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Topics - dennford

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1
The Lighter Side / No such thing as an uninteresting life
« on: Thursday 06 September 18 13:55 BST (UK)  »
I haven't been on "Rootschat" for a long time - years in fact. But much like the prodigal son, I'm back. Where I'm heading with this post, I don't know? but hopefully, it will create some interest.

I hope to achieve two things; Induce members to relate their or their relative's interesting life experiences and secondly to develop my own writing style.

So! here we go.

There's no such thing as an uninteresting life

PART ONE - What makes us.

We are a much-varied species; not just our skin colour or appearance But in our ways, our habits, our intellect, even the way we consider ourselves and treat our peers.
There are thousands of reasons for these differences, and it all begins with our parents and continues with every twist and turn of our lives. Apart from the obvious genetic traits that we inherit from our ancestors, we begin with a place on this planet. That is not only the physical place where we are born but the social environment into which we must learn to survive and tolerate. This social environment includes parents. friends, teachers and so many more; so even by mid-childhood we have become a very complex and unique character, How much more so by adulthood?


Born in northern England into a coal mining community not long after world war two, I suppose that the major influences on my early life would have been my family situation, a country just recovering from the horrors and the hardships of war, when people were looking to a future with some sort of promise and a healthy outlook, this was hoped to be an age of advancement. Then, of course, I was surrounded by coal mining families, my relatives were coal miners, our neighbours, everyone you knew seemed to be coal mining families, all with the common interests and goals that are evident in a close-knit community.


As a child, my parents were divorced before I was four years old and I wasn't to know my father until some years later. Together with my Mother and my younger brother we lived with my maternal grandparents. Grandad always seemed to cough quite a lot, not that it seemed like anything unusual to me at such a young age; although over the next few years I was to realise that this constant coughing was the dreadful results of a lifetime in the coal mines. Meanwhile Mum seemed to spend a great deal of time in a hospital a long way from grandad's house, she suffered from something called TB. My brother and I never seemed to worry about these matters, probably because we were always occupied with the many things a young boy spends his day's doing; building hideaways in the nearby fields, heading down the allotments to watch the steam trains, playing cowboys and injuns with our homemade bows and arrows, exploring new territories and a myriad of adventure that only can be imagined by a young boy. I guess that we enjoyed a freedom that doesn't seem possible these days.

As we grew older, my generation all developed their own very individual thoughts of what to expect from life and conversely, what they would put into life, South Yorkshire was little different to most other places; many of us went through childhood and school with the very likely prospects of working our whole life in the coal mines, whilst others may harbour some ambition to reach some other destination or status in life. Whatever we were envisioning in those early days, whether or not we would follow our idealised life plan was something that no one knew - and at that time I guess that we wouldn't have cared. This was our future, it would be exciting, it would be great, we were here to enjoy life and make the best of whatever it threw at us - Bring it on!

2
May be worth a look but note the two comments - no cc details required.

https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/152487

Denn

3
Armed Forces / badge I.D.
« on: Tuesday 09 August 11 13:29 BST (UK)  »
trying to identify a badge for a friend who has only idle gossip about her father.

What we have been told is that he was French born around 1920 - 25 and was supposedly in the French forieghn legion ( I thought that French nationals weren't allowed?). Unfortunately the name he was known by was almost certainly an assumed name, I know myself that he often spoke French, German and Sklav with amazing fluency - so wher he actually originated is anyones guess.

Hopefully this badge may throw some light.

Denn

4
For Sale / Wanted / Events / Fremantle heritage festival
« on: Thursday 27 May 10 10:05 BST (UK)  »
This may be of interest to anyone; but particularly locals.

Looking at the brochure it seems to cover a wide range of interests from folk music to preservation of records, how to get the most from the archives, historical re-enactments, tours of heritage areas, even a workshop on how to research the history of your house.

Unfortunately it is doubtful if I will be unable to attend any of it but for those interested here is the brochure. 
http://www.fremantlefestivals.com/main/resource/2010%20Fremantle%20Heritage%20Festival%20Brochure.pdf

Denn

5
The Common Room / Are you looking for a grave
« on: Sunday 14 March 10 22:46 GMT (UK)  »
Listening to the radio this morning this site was featured so after a very quick glance (before I start work in the garden) I thought that it would be something that could be extremely interesting or even usefull - just have a look - I'm out working.

http://www.findagrave.com/index.html


Denn

6
Australia / explore this W.A. guide to government records
« on: Thursday 17 September 09 02:12 BST (UK)  »
Do yourself a favour and browse this treasure trove of information.


Denn

7
The Lighter Side / The Strangled Leper and The Septic Ferret
« on: Monday 11 August 08 13:17 BST (UK)  »
 I was going to put this on "totally off topic" but because it may have some relevence to family/local history, here it is.

"The Strangled Leper and The Septic Ferret" is actually the name of a pub. Now there must be thousands of pubs with unusual names yet names that hold some significance. Let's hear your favourite - just to get you in the mood have a look here.

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=55554

By the way, a pet hate of mine is when an old pub name is changed to suit modern times - it has then lost it's identity.

Denn

8
The Lighter Side / help needed from someone who reads Dutch
« on: Thursday 20 December 07 21:18 GMT (UK)  »
 A new thread has turned up a Dutch web page and I would be pleased if anyone can help with  little translation.

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=274411.new#new

Thanks in anticipation
Denn

9
The Lighter Side / an interesting slant on family history
« on: Thursday 20 December 07 13:32 GMT (UK)  »
I'm not too sure where to post this story so I shall start here, hoping it may generate some discussion.

There have been many arguments as to who were the first Europeans to visit Australia. However a not well known story is that of what were possibly the first Europeans to actually live here. Long before Cook the Dutch had been using Australia as a navigational aid en-route to Batavia. Now in 1712 the vessel Zuytdorp was wrecked off the coast of W.A. Although little is known of the fate of those on board, over the years it has been noted that a handfull of the mid west Aborigines do have some physical similarities to Europeans and that artifacts dating back several hundred years have used bindings tied using Dutch seamens knots. Allthough this would seem to give some remote suggestion that some of those Dutch could have survived and actually bred with Aborigines, it is not very convincing.

Genetics though gives us another avenue to follow. Porphyria variegata is a rare disease that would seem to have been prevalant in Holland in the 1600s/1700s and most cases were traceable to only two families. It spread from Holland to the Amish community in America and to the Dutch communities in South Africa. Now interestingly at the time that the Zuytdorp made it's fatefull voyage It stopped in South Africa. One of Capetowns residents, a young man called Hendrick Bibault was descended from one of those two families, Bibault was in ome sort of trouble with the Capetown authorities and was deported aboard the Zuytdorp, therefore sharing the same fate as everyone else aboard.

This now brings us to the most convincing evidence that he probably survived and the posibility that his ancestors are this day living inn the mid west of W.A. It has been found that there is an incidence among mid west aborigines of porphyria variegata that exists nowhere ele in Australia.

This is just but a brief outline of the whole story, but it makes one wonder what other proof lies out there.

Denn

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