RootsChat.Com

Just thought this was appropriate today ,with the somewhat altered acts of
Remembrance .

Remembrance.

Gently,so gently
The soft winds blow
Between the white stones
Row on row,
Here where we lie.

Softly so softly
The bright sunbeams bless
Enfolding us all
In their warm caress


Silently so silently
The snowflakes fall
Covering us gently
With their loving pall,


Quietly so quietly
The breezes sigh
Whispering our plea
To all who’d pas by
Here where we lie

Stay,tarry,linger a while
It’s not  much to ask
For we who gave all
And now here we lie.

Our living not  easy,
Our dying so hard
Just think of us kindly ,
When soft winds blow
 Bright sunbeams bless,
Snowflakes fall,
And Soft breezes whisper
“Remember them all,
Here where they lie.

Viktoria.

Well folks, in these strange times, it is still Whit Sunday today.
The Parish Whit walks were something we looked forward to.
Dressed in white with flower posies,hair taken out of Saturday night’s “ sore finger ringlets”( my Mum was a sadist ,she put the knots at the top so you got no sleep!) .
White shoes and down to church and your allotted place on a flower banner or if in the top Sunday School class The BIG banner!
Held aloft by poles, measuring six feet across and about ten long it weighed heavy.
Brocaded and embroidered it had the Church’s name and a portrait of that Saint.
Long ropes  kept taut helped the men carrying  it to balance the weight ,
and ribbons were held by the oldest girls.
It was an honour to be on the big banner.You had to have 100% Sunday School and church attendance.
We had long white dresses ,flower headdresses and if on the ropes,no posies as you had to pull.
On the ribbons we did have posies.
Children from three or four walked the parish walks on Whit Sunday afternoon.We had the Church Lads’ Brigade band or our Scouts’s (ooh those knees pre long trouser days!)band.
On Whit Monday was the really big walks, from the parish churches right down to Albert  Square and some into the Cathedral on a Rota.
There were upwards of 20,000 Sunday School children walking, it took the procession two hours to pass.
On that day the Churches hired brass bands to play during the walks ,each had its own.
Ours had Culcheth Prize Military Band in which my grandfather played the flute.
Their other name was The Tall Hat Band.
This was because they wore morning coats and top hats.
It was something we looked forward to all year round and the local press took hundreds of photographs.
On Whit Friday the Roman Catholic walks were joined by Manchester’s Italian ,Polish and Hungarian  communities,all in National costumes ,then they walked again on Trinity Sunday.
The Italians had a huge Madonna,smothered in Madonna lilies and carried by the young men.( half the Manchester Mafia  )
All the Ice cream families,Pesagno, Granelli,Rea, Corelli, Pandolfo and Italian
artisans, Bachegalupo ,Quigliagotti etc were represented and it was a spectacular sight.
No Sunday schools really now and church attendance very poor.
We got our yearly new outfit at Whit, so it was a real milestone in our pretty hum drum lives .
But by now we would be lining up to walk in order round our parish ,cheered and clapped by residents it was the big day in our year only bettered by Whit Monday.
Sectarianism was rife , as you can imagine , but one gentleman Mr.John Pesagno always waited at seven o’clock  on the Whit Monday morning  to see our church start its walk to Albert square,on the corner ,he took off his Homburg hat and acknowledged our Rector .
Considering Mr. Pesagno  had been interned on The I.O.M for the duration of the war ,that was really a most generous gesture.

 Ah well , no sore finger ringlets tonight , no keeping your posy in a cool damp place( ie the house,!)no whitening your shoes for Monday’s really big exciting day.
No looking forward to seeing The Scouts  and hearing the crowds shout encouragement when we were getting tired” keep your lilies up “—- (keep your heads up high) no maudlin sentimentality as we passed pub  after pub especially on the return route,the mixture of religion and   Nationalism  .
There was always a big Bonny girl dressed as Britannia and some churches  had the  little boys dressed as Victorian sailors ,with Union Jacks!
All gone I think ,but it was  fun whilst it lasted.
Viktoria.

Is anyone else having trouble with fbmd.?
I use the site from time to time and have found  it very useful.
Tried again yesterday to check something,but there were no redults.
So did a  few runs to check, you know ,things I was absolutely certain of but again nothing found.
This may be good news to some of you - but  I don’t exist !
I have found the same things in the past,so why no results now when the information put in is exactly the same.
I know parts are a  work in progress,but surely what I have found before ought to still be available,any thoughts.?
Many thanks in advance.
Viktoria.

Ah! But,at the moment I am like Frank Spencer,having a bit of trouble!
RootsChat trying to sort it out,but I have to log in again to be able to reply,
Things are getting better ,so I am being patient as it is all my own fault
Viktoria.