Jane B

Last month, Hilary Clinton wrote a piece in the Guardian which had the following paragraph near the beginning: Consider the world's typical small farmer. She lives in a rural village, rises before dawn, and walks miles to collect water. If drought, blight, or pests don't destroy her crops, she may raise enough to feed her family - and may even have some left over to
sell. But there's no road to the nearest market, and no one there who can afford to buy from her. The she might surprise some people, but a large percentage of farmers throughout the world are female. One site was inspired to put together this fascinating collection of pictures of women farmers which gives some idea of the variety of women out there in agriculture.

And I've been inspired to make all my Kiva Loans this month to women farmers: Liliana from Peru and Joy in the Phillipines - both pig farmers; Juana in Bolivia, growing and selling vegetables; and a group loan to Mrs. Srey Mao Srun's Village Bank Group in Cambodia, she's a widow raising chickens.

Since I come from a farming background (we raised pigs at one time, and had a small-holding) this set of loans is particularly relevent to me. In some ways helping out on the farm is what let me go into computing; on a farm you tend to do what jobs you're capable of doing, so you rarely hear that's something's a man's job. You might not be able to do something because you're too short, or not strong enough, or don't have nimble fingers, but otherwise you just turn to and help out. When I thought about working in computers, it never crossed my mind that it might be a job for men, I just had to think about whether I could do the work.

Since I have a new kitchen, my attention is being caught by other people talking about their kitchens. Here's Ezra Klein writing about Refrigerator Philosophy which for such an intellectual title is basically some useful tips on how to use a kitchen. I was particularly struck by The irony of the crisper drawer at the base of the fridge is that it keeps produce fresh for longer, but since you also forget that the produce exists, it makes it more likely that it goes bad altogether. since that happens to me when I have guests. Usually I'm pretty good at judging quantities for myself, but when people come to stay I can stock up a little too generously.

The worst incident is when I'd bought lots of potatoes which I stored in the side of my tall store cupboard which I rarely opened, so it was quite dark. I opened it a few weeks later and these two-foot high potato shoots leapt out like "Attack of the Triffids", and I plastered myself against the opposite wall like a cartoon character!

So, after all the disruption, the end result is actually very functionable and welcoming. Since the kitchen only had one north-facing window, I picked ivory as the colour for the units, with a countertop described as "Pearl Grey" which is light grey speckled with darker grey and cream.

( pictures of new kitchen )

So I've been having a new kitchen installed over the past few weeks. It started at the beginning of September, and I had to move all the furniture and cupboard contents into other rooms in the flat. I had a microwave so was okay for food, particularly since I usually have lunch in the canteen at work. But because some cupboards were not the right size, and had to be cut down and then new doors had to be ordered, I couldn't move everything all back until just before last weekend.

This was very disruptive, and I also had the pleasant but distracting weekends in London for the Plinth, and in Tewkesbury for the Malvern Show. So as time progressed I became more and more disorganised, not being able to find things in the flat, neglecting actions I'd promised to do, and falling behind with email and snail mail. I became slightly twitchy when anyone came up to start a conversation with me in case it was to ask about something I'd forgotten :-)

Finally everything is back in the kitchen, and although I have to paint the walls and ceiling it's all usable and my brain is slowly starting to come back online. Hopefully I'll get back to updating this journal a little more.

It's that time of year when the Malvern Autumn Show takes place so I went up to Worcestershire to visit it. The last couple of years I've been with Other Sister, but since she wasn't able to make it this year, I decided to combine the show with a stay in a Landmark. I stayed in Tewkesbury which is only a few miles from Malvern, at St Mary's Lane, which has this lovely view of the Abbey tower from the top window.

( The Landmark and rest of weekend )

Off to the Malvern Show, this time the Autumn one. Combining it with a stay in a Landmark Trust property so I'll have another one to describe on my return.

This morning at 3 a.m. I stood on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. My friend B___ was my plinth pal and travelled up to London with me yesterday. We spent the afternoon at Kew Gardens, visiting the glasshouses before heading off to the Travelodge at Covent Garden (a bargain if you're staying in London.)

