And now for something completely different. I visited the village where I grew up because I wanted to see whether the rose has flowered on the rose planted in the rose bed at the thatched chapel where Mum's ashes were scattered. I promised to send a pic to my brother who lives in France. Unfortunately, none of the roses are out yet so I took a pic of the chapel instead. I also visited the church yard where my grandparents are buried. The picture on the left used to be a blacksmith's barn where I used to call on the way home from school. The blacksmith used to let us children pump the bellows and we loved watching him at work. Imagine being allowed to do that now. The blacksmith would probably be accused of being a paedophile! He was a real character with a great big bushy moustache. On the top right is a pic of the thatched chapel and the bottom is a pic of some geese in a field on the way down towards the river. The village has changed quite a bit and I wanted to get a pic of the thatched cottage I grew up in but unfortunately the garden is so overgrown I couldn't get a pic as the cottage is hidden in the undergrowth. What a disappointment. They have also built two huge houses in what used to be our garden. They look as though they probably have about 5 bedrooms each. Our garden was lovely with fruit trees and lovely cottage garden borders and beds. My father would turn in his grave if he saw it now. Also because it was a farm, we had lovely barns where the tractor and grain, etc. was stored. Perhaps we shouldn't try to go back to where we grew up!
Going back often explodes fondly held memories, as I have found myself. History does not stand still and we are part of a changing world. But it is also important to pass those memories on to your children and grandchildren so they can know their heritage. And you've got the record for the family tree!
Lovely collage, going back is always disappointing I find, because we have certain memories and images in our head how it has to look like, from way back when, and it can never look the same now.
