Sepia Saturday 100 Not Out!

Sepia Saturday began for me exactly a year ago. It all began with Amy  here

Amy

As I had very few sepia photos it wasn’t long before I became a ‘themer’ and a lot of fun I’ve had along the way to SS 100.

‘100’ has not been as easy as I thought it would be. I’ve almost had a writer’s block. Then I remember that in 2008 to overcome this affliction I joined a site www.100words.com on which the challenge was to write a post each day of the month in exactly 100 words – no more, no less.

To my surprise my entry for 16 June was featured on the site.

June 16, 2008

BY Samwin

I sat in the garden this afternoon watching the sprinkler going round and round. A buzzing sound caught my attention; it sounded like a bee. Finally I located the bee on the small pink lavender bush set this year in a terracotta pot on the patio. Some of the lavender’s forty flower heads are fully open revealing the petals, on others only tips of the unopened petals may be seen. The bee visited each in turn, its golden thorax contrasting with the pink flowers. On each back leg it had an orange pod, full of the nectar it had collected.

Samwin you’ve seen before; named after Sam my daughter’s Golden Labrador, Samin is the headcover for my driver (golf club)

Samwin

Many of you are into tracing your family tree so I thought I’d make a start with the 1911 census of England. I had to cheat a big and go to the previous census in1901 to find the family of my grandfather and grandmother. George Arthur Scotney (29), Saddler and Harness Maker and his wife Sarah (32) had three sons – Henry C S (5), Charles W A (3) [My father] and Douglas L P (1) – at that time. I have never heard of Douglas before but I do know that later there were two other sons and two daughters(the uncles and aunts that I knew in addition to Henry, known to me as Stan)

Unfortunately I have no photos of any of them. But now I know that my elder brother was named after our grandfather.

George Arthur Scotney

You have seen a read about Arthur before in Sepia Saturday Posts My Brother's War.and War Photos

The census results confirmed to me that my grandparents were living at High Street, Ketton.

It so happens that on 6 June 2008 I wrote on the 100words.com site

“I was born in a house made of stone, with a roof of Collyweston slate. The house had no name although it was eventually given the number 100 on the High Street in a village in Rutland. Rutland was the smallest of the counties in England at that time.

The village school, for children up to age 11, was just across the road. A village shop was a short distance up the road. When my brother went to war I had pennies with which to buy a gobstopper each day. He had gone to stick a bayonet up Hitler’s backside.”

High Street,Ketton

The postal address for this house where I was born is 100 High Street. The people who live there now have put up a name plate and called it Sadler's Cottage so my grandfather's trade is commemorated.

Stocks Hill, High Street, Ketton

The shop to the left of the car is where I bought the gobstoppers with the money left for me by my brother. The monument in the centre was erected to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

Sepia Saturday was launched by Alan Burnett and Kat Mortensen in 2009, Sepia Saturday provides bloggers with an opportunity to share their history through the medium of photographs. Historical photographs of any age or kind (they don't have to be sepia) become the launchpad for explorations of family history, local history and social history in fact or fiction, poetry or prose, words or further images.
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It has reached the grand old 'age' of 100. My thanks to Alan and Kat for their marvellous idea to which I am proud to contribute. Here's to the next 100.

Check out other contibutions to SS100 here. 

Drink Up! - Thematic Photography

Finding something to post for Carmi's theme this week was driving me to drink until I found this:

Tankard finds new use as receptacle for pens

This tankard commemorating brewery tradition usually sits on the bottom shelf of my desk unit and as you can see it has acquired a new use.

The six breweries on it had '"Together 1000 years of Brewing Tradition." Alas many of them are no longer in existence - the victims of takeovers and demolition,

In the 1800s Edinburgh was known as 'Auld Reekie' due the number of breweries in the city.

Lorimer & Clark, Edinburgh

In 1869 George Lorimer and Robert Clarke opened the Caledonian Brewery. In 1919 it was taken over by Vaux Breweries in Sunderland but fortunately was subject to a management buy-out in 1987.

The second badge on the tankard hails from Belgium.