( On the Plinth )

The Heritage Open Days weekend has just occurred and we opened up the Quaker Meeting House for the Saturday and Sunday afternoon. We usually get a good stream of visitors since everyone is always fascinated to see the garden behind the wall (shades of 'The Secret Garden'), also we offer tea and biscuits! The house itself is quite simple, it has some interesting architectural details which we can point out, but when you've seen it one year there's not a lot new to look at. So this year one of our members put together a small exhibition about a Quaker artist called Robin Tanner. I'd never heard of him before but he produced the most exquisite etchings, see here for some examples - the third page is typical of the ones we had on display. His studies of flowers were in a similar style to designs by William Morris. The exhibition was a big hit with the visitors and the Quaker room wardens, most of whom had never heard of him.

I shall be doing my bit of Art over the weekend, and here's the link to my page. I have a friend coming with me, but I won't be expecting people to turn up or to watch online since it's the middle of the night! (Also, have I mentioned it's going to be really boring?)

Doing a bit of family history research, I read a list of burials, and found the following for 1799: John FINNIS, 12yo, Killed in Mine by a Whirn - 10Dec. Any thoughts on what a whirn is?

I usually only have a snack for my evening meal, but I had a lot of vegetables from the allotment and a freezer getting very full, so decided to use some up.

I followed a basic ratatouille recipe, but without aubergines since I don't like them. It did have yellow courgettes, runner beans, tomatoes, onion, green peppers, and a 1/2 teaspoon of the Italian Seasoning that fjwarren recommended to me (instant flavour!) Just at the end of cooking I stirred in some goats cheese to add a little protein and contrast.

The resulting mixture was really tasty, but I have the feeling I won't be able to recreate it - so I record it here for posterity!

My brother just pointed out that Harry Patch, the WWI Veteran who died last month was in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, and wondered if we had any connections to that regiment. A quick check of my notes shows that our grandfather (mother's father) was in that regiment, and possibly both his brothers. I'm sure about my grandfather, since he had a fairly distinct combination of first name and initial. His two brothers are likely to have been in the same regiment, but using the Medal Rolls I've never been fully confident that I've identified their exact records, since there are several possibilities with similar names.

My other grandfather was in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, which is a whole other story!

My first attempt at using Freecycle, and it was a successful transaction. Twenty years ago when I moved into my flat I had a huge cupboard in the boxroom, which was very useful for storing odd things in. Over time as the boxroom became more of a bedroom the cupboard, with the help of a couple of strong friends, migrated downstairs, but I recently decided it was too bulky for my hall and I needed to get rid of it.

Since it was too large for me to move by myself, I would have had to get the council to come and collect it. But I remembered that I'd joined the Freecycle group last year, and decided to try offering it there. I only had one response from someone who wanted it for putting in a storage room. One man and his trolley (and large van) just came to collect it, and it's off on another useful stage of its life.

Actually it's going to be an hour of moderate renown, since in September I'll be taking part in One & Other the live artwork devised by Antony Gormley to occupy the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.

Gormley is best known for his Angel of the North statue, but I first got to know his work through his statue Sound II which is in the crypt of Winchester Cathedral. Also, since I've been in Winchester, there's been a wonderful exhibit of his Domain Field which was quite otherworldly against the backdrop of the medieval castle hall. I applied back in February when I saw the story on the BBC.

At the time I signed up mostly as a gesture of support for the idea, although I decided at the time that IF (at the time I thought it was a very big IF!) I did get picked, and it didn't clash with anything else, that I would do it.

Luckily I've got a very quiet slot, since I'm planning something very boring :-)

I found this BBC story today Medieval battle records go online and tried the link, although, as they warn, there's a lot of interest so the site is a bit slow. I had a bit of a hunt around and couldn't find anyone obvious (although there were a few Benets which is sometimes quoted as an early form of one of our family surnames) but it's interesting just in itself.

Previously I have found a possible ancester using the link to The National Archives: Trafalgar Ancestors. I thought I'd already posted about this, but can't find the entry.

Thomas Hendra aged 21 born in Gwiner. Ship: HMS Achille. Rank/Rating: Landsman

With my current family tree, I can with some confidence go back to a Hendra in Gwinear, specifically James Hendra (born around 1832) married to Jane Carter.
From here on back, I'm on shakier ground, but believe I can say that James was the son of John and Elizabeth Hendra. According to the 1841 census John was 45, so born around 1796. There's a baptism record for a John Hendra 22nd October 1796, son of Thomas and Jane.
Is this the Thomas Hendra of the Achille?

