Which reminds me of a restaurant visit in Leeds when I first started working for Norfolk Police. I was on a residential course in Lincolnshire and we went to the television studios in Leeds to watch the current affairs programme Look North being put together. We met the legendary Richard Whiteley who went on to host the word quiz show Countdown and appeared to have been loved by everyone.
We then went to a restaurant and I ordered pizza and when it came it was severely singed. No it was burnt to a crisp and almost a cinder. I hate complaining but this was inedible and should never have been served up in the hope that the person receiving it didn't notice the severely black bits. What should have happened was quite simple. It should have been put in the bin and another made.
The answer I got was "sorry but our normal chef is off today" as if that justified charging me full price for something not fit to eat.
* * *
If I have a few spare minutes before I go to bed, I do some family history research and I'm intrigued by one of my ancestors whom I have written about before.
Frederick Duncan Dew was born in the Lodge House at the front of the Rosary Cemetery in Norwich in 1831. He was one of the sons of Britiffe Dew who was superintendent of the cemetery. Frederick became a servant in Norfolk and then moved to London where he became a valet for the world famous Rothschild Family.
He the became licensee of a couple of pubs in London and died at the end of the century a rich man - leaving his fortune to his housekeeper. He was a benefactor of schools in London and was made a freeman of the city and was also a leading Freemason.
That's a very simplified history of Frederick Duncan culled from Ancestry files, a copy of his will and various other sources. What I cannot find is how he made his money. Obviously it was probably in the licenced trade but how did he finance his first pub? Was it purchased for him by the Rothschilds or perhaps he borrowed money from them. It's intriguing how a lowly boy from Norfolk became a Freeman of London. I will keep on digging.
Much of what I try to do with my family history revolves around putting ancestors in their time. By that I mean finding out about places where they lived and about the times in which they lived. To help with Frederick Duncan I have taken a book out of the library about the Rothschilds.
Frederick is named amongst their employees in the 1861 census (although his name is listed as Frederick Duncan Drew which is incorrect). So I am keen to learn about what life was like for the Rothschilds around that time. It could well have been that they entertained Prime Ministers and even Royalty. So my ancestor may have known some pretty important people. I will keep digging and let you know if I come up with anything significant.
At the present time I haven't got any further than a Jewish ghetto in Frankfurt in Germany.