday's Favorite Family Foto.