Okay, it's starting to look more dubious now. The only valid baptism record for a Thomas Hendra I can find is 2nd July 1780, which would make him only 16 when John was born, and that's a young age to be a father in that era (most of my other relatives start producing about 20 or 21.) It would also make him 25 at Trafalgar which doesn't tie in with the official age, although the advice on searching suggests the ages on the ships' muster rolls are not that accurate.

So, perhaps not a direct descendant, but probably related to my branch of the family - in the 1841 census there were only 4 or 5 families of that name in the parish. He 'ran' from the Navy 1st March 1814, and I haven't managed to find any reference to him after that, but I hope you made it home, Tom.

I've just come back from a few days holiday in Snowdonia. I won't describe anything about where I was staying since my last post gave the link to last year's holiday in the same place, and it hasn't changed.

( What I did on my holiday )

I'm heading off for a few days' holiday to Ty Uchaf which I visited last year. If the weather is clear any day, I may go up Snowdon, but otherwise I'll just potter around the cottage reading and doing not very much at all.
I won't have the internet so won't be in touch. I will have my mobile in case of emergencies and this is one of the Landmarks where it works, as opposed to the one where you had to stand on a chair in the bathroom :-)

Well today is the 40th birthday of CICS (pronounced Kicks in the UK) the IBM product that I worked on for over 23 years. There've been photos of some of the old CICS teams posted around work, and other memorabilia.

I was particularly struck by this advertising slogan, which I feel wasn't quite on message:

" CICS. Four letters Business swears by. "

I realised I hadn't updated in a while, so just in case you were wondering what happened to my tooth saga, all is okay at the moment. The last dose of antibiotics seemed to clear everything up. I do have an appointment to have a tooth out in July and that will hopefully stop any reoccurrences (the dentist believed the problem was caused by pressure.)

The new job is going on fine, although at the moment it mostly consists of finishing off a few things from the old job!

Other Sister came up for a long weekend, and we went to Mottisfont Abbey to see the roses in the National Trust Rose Collection - supposed to be one of the best years ever there, and we saw and sniffed a lot of roses! Then the next day we took the ferry to the Isle of Wight and visited Osborne House, which is in a lovely situation looking down to the Solent. My favourite objects in the house are the Indian portraits by Rudolf Swoboda which are so lifelike even though they're over a century old. They were exhibited at the National Gallery a few years ago, and I keep meaning to buy the accompanying book.

On June 21st (Summer Solstice) we headed off to see our niece in Exeter on the A303 past Stonehenge. When I checked out the news first thing in the morning there were crowds of thirty to forty thousand people there, and there was frantic checking of websites to find alternate routes. But they were all there at 4:58 and by the time we went past around ten it was all clear, and reasonably tidy considering the number of people that must have been around.

On Monday night I went bowling; there are a group of 4 or 5 of us who used to be a league team who meet up every few months and commiserate at our total inability to hit anything any more. There were only 3 of us this time, but still a pleasant outing. Tuesday my usual circle dancing, Wednesday Yoga, and Thursday I start to catch up with things again :-)

All this month I've had a problem with my right-hand back teeth. Jaw swelled up, but went down again. I had a hygienist appointment anyway, so she suggested going to dentist. Of course, hardly anything to see when I went there, but he disinfected the area anyway and all seemed okay. Then a few days later it swelled up again, went to dentist this Monday, he disinfected area again and gave me some antibiotics. They didn't seem to make any difference, so went this morning. Cleaned area again, this time draining the area of the infection, and gave me a Huge Dose of antibiotics and some stronger ones to take. Also said to call him out at weekend if that doesn't clear it! Luckily this evening the jaw does seem to have a lot less pressure.

But the annoying thing about all this is that it's happening just as I'm in the middle of changing jobs! I stopped working with CICS full time today, and start with MQ on Monday, although I have a few problems I'll hang onto until they're all finished. It would be hard to find a more awkward time to be distracted by my chompers!

ETA: But in good news, I have managed to rescue a dozen strawberries from the slugs and birds on my allotment :-)

So at the Quaker business meeting today, one of the items was the suggestion we should have a funeral organiser instead of the more informal funeral advisers that we have at the moment. In the discussion of the duties of the organiser, the presenter of the suggestion made the remark, "the organiser wouldn't have to attend the funeral, just do the spade work." Muffled snorts from the meeting until the presenter twigged to what he had said and joined in the roar of laughter.