Liefmans, Oudenaarde, Belgium

Liefmans has been one of Belgium's cult breweries since 1679.

But Belgium is not the only country outside the UK to figure on the tankard.

Fred Koch Brewery, New York State

Fred Koch Brewery produced beer and ale in Dunkirk, New York  from the late 1880s to 1985. 

We are back in England for the last three firms on the tankard, all linked together in the story of their demise.

Vaux Brewery,  Sunderland

The Vaux family had been involved in the brewery business since 1806 but Vaux did not establish their own brewery until 1837. The first Vaux brewery was named after the founder Cuthbert Vaux, C. Vaux & Co. and would become one of Sunderland's most successful businesses.

By the 1990s the Vaux Group had expanded into hotels. Despite the brewing business being profitable and an offer to buy it having been received from management, in March 1999 the Board closed both its Sundeland breweries. The brewery was later demolished.

Vaux also figured in the demise of our next famous brewery.

Wards Sheaf Brewery, Sheffield

In 1837, William Roper and John Kiby started a brewery on Effingham Street. Roper died in 1842 leaving John Kiby in sole control. Septimus Henry Ward joined the company in 1868 when it ran into financial trouble. Due to the substantial amount he invested the primary brand was renamed Wards Best Bitter. . The business continued to expand buying up other breweries. In 1876 they bought the SOHO Brewery and made it their main premises, renaming it to Sheaf Brewery. It was made a limited company called S.H. Wards & Company Limited in 1896.

In 1972 the company was acquired by Vaux and continued to brew bitter as a subsidiary. Despite still being profitable the brewery was closed in 1999 as the Vaux company was broken up. The land was sold to developers who demolished most of it to make way for apartments. Ironically, it was revealed later that the price achieved was several £million less than the buyout that would have saved this much-loved brewer.

Darley's, Thorne, Doncaster

 

The Darley family were closely connected with the town of Thorne for many generations.  W.M. Darley operated a small firm with a few pubs in and around Thorne. His son, C.W. Darley assumed control of the firm in 1892 on the death of his father, when the brewery was enlarged and improved. The brewery remained in the family until October 1978 when it was acquired by Vaux Breweries of Sunderland. Brewing continued until 1986 when the brewery was closed and production transferred to Wards Brewery in Sheffield, also part of the Vaux group. And you know what happened to them.

If you haven't drunk up by now then I suggest you visit the other drinkers at Carmi's Thematic Photographic 170

 

Tax Haven and A Naval Base - Sunday Stamps

Cayman Islands

 The islands were sighted by Columbus in 1503 and named Las Tortugas after the large number of sea turtles swimming in the sea. A 1523 map called them Las Largartos (after alligators or large lizards). In 1530 the name became Caymanes after the Carib word caimán for the marine crocodile.

The Cayman Islands are a British oversea territory and formerly a dependency of Jamaica. Their first constitution was drawn up in September 1959.

Of course they are now noted as a tax haven.

Ceylon

Ceylon is the large island to the South of India, now called the Republic of Sri Lanka. Ceylon was an important naval base for Britain during WWII.

To see what others have chosen for this week's open theme visit Viridian's Sunday Stamps 43.

Hey, diddle, diddle! - Sepia Saturday

I must be in my second childhood because as soon as I saw Alan's photo for this week I thought of nursery rhymes.

Old King Cole was a merry old soul
And a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl
And he called for his fiddlers three.
Every fiddler he had a fiddle,
And a very fine fiddle had he;
Oh there's none so rare, as can compare
With King Cole and his fiddlers three.

But fiddling is thirsty work and this can lead to problems as it did for Denis McCabe who drowned in Loch Erne. A sculpture commemorates the event at the entrance to Castlecaldwell Forest.

Castlecaldwell Forest, County Fermanagh. This is the entrance to the forest park. To the right of the opening is the famous Fiddler's Stone 

 

(by Kenneth Allen - CC-A-SA 2.0 license)

Fiddler's Stone

(by Dr Charles Nelson - CC-A-SA 2.0 license)

The inscription on the fiddler's stone reads:-

To the memory of Denis McCabe Fiddler,
Who fell out of the
St. Patrick's Barge belonging to
Sir James Caldwell, Bart, and Count of Milan
And was drowned off this point August Ye 15 1770

Beware Ye fiddlers of ye fiddlers fate,
Nor tempt ye deep lest ye repent to late;
Ye ever have been deemed to water foes,
Then shun ye lake till it with whiskey flows,
On firm land only exercise your skill,
There you may play and drink your fill.

