Family memories

Starting from the time when he was five and three quarter years old my youngest brother Martyn would get up at 5:45 a.m. each day to cook breakfast for his eight siblings and our parents.   Thanks to Martyn we would feast on eggs, bacon, lamb cutlets, baked beans, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms, and toast every single morning.

I would have been “up and at it” at 4:00 a.m. to bake the eleven loaves of bread we ate each day.  As the dough was rising I would churn the butter, and grind the coffee.

Dear brother Stephen would forgo his school lunch break. Instead he would ride his bike to deliver freshly made sandwiches to his brothers and sisters at their schools, and to our Dad at work.

Thanks to Mum we feasted each evening.   Roast beef on Sunday, Lamb on Monday, Pork on Tuesday, Ham on Wednesday, Goose on Thursday, Lobster on Friday,and  Spam on Saturday.  Dessert would always be an overflowing plate filled with fresh fruit and scrumptious cheeses.

No matter what time we called out during the night, our Dad would bring us a dish filled with fresh peaches and ice-cream.  I weep at the memory.

The sacrifices Martyn, Stephen, Dad, Mum and I made were so worthwhile.  They enabled our four sisters to train as welders, and our other two brothers to enjoy their ballet lessons.



Comments

  1. Anonymous28 January 2011 at 02:47

    Your memory's (memories) are a lot better than mine. You missed the bit about us having to pump out the rising damp every morning to get rid of the rainbow in the back parlour.

    M

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shoe insults

Last year I consulted with a local podiatrist: Dr. Robert F Herbold Jr. D.P.M. 4717 Swift Rd., Sarasota , FL – 34231  because I was being bothered with a couple of bunions  (yes I am at that age). I was very impressed with this Doctor.  He agreed that I had bunions, but he ventured that it was much too soon for surgery. (Now there’s a first). Instead he recommended some “arch supports” to relieve the tension for my feet, a tension which was exacerbating the bunions. What’s more -  he told me that he sells these arch supports at the miserly sum of $2.50 each (about 1/5 of the price in the local pharmacies). He is an honest man, and I recommend him to anyone with foot problems. So, a couple of weeks ago, having purchased some new walking shoes, I knew that I needed to buy a couple of new arch supports I took myself to his office. Once there, my mind went blank. I wanted to ask his front desk Clerk if I could buy some “shoe inserts” , as I could not rem...
Read more

It began in Bristol U.K. "A man dies" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Image
I well remember the swirling controversy in Bristol, U.K. when a (Presbyterian) Minister the Revd, Earnest Marviin created a ":Rock Opera", called "A Man Dies"  in and for his congregation in the Lockleaze area of Bristol, U.K. Earnest Mrvin I was a sixteen years old member of the Plymouth Brethren Church back in those days, so I most likely disapproved of "A Man Dies" .  We, (the Plymouth Brethren),  disapproved of everything! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had forgotten all about "A Man Dies" until earlier today when saw these pictures on the "Bristol, Then and Now"  Facebook page.   St. James Presbyterian Church, Lockleaze, Bristol  The Bristol Then and Now page includes the following commentary: Lockleaze, Bristol  -  'Jesus Christ Superstar' began at St.James (Presbyterian) Chur...
Read more

The background, the couple, my friends, the wedding ceremony, the Shaykh, the Priest,

Image
The background   I have known the Keller/Bonsey family since 2000 when I became the Rector at St. James's, Cambridge, MA. They (Elisabeth Keller and the Revd. Steven Bonsey with their four children Noah, Sam, Josiah and Annie) had come back to Cambridge from Hawaii where Steve had been the Rector of an Episcopal parish. Steve had just been appointed as a Chaplain at Tufts University (no Sunday morning duties) so the entire family was able to enrich our common life at St. James's - which they did with great love and joy. I count them as friends and have stayed in touch with them since my retirement.  Noah, the oldest son is eloquent in Arabic (he spent a year in Damascus when Syria was a safe place).  He has developed a super career as an analyst of social media in the near East.    Noah worked in Tampa for a while a few years ago, so he and I were a...
Read more