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A quiet birthday for me and then a trip to Oxford in Henry looking for more of Tony’s ancestors. We have three super days in the Chilterns researching his Bitmead and Quartermaine families.

Holy Trinity Church West Hendred. The earliest Bitmead was Richard born about 1723 and with his wife had four children three of whom survived.

The Quartermaines were here at Chalgrove

This dinky little church is at Wheatfield is in the middle of a field!

Tony was pleased to find the tomb of a Quartermaine Hughes

We found so many Bitmeads and Quartermaines in so many pretty villages with so many amazing old churches that I haven’t sorted them all out yet! We do need to return.

Lewknor is where Thomas Bitmead married Mary Quartermaine on 3rd July 1848

The church shares an area with a playground and the school on the right. It was very disappointing, very neglected compared to the so many other churches we saw.

The bare interior with lunchtime tables

The plans for the future

As we approached Ipsden St Mary we could hear organ music. The organist was playing and it really added to the atmosphere!

Immediately outside the gate we found this monstrosity – a water pump! Presented by Rajah Singh in 1865. I wonder why?

Somewhat reluctantly we returned to Tewkesbury but we did have another birthday to look forward to However events and functions started to be cancelled and Tony’s 70th birthday party was too. So on 22nd Tony’s birthday and our wedding anniversary I made a batch of rhubarb jam- delicious!

Disater struck on 23rd when returning to our berth after visiting the fuel pump the bow thruster burnt out. The replacement proved to be a very expensive! And then Lockdown was announced!

Henry Armriding married Frances Elizabeth Laurence at the Parish Church Cheltenham on 7th July 1868. Now how could we not spend time reserching this family?

The Armridings were a family from Preston and we had done some research on this family whilst in Lancashire, waiting for Matilda to be completed. It’s not clear why his father James moved south but presumably is was for work. He married Susan Wilks from Somerset at St Mary’s Cheltenham, on 10 April 1838. They had two children Jane and Henry.

William Laurence below was the father of Frances Elizabeth. He also had 5 sons

We decided to try and find where they lived and where ths businesses were. The Local studies libraian was very helpful and found us some old business directories, street indexes and newspaper cuttings.

1851 Census 15 & 16 Montpellier Street:
William Laurence 38 H M 38 Baby linen maker

1861 Census3 Queens Circus:
William Laurence H M 48 Auctioneer b Frome

1871 Census Badgeworth:

William Lawrence H M 58 Retired Auctioneer b Frome

1881: Arran Lodge Rodney Terrace
William Laurence 69 H M Retired Auctioneer b Frome

Probate
1887 8 January. The will with a codicil of William Laurence late of Tavistock Villa Cheltenham in the County of Gloucester, Gentleman who died 23 December 1886 at Cheltenham was proved at Gloucester by Frederick William Laurence of Tavistock Villa Auctioneer, the son, and Henry Armriding of Leicester Villa, Ranelagh Road, Ealing in the county of Middlesex, Schoolmaster. The Executors Personal Estate £878 18s 10d. Resworn February 1887 £882 13s 10d

1864: Cheltenham & Glos Directory Mrs Laurence Childrens dressmaker. Laurence & sons Auctioneers were in Clarence Parade.
Jeweller: George Laurence 9 Promenade Villas James Laurence: Photograther 121/2 Collonade

We really got to know the centre of Cheltenham!

The rest of the month!

We made three visits to The Roses. The first was to see Christins Rhianoff and her dancers. The theme was Dance to the Music.

Local dance schools had been invited to participate and she spent ages at the end of the show posing for photos with them.

The second visit was to see Frankies Boys who gave a very slick performance! Quite a lot of audience participation!

Our third visit was to watch the film Bombshell. Ironically the following day Harvey Weinstein was sentenced!

A stunning display of snowdrops and purple crocus

Visited a Family History Fair at UWE in Bristol in the hope of help in reserching ancestors. No success in finding the elusive Aldridge Grandfather but a very enjoyable and thought provoking day. We stopped by the Wiltshire stall to say hello. Bought a new web based genealogy programme.

Enjoyed the Civic Society Talk on the Newport Ship so much so that we plan a visit to see the site!

We had our first dance lesson with Robert in Badsey, We are determined to conquer the Foxtrot.

We braved the floods (Good job we had done some off roading training with JLR) and went off to spend the day at the NEC looking around the Caravan and Camping exhibition. Brownhills of Newark kindly provide all their owners with refreshment so we enjoyed a delicious ploughmans lunch.

Caught up with Devizes friend Claire when she was working in Stratford on Avon

Yet another battle with DVLA. In order to drive Henry I need a C1 category on my Driving Licence – it’s automatically removed when you reach a certain age. I had to have a half hour expensive appointment with my GP to check my health and this resulted in an expensive visit to the opticians. Having submitted all the necessary paperwork my licence was returned without the CI category. Aaagh!

And so February comes to an end and my elder grandson Eli has his eleventh bithday.

18th February the peak. The Avon is now over two metres above normal

The lawn has disappeared! The water is too deep for us to refill the bird feeders but the robin has learnt how to eat from this one

Going shopping

Above towards town and below towards Mitton

The lock is not visible. The Severn is to the left and the Avon to the right ahead.