There are many pubs dedicated to fiddlers and as they need to keep their elbows supple what better than

Sign for The Fiddler's Elbow, Prince of Wales Road / Malden Road, NW5

(By Mike Quinn - CC-A-SA 2.0 license)

To me however Fiddlers' Elbows are a sign of spring.

Ferns - in spring

Before the fern fronds straighten out the coiled-up ends are know as fiddlers' elbows.

I fiddled around enough for today so I'll finish with a rhyme:

The Cat and The Fiddle

 Sign for the (former) Cat and Fiddle Inn, Lombard Street, EC3 See  Such hanging signs were banned by Charles II, but replicas were erected for the coronation of Edward VII in 1902.

(By Mike Quinn - CC-A-SA 2.0 license)

Hey, diddle, diddle!
    The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
    The little dog laughed
    To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

For other contributions, sober I hope, please run away and check out Sepia Saturday 99

Banging My Head Against A Brick Wall - Thematic Photography

Every time I sit down at my computer and am stuck for what to write I know it's no use banging my head against the wall. I just look out of the window and this is what I see.

Brick Wall

The house next door used to a farm house and this wall is the one from which I cannot escape - beautiful on this sunny November day.

Farm House Wall

If there are not enough bricks and mortar in that for you, you could check out my earlier post  Yarm-viaduct - there's 43 million bricks in that.

January snow - and the butressed wall

Another wall with my 'office' window

I shown shots of Yarm Town hall before and possibly even this which besides a plaque contains more bricks and mortar.

South African War Memorial

Then let's take a look at the oldest brick building of any note still standing in England.

Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex

(By 6matl - CC-BY-SA-3.0)

 

If by now you are tired of bricks and mortar I suppose it's time for me to sign off with one last shot.

Sundial on cottage in Kirklevington

If you still want more bricks and mortar then I suggest you check other walls and bang your head against them at Carmi's Thematic Photographic 169

Australia and New Zealand - Sunday Stamps

As I have no stamps from Antarctica nor the British stamp depicting Captain Scott I have  settled for showing my stamps from Australia and New Zealand. You may have seen some of them before.

Australia was an appropriate choice this week as it marks the end of the Queen's 16th tour and the proposed change in succession so that first born girls can become Queen in their turn.

Australia

I've always liked the first one with the kangaroo on the map.

New Zealand

There's a bit of snow on the mountains here even if there are no Antarctic scenes. The Kiwis will have to settle for winning the recent Rugby World Cup.

To celebrate other stamps you need to visit Viridian's Sunday Stamps 42

Yarm Viaduct

Whenever I look at this aerial photo of the town of Yarm in North Yorkshire it seems the wrong way round.

Yarm

That's because if you live south of the town, as I do, you come into the High Street from the right as you look at the picture. 

At the left you can see Yarm Bridge just beyond the viaduct. The bridge was built in 1400 way before the young whippersnapper that now dominates the town.

Blue Plaque

I've never attempted to count the arches but even these details do not prepare you for the size of the thing.

Yarm Bridge with the Viaduct behind

Crossing the River Tees

The Viaduct was built to extend the Leeds and Thirsk Railway from Northallerton to Stockton and Hartlepool; the line eventually being extended to Newcastle as part of the Leeds Northern Railway.

Engineers and Contractors who built the Viaduct

Cars look like toys beside the structure as it bestrides the town.

The red roof at the left of this picture is Hope House which I have shown before.

Hope House

 

 

 

 

 

Viaduct (At top of Bentley Wynd)

I've never succeeded in getting a shot of the viaduct in use so I've had to borrow one/

Freight Train on Viaduct

Photographer - Ian Britton (ex www.freefoto.com)

(Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works)