Went on a Steward stroll round the village on Boxing Day and there were only a few people around. It already has a feel that Christmas is over or certainly on the way out. Soon the decorations will come down and what we are left with will look a lot like what we had last March. One person on Facebook commented how sad it all feels at the moment and I can do nothing other than concur.
There are a few photos attached taken either on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. The Memorial Playing Field was still waterlogged yesterday but I'm sure was showing signs of improvement after the floods.
As I was walking round I was thinking about the things I would like to achieve in 2021 and then realised it is very unlikely that I will be able to achieve many of them. Wouldn't it be nice to see more of x in 2021 (unlikely to be possible), wouldn't it be nice to go to y in 2021 (unlikely to be possible). Now it's more of let's look forward to getting injections in 2021 (just about possible).
I think the best idea is to use the next month (or however long we are in lockdown this time) to have a rest and target a few jobs on a daily basis. Nothing too strenuous but at least something to aim for.
So I will start with a comprehensive clean of the car - something a but more thorough than the usual. Then there's leaf clearing up in the garden and the garage to sort out and that should take care of the first week of lockdown. Exciting isn't it?
Last January we went to the Cotswolds for a week. That now seems an eternity ago along with the freedom to see people and go places.
So on the walk round the village, we had a quick socially distanced chat with one of my blog readers who was proudly wearing a jumper declaring that "he like sprouts." The simple fact he felt the need to tell everyone this just showed how controversial these little green things are.
I must admit that for the Christmas meal I found about six of the little blighters on my plate. I was able to surreptitiously distribute five of them onto other plates, thus leaving one for me as a token gesture.
I almost had to shut my eyes and try and eat it with some strong stuffing. Sadly the horrible taste still came through. At least with the little blighter dispatched I could get on with the rest of my day!
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So here we are in Tier Four with the allowed three households gone and it's back to being Darby and Joan which got me thinking about just who Darby and Joan were and why they became synonymous with couples left on their own. Nobody seems to know whether Darby and Joan were real or imaginary people but they became part of folklore to describe people of, shall we say, a certain age who are left to their own company. There will be plenty of Darby and Joans over the next few months.
That also got me thinking about Christmas weddings and why so many people in the past chose either Christmas Day or Boxing Day to tie the knot. My parents were married on Boxing Day 1945 - just after the end of the Second World War. I think my father would still have been serving in the RAF at that time.
Their wedding took place in Holy Trinity Church in Trinity Street, Norwich, when Arthur was 25 years of age and Phyllis Dew 24 years of age.
They were married by the Rev William Oswald, Rector of South Heigham. My father's address was given as 17, Dorman Road, Lakenham and my mother's address was given as 104, Rupert Street, Norwich, just round the corner from the church. The marriage was witnessed by Henry Sandall who was my mother's uncle and Frank Dew who was my mother's father and my grandfather.
Many people think that it was particularly romantic to get married at Christmas but the reality is very different. The following is taken from the Find My Past website:
"Couples who chose to opt for a Christmas Day wedding would have rarely done so out of a desire to capture a sense of seasonal romance. Christmas Day weddings usually occurred out of necessity as Christmas and Boxing Day were often the only days of the year that young working-class couples were guaranteed to get off work."
This was certainly the case in the 1940s and 1950s.
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One of my Christmas presents was the latest publication about the Rosary Cemetery in Norwich by the Friends of the Rosary Group. I have written before about this historic burial place as there is an important connection with my ancestors.
The Rosary is a non denominational cemetery just outside the centre of Norwich and not far from Norwich Railway Station. It was opened in 1821. The founder was somebody I like more and more the more I find out about him - The Rev Thomas Drummond. Rev Thomas challenged many of the outdated and outmoded rules of the Church of England.
Drummond opened a school in Norwich in 1787 and was a general benefactor of the city and a Freeman of Norwich. Drummond bought the land in Thorpe Road and landscaped it. He also bought a number of other houses in the area. Drummond felt that nonconformists were discriminated against when burying their dead by the laws of the Church of England. He wanted to create a cemetery open to everyone.
The first person to be buried in the Rosary was Drummond's wife Anne, who had originally been buried at the Octagon Chapel in Colegate in Norwich.
My great great great uncle, Britiffe Dew (1793-1876), was the first superintendent of the Rosary and is mentioned on a number of occasions in the book. I have no idea how he became acquainted with Drummond nor where his unusual first name comes from but I will be doing research on this over the coming months (if I have the time of course)!
Britiffe Dew lived with his family in one of the houses built by Drummond and carried out general maintenance at the Rosary as its first Superintendent. Britiffe continued in his capacity of superintendent until his death when he was succeeded by his son Henry. Both Britiffe and Henry are buried in Block B of the cemetery.