365/297-8 B&W Family Portrait & free choice

Well this will take a bit of nostalgia. This is my Dad's Dad and his brother Uncle Fred, at the crabpot pit in Penberth where the grand work of making withey crabpots went on in the bad weather months ready for the summer crabbing. 

The men in my Dad's line were all called Thomas Thomas, but they had different middle names. Dad was Thomas Gordon, his Dad was Thomas Henry and his dad was Thomas Botterell. In the family dad was called 'Boy Tommy', his dad was 'Father Tommy' and his dad 'Granfer Tommy'... oh such great imagination! 

Neither my Mum or my brother's children have kept it on, no baby Tommy Thomas's since the 1920's., but I have snuck it into Ross' name and my neice has a son Thomas with her married surname. I always fancied Tamsin as the Cornish derivative for a girl but it didn't happen.

Uncle Fred was married to a lovely lady Auntie Elsie who was like a Gran to me, lived up the road, always had time for me and I think she had been a teacher (she was from Northumberland originally, not that that would denote her being a teacher!) and taught me lots of things. You can see a great picture of her here.

My brother tells me Fred loved the ladies, not in a bad way, but if they were going to sea and he was late it was probably because he had stopped several times on the way down cove from his house (about 200 yards) to chat to one of the ladies out doing her chores, putting out washing or something.   They didn't have their own children so were our favourite aunt and uncle really.

I loved him and called a teddy I had after him. I was also impressed to have an Uncle Fred, the same as Teddy Bear from the comics, who had a threadbare Uncle FredBear who always wore tatty clothes but had big cars in his garage!

This is my free choice B&W to keep in the theme. A portrait of my Mum, probably in her late teens, early twenties.  I found lots of these type pictures in her and my auntie's stuff. I guess in those days, like now, it was the thing to go get your photos taken.

 

..and just to see how my dad was around the same time, him and some of his Navy pals, about 1943-5.

Sometimes I try to imagine what courtship was like then. They only lived three miles apart but she heard he was home from sea (during the War) from someone on the bus as she travelled home from work.. so the next time you'buse your mobile or the internet, think on the 40's

Night everyone!