The water begins to recede the daffolidils emerge with brown mud edges and the rabbits come out to play. The mallards are interested in the bird feeders but have to wait for the blue tits to drop bits of seed. Below a stormy sunset

And just when you begin to relax the wind strengthens and waves appear and the water level rises yet again.

We are now used to coping with flooding! The Avon has been in flood almost continuosly since mid September. We are fine in the Marina, attached to the floating pontoon, and maintained access to car, and getting used to when the level floods the adjacent main road. Frequently there is only one road (A38) open into Tewkesbury, and that within a few inches of being overwhelmed. We had a long diversion to get to dancing. However the High Street and all its mainly independent shops are above water and accessible with boots on. Many others relying on the riverside poles were in trouble and the house almost opposite had their small cruiser near the kitchen, over the poles!

The red spot at the top of the post indicates this winters highest river level

Another visit to Tewkesbury Abbey

This exhibition just makes you smile!

Dyffyn House Cardiff

An interesting NT house only partially refurbished. Superb setting and grounds, all built on the profits from coal.

Front above, and rear:

Some wonderful and ghastly fireplaces

First floor view over the formal garden

Stunning stained glass window

Gardens:

I’ve never seen or heard of this practice before.

And the obligatory sustainable statement.

A lovely day out. It has a cafe cum comprehensive bookshop so make sure you stop here. I did buy a few books…..

What else did we do in this month?

To celebrate New Years on Ist January we went to help Will clear the mud left by the flood water off Avon Lock. It was lock keeper Nicky’s birthday.

We had a lovely Sunday visit to Ledbury. Here are a few scenes:

St Michael & All Angels

What a lovely idea

Never did find the fairies!

We continued our Volunteering at Patch Bridge on the Sharpness & Gloucester Canal on Mondays and helped ANT voluteers at Pershore Island. We were invited to a CRT Volunteers lunch at the China Garden restaurant at Whitminster. We hadn’t eaten chinese food for years and thoroughly enjoyed the food and company.

Painting the stairs at Patch

We retrieved our dance shoes from the back of the cupboard and went to tea dances in Stratford, Cheltenham and Birlingham Village Hall

Supported The Roses theatre in Tewkesbury with a visit to watch Little Women film. Pretty but no depth was my verdict – the book is so much better and was one of my childhood favourites.

Attended a morning talk at the Old Baptist Chapel entitled Tasting the Tudors and visited the John Moores museum. Enjoyed a talk at the Abbey Parish rooms about Tewkesburys past.

Took part in the great British Birdwatch on 28th. Mainly blue tits and pigeons!

Bought seville oranges and made marmalade.

31st January Brexit Day. The National Mint at Llantrisant was opening for twenty four hours to provide tours with the opportunity to mint your own Brexit coin. We booked an evening tour and a night at the local Premier Inn.

Worth checking your purse! We came away with our Brexit coins but weren’t allowed to film inside. Definitely worth a visit so much to see and learn. Here it is in presentation packaging!

Canterbury has an amazing bus service (frequent to many prime destinations and bang to timetable) so we went on the bus (top deck, front seat) to Dover.

We really wanted to see the castle but it was closed! No mention of that when we did our research!

A biting wind today. What motivates people to swim the Channel?

A view towards the commercial dock

A colourful subway

And an unusual War Memorial

The next day we ventured to Ramsgate but rain began and we were forced to shelter in Wetherspoons where we enjoyed a late breakfast!

Local boys visit Wetherspoons too

The Tourist Office suggested we visit St Augustines church designed and built by Pugin so we walked along the harbour.

Rather liked this at St Augustines

We made a hasty getaway in horizontal driving rain.

The rain continued all night and next day we drove to Tunbridge Wells in grey drizzle and visited Scotney Castle.

I love kitchens! Look at the oil fired Aga.

The quarry garden leads down to the old mill

And the NTs sustainable heating explained

Found our rather wet campsite at Lamberhurst and then had a delicious meal with friends Jean & Derek at St Neville Pub, Returned to Tewkesbury to find the Avon was still in flood!

Walmer castle was fantastic! A real gem! The initial view:

Tony’s ancestor Stephen Murphy enlisted in the 52nd foot in Dublin at the age of 13 so he was interested to read this.

Beautiful wall hangings

The veg patch is always my favourite part of the garden.

Mustn’t forget the cafe! Note the EH logo!

And brownie points for this although I would prefer a china cup!

So on to Deal where we visited the castle.

A commanding view

Defensive sites on the south coast

Now to Richborough a vast Roman Site

Excellent interpretive boards

Then to finish the day a visit to Sandwich an appealing little town with an atmospheric riverside.

Our first full day of exploring Kent and our first stop was at the Hornby Visitor Centre. Tony was overjoyed at being able to relive his boyhood. Mainly collecting Tri-ang trains, this was the original factory where they were built, amd the organisation has now encoumpassed the other favourites, Airfix and Humbrol.

And here he is with his Airfix mug!

Then on to Manston Museum where we spent such a long time. A few photos of items that interested me. My Grandfather Albert was transferred for the Navy to RNAS. so this photos caught my eye.

Above 59 men to prove the aircrafts strength! and below keeping score

Wartime rations could it be Christmas?

And more up to date, women pilots! Note the Tornado in the background from 617 (the Dambusters) squadron.

A quick dash around next door to the spitfire and hurricane museum. Not quite as interesting but a pleasant Memorial Garden.

It even had a Britstop campervan parking spot!