52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Clothes

This week the 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History prompt from Geneabloggers is clothes:


What types of clothes did you wear as a child? What was “in fashion” and did your style compare?. What types of clothes did you wear as a child? What was “in fashion” and did your style compare?


As I was born in 1970 I grew up in an era of flares and big patterns. My mum was a thrifty housewife at the time and she often made our clothes from Clothkits kits. She would run them up on her trusty Jones sewing machine (which still works now!). UnFortunately I don't have any photographs of me in any of these creations but its one of those projects for cold winters' nights to get scanning on the old family album. The only survivor of this era was the minature copy of the dress and cloak I had for my aunt and uncle's wedding in 1975 that my mum made for my dolly using leftovers. I wish I had the same talent as my mum but I nearly failed needlework at school as I was so useless!

My brother and I in late 1970s fashion

In the 1980s by friends and I made our fashion statements with ra-ra skirts, neon, leg warmers etc. I have to say that this had to be one of the worst ever decades for fashion and I'm not sure that I want to scan any of those photographs into my computer...


I am actually quite glad that the 1990s and 2000s so far haven't seen me following any weird fashion trends. I have been much more comfortable in the very middle of the road jeans, chinos and classic lines that are pretty timeless. Hopefully as well when my children look back at photographs of them in the clothes I chose for them they won't be embarrassed! Though as my 7 year old daughter and 4 year old son have forceful opinions already as to what they wear then I doubt they'll be able to point the finger at me..

Talented Tuesday: Geneabloggers Prompt

I've been neglecting the family history part of my blog lately but saw the Geneabloggers prompt today and feel inspired! There was also a conversation on Facebook this morning about musical instruments so I that set me thinking too and I can combine the two in this post.


Unfortunately I haven't currently got the scanned photographs from my families' Victorian photograph album to illustrate this post... One day I'll get round to getting it professionally done. Several of the photographs in the album show my great grandfather Albert Wallace Linford (1861-1913) with his flute. There are other people in the album with instruments so I can only assume that he was in an orchestra.  As my big brother played the flute himself for several years he has inherited the original one. I wonder if my nephew will ever decide to follow in the family tradition?


Albert's daughter Madeline (1895-1975) was a very talented journalist as well as a novellist. Her career blossomed when she reported from a post war Europe in 1919 having originally been a secretary. In 1922 she was asked to begin a Woman's Page in the Guardian newspaper. She talked about this with Mary Stott in 1963:


“…My briefing was lucid and firm,” she recalled. “The page must be readable, varied and aimed always at the intelligent woman… I saw her as an aloof, rigid and highly critical figure, a kind of Big Sister, vigilant for lapses of taste, dignity and literary English.”


This was a a whole new area and she ran it for 31 years a great achievement. She also found time to write some novels and a biography of Mary Wollenstencraft. One of her novels had a fabulous dust jacket which the V&A has a copy of on its web site as a fine example of 1920s art:

Have you got anyone in your family that had a great talent or was famous in their field?

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Movies

I have decided to try and increase the genealogical content of my blog by joining in with some of the blogging prompts from Genea-Bloggers. This week the 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History prompt is asking us about our memories of movies. 


The first movie I can remember seeing was Star Wars IV: A New Hope when I was about 6 years old. This gave me my first "crush" on Harrison Ford as Han Solo! At home our TV was black and white so our cinema trips were a real treat. I can remember going to see Grease as well. No other movies really stick in mind from this part of my childhood.


When we moved to Beaconsfield in 1980 we had a cinema at the end of our street that was built in 1927. It was a very basic cinema with the ice creams being dispensed during the interval from trays at the front. One of the last films they showed was Clockwise in 1986 as it was superseded by one of the new style cinemas in the neighbouring town of High Wycombe. 


Wycombe 6 had six screens, lots of cinema food outlets including Ben and Jerry's and a neighbouring American themed restaurant next door. My girlfriends and I would regularly have a typical teenagers' night out with pizza and movie. 


We did occasionally visit the smaller 2 screen cinema at Gerrards Cross including a bunch if 17 year olds managing to get in to see Fatal Attraction which had an 18 certificate. This cinema had a hatch in the wall which opened before the film and in any intervals to serve ice creams etc.


I do miss the cosiness of the traditional cinema but have to admit the hi tech films do need to be shown in a modern cinema. As a student in Leeds my boyfriend and I enjoyed sitting in the top balcony of the local art deco cinema and throwing popcorn on people below! My kids only know the multiplex style cinema and it would be great to show them a "real" cinema one day. I have got them hooked on the original Star Wars trilogy though!

Surname Saturday: Brading

My great grandmother was Margaret Amy BRADING (1885-1975) and it is through her that I have my Isle of Wight connection traced back to far until the 1480s:

Surname Origins:

The surname most likely derives from the town of the same name on the Isle of Wight: Brading. The entry for this in the Oxford Names Companion states:

Brerdinges 683, Berardinz 1086 

"(settlement of) the dwellers on the hill-side"

Old English brerd + -ingas

Variations:

Brayding - Bradinge - Braydinge

My Ancestors: