"Shawni is not too keen on snow at the moment"

'Shawni's hands and feet just go ice-cold.'

Sometimes nothing changes over the decades.

Reading my letter to Mom about the cold and how Shawni did not respond well to being cold during the winter of 1987 makes me smile, she is still exactly the same, intolerant of being cold.

If I was still writing to Mom, I would drop her a note about our experience with Shawni at the Timberline Lodge at Mt Hood

It was July 2014 and a hot summer day in Oregon.

We decided to take the ski-lift up Mt Hood from the rather creepy Timberline Lodge for views across the magnificent Cascade Range.
Shawni was dressed for a sunny day and was not going to ride the lift without a warm top. She did some speed shopping for a fleece (on sale) and we were ready.

If I was still writing to Mom, I would drop her a note about this experience with Shawni at Mt Hood to tell Mom that Shawni's hands and feet still go ice-cold...

Shawni over the decades, Paris and Mt Hood, Oregon, an aversion to being cold.

"Il neige", snow at 2 Ave Corneille, Marly-le-Roi

Our first snow!

Its January 2015, I am sitting blogging here in Cape Town, it's mid summer, it's fiercely hot and I am indoors keeping cool.

What a difference looking at my letter from January 1987 that I was writing from Marly-le-Roi in France to my mother in Howick, South Africa.

Then I was housebound for a very different reason, snow.

Such excitement to wake up to 'a white wonderland'. It was snowing in Paris and reading the letter we were having some very cold days too, -16 degrees.

The low temperatures made the snow fine and powdery, not fun to play with.
But Fred still made our first snowman 'with naartjies for eyes, baby marrow for a nose and Barry's hat.' Looking at the photo of the snowman, he looks rather like Fred with its moustache.

I remember that Shawni was not keen to be out and posing with the snowman. 'She was confused by the snow, but loves it when inside'.  She and I watched Fred from the kitchen window, I also preferred been indoors.

I was baking banana bread for Sally who walked to me for tea, I was knitting, doing my photo albums and playing with the kids while snowbound. Sounds lovely indeed.

View from our dining room across to the chateau over the road.

...and meeting Dad's cousin

Dad's grandparents, Alexander and Alice (nee Cawood), his father Percy back row left and his aunts and uncles.
Aunt Joyce as a young girl front row right.

Photos of Joyce in the Wedderburn Book.

Life is a wonderful journey of 'who would have thought moments'.

One such moment was a conversation on a beach with my dear friend Bev, a passing question about her husband's father led me to lunch with Patsy Edkins yesterday.

Patsy is an aunt to Bev's husband and she is also my Dad's cousin.

Her mother was Joyce Wedderburn and one of Grandpa Percy's sisters.

I have a recall of Dad talking about his aunt and uncle who lived in Bolton Road, Parkwood, Patsy's family home. He would be continually amazed at how Rosebank and environs had changed from the years he had visited.

Mom wrote to Aunt Joyce and asked her to share some thoughts about her parents, Alex and Alice and stories of growing up in Bloemfontein. She kept Joyce's response and this letter is in the Wedderburn Book.

The letter is a gem.

Particularly the snippets of information about the Cawood's.

She writes that Alice Cawood grew up on a farm Southwell, near Grahamstown, Fred and I drove past Southwell on a back road between Bathurst and Salem on our summer road trip a few weeks ago. Alice lost her mother really young and was married at 17. Joyce writes that she was married by her Great Uncle Rev. Barriette Cawood.

Patsy has a recall of Alice's mother dying giving birth.

Ahh, the Cawood wealth, jewels and monogrammed linen pass into the new family when Alice's father remarries.

'We had a lovely happy home...It was one of the nicest homes in Bloemfontein in my youth' 
Home to the family of 12 children was 32 Monument Road, Bloemfontein.

Joyce describes her father Alex, as very good looking indeed and 'wise, kind and clever'. 
She could be talking about all the Wedderburn men I have known.

Lindsay with her mother, Dad's cousin Patsy Edkins

Bev arranged for me to meet Patsy, she lives at Erinvale here in the Cape.
What a special afternoon.
I showed the Wedderburn Book to Patsy and Lindsay her daughter, we swapped family stories both recent and from way back. I loved it all.

Hearing from my mother's cousin

William Argyle, Mom's maternal grandfather

I have been intrigued by how little we know of Mom's side of the family, she created the amazing Wedderburn Book but left us with nothing about herself and her family.

Out of the blue I had a contact from Bertie Cornell, he had been researching his family and came across my blogging. He is Mom's cousin, lives in Pietermaritzburg and we have been corresponding.

I have been able to piece together some of my Nan's family through Bertie's photos and memories:

'William Argyle as a younger version when he worked for the S.A.R. as a cabinet maker and he played in the railways band, my mother always told me that he played the picolo but that looks like a cornet/trumpet to me.'   

Family photos taken at 107 Vos Street, Pretoria
Back row from l: Nan and Pa (Nellie and Bill van der Veen), Edith (my godmother) and Nan's stepmother Fanny
Front row from l: Kathleen (Nan's half sister) Mom and her brother Gus.

'William & Fanny got married at Grahamstown on the 30th March 1904 and started of their married life with Nellie.'

Bertie is not sure whether Nan's mother Kathleen (nee Gustar or Guster) had died or was divorced, but either way Nan grew up with her father, his wife Fanny and their 3 girls, Elsie, Edith and Kathleen. 

Bertie even remembers the dog was named Nuts.

'At this stage I don't know Nellie's birthdate but could have been around 1900. My mothers birthdate date was 3rd August 1915. William died when he was 36 years old!!'

Time for me to relook at Nan's letters.

Argyle family photo at 107 Vos Street, Pretoria
Back row from l: Fanny, Carlyn and Kathleen (Bertie's parents), Nellie (Nan van der Veen)
Front: Mom seated on Elsie's lap and Mom's brother Gus.

Hello Sharon & Fred,

Thankyou for coming back so quickly,  I was surfing looking for Selwyn van der Veen and came across your family (and mine).

My mother was Kathleen Cornell (nee Argyle) Her sisters were your gran, Elsie Wicks (nee) Argyle) and Edith Argyle a spinster. My brother Kingsley Cornell and I were brought up with our cousins and we met at various times of the year for family occasions.

I do have a few photo's of the family and was delighted to view some of the pics. of your mother who I last saw walking down one of our pavements nearly 30 years ago. My mother used to spend time in Van der Bijl Park with both Edith, Nellie and Bill. As for your Dad my Mother held him in high regard as in her words " he is such a nice chap"

I was born in Pretoria on the 5th October 1940 which now puts me on the list!  We moved to Johannesburg and and parents divorced and I attended the Technical College in Smit Steet and became a radiotricean working in Hillbrow until I moved to Pietermaritzburg to work at a radio shop as an apprentice, somewhere along the line I started my own shop which I had for forty years. I married my wife Barbara in 1967 and we had two children Trevor Alma who was killed in a motor accident in 1992 and a daughter  Carmen Bridget who is married to a Wayne Mayer.

Barbara has had a rough medical time over the past four years and it was decided to move in to their property which had a large cottage waiting for us, just round the corner from the University. My son- in- law has two SPAR'S, a garage and a couple of bottle stores so Carmen did pretty well for herself, I nearly forgot to mention that they have three children Hannah Jane 17,Trent Calvin 14, and the apple of my eye Paige Kate 12. Both the girls go to St John's and Trent is at Maritzburg College. 

I am going to get a selection of photographs together but in the mean time I will send one with this e-mail.

I hope that you will not be too bored with all the above but I am keen to find out more about  the old Argyle's. If you do have anything about them it would speed up my chore of finding more details.

This has been most unexpected finding you chaps, we are so lucky to have been part of the digital age!

Looking forward to hear from you,

Bertie.

A visit to Frontier Country, district Bathurst, Eastern Cape

Our December 2014 summer road trip between Cape Town and the Loft in Toti was an opportunity to pop past Bathurst, Salem and Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape to learn more about my 1820 Settler forefather, Christopher Wedderburn, his wife Ann and their five children.

We overnighted at the historic Pig and Whistle Hotel in Bathurst and first thing in the morning, after a restless noisy night, started to explore the church grounds for graves.

Nothing at the Methodist Church which left the St. Johns Anglican Church off the main street in Bathurst.

We found Elizabeth's gravestone against the back church wall.

I had an instant body reaction and tears just ran. Her gravestone is the oldest in the churchyard, August 1839, she was the fourth of the five children born to Christopher and Ann Wedderburn.

It was interesting to open Mom's Wedderburn Book at the Loft and see her and Dad making the same trip in 1989.

Mom and I are standing at the Toposcope in Bathurst, both pointing in the direction of the farm land allocated to the George Smith party from the host the Stentor, of which Christopher and Ann were a part.

After red velvet cake and a vast mug of coffee, we popped into the History Museum in Grahamstown to see the 1820 Settler Exhibition. There were quite a few references to the Wedderburn's, even Christopher's flute, all donated by Mrs Ward (nee Wedderburn) ex Salisbury, but I just loved seeing this plate in the bottom righthand corner of the cabinet, custom made, with an insignia, John Wedderburn Grahamstown. 

Covet! How I would love to own one of these plates.

The Wedderburn Book also provided the clues on where to find Christopher's grave at Salem, we had missed it first time round, Dad is standing in front of the grave in a photo Mom has in the book. No problem second time round, the headstone is facing away from the church front door and obscured by a scrub.

This man's tenacity and courage almost 200 years ago, is the reason I find myself here in South Africa.

Christmas stockings and well-loved toys

I am pouring over these Christmas photo from 1986 and seeing so many delightful things which bring back wonderful memories. We were in the UK, at Marlow-on Thames with Henk and Janet and Hans and Flora.

The cousins, Xmas 1986, Barry, Dirk, Jason, Lexi and Shawni

Firstly, Flora embroidered two Xmas stockings for the kids with their names on them, and they are hanging in the photo. She did 10 in total. These stockings have become integral to our celebrations each year, I fill them with all sorts of practical and fun little things, we sit down to open presents and always start with the stockings.
Shawni's stocking has moved with her to Wellington, New Zealand and I still have Barry's one and it is still in use.
I love this tradition. Thank you Flora!



Then there is Pinocchio, hanging top right.
Mom sent us a Christmas parcel with handmade treats. Her Pinocchio was a gem, 'adorable, he is hanging from one of the lights in the kids room. I've taught Shawni to answer 'Why has he got a long nose?' with "cos he lies".' 
He has a fabric body, twine legs, a huge ball of a head with a bright green felt hat over his yellow wool hair and sits on a swing. Even the feather in his cap has survived all these years.

He hung in Shawni's room until she left home, he is still loved, also packed up with Shawni's things and gone to New Zealand.

Barry and his Footballer doll.
My letter mentions that Barry was sitting from Boxing Day while we were in Marlow-on-Thames, but when he got tired he would slump forward and look more and more like his soft toy. Precious indeed.

An update for Nan on the 'littleys'.

Build up to Christmas 1986

Shawni's excitement in this photograph in front of the Christmas windows at Printemps in Paris is too gorgeous to see. She loved these Zapf dolls that were featured in a kitchen setting. I loved them even more.

My letter sharing all the Christmas travels and news, shows how delighted we were to take the kids into Paris to show them the lights and displays, Shawni 'was hysterical with excitement, 'ooh, look at the lights''.  

The Enchanted Forest behind the Eiffel Tower had 600 lit trees and a little train took us around the displays of life-size cartoon characters, snowmen and polar bears. They loved the carousel rides. We also took in the Nativity Play in front of Notre Dame. What a wonderful outing and how privileged I feel looking back that we got to do this. I still feel like using the superlatives I used in the letter.

Paris is spectacular.

I mention the 8 of us. Hans, Flora and their boys were staying with us in Paris before we all went across to the UK for Christmas with Henk and Janet and her parents at Marlow-on-Thames.

Flash forward to March 2013.

I took Barry to Paris for a day en route to our cooking adventure in Morocco. We walked all day, from one favourite haunt to the next, still window shopping, a visual feast and in between great coffee and croissants, croque madames and salad et al. We finished off the day watching the sunset at the Eiffel Tower and quietly for the light show.

Such a joy.
My 30 something self with her baby in 1986 and a few decades later with her adult son.

A day in Paris with Barry.

Second-hand memories.

So true.

As I reread my letters from France to my parents in South Africa, when we lived in Marly-le-Roi between 1986-7, I am intrigued by both what I chose to write about, what I thought may be of interest my Mom mostly and how some of those memories are crystal clear and others feel like someone else's rather dated and second-hand memories.

My letter of the 1 December 1986.

I am telling Mom a story about Shawni. 'She's learning to dress and undress herself at the moment. Anyway, she pulled up her dungarees one morning, looked at me and said 'et voila'. Too sweet, one of these days I might not understand her.'

It is wonderful that Mom kept these letters, I try to recall the moments I write about but mostly I don't, but I can imagine what it must have been like to hear Shawni dropping in French words!

Chocolate cakes for Shawni

I am noticing my comment about Fred getting really worn down by the settling in problems in France.

This must have been a very challenging time for him, he has absolutely no tolerance for admin of any kind and never has had.

I am also enjoying reading about my attempts at housework, baking, cooking, sewing, knitting and reading between the lines, this is not a natural space for me to be in and the results were certainly nowhere near perfect.

Chocolate cake with coffee butter icing! And a recipe from Aunty Daph, who was a good friend of Mom's.

So Shawni is turning two, I am pleased to have found a fun candle in the shape of an "S" and I am baking. Rather wryly I drop Mom a line in the letter that the cake  'true to form doesn't look anything like it should, bit 'dood-gooi', tastes OK though.' 

Even though it flopped, I served the cake with tea for Sally.

Twenty-eight years later, I am still doing a chocolate cake for Shawni, this time ordered in, decadent and absolutely delicious and beautiful to look at, we had death by chocolate for days afterwards.

Shawni waving to Nan and Grumps with her pushchair and Dollie that turned out to be a boy. I was pragmatic and happily cross dressed the doll.

A car called "Spook"

It's late October 1986 in Marly-le-Roi, the days are mostly grey, the weather is getting cooler, with drizzle and wind, and I write that 'the garden looks like a jungle, leaves everywhere, uncut grass, will have to do something soon. But have no lawn-mower or tools here.'

My letter fills Mom in on the bits and pieces of my weeks.
A visit to a dentist. My teeth became a problem soon after Barry was born, the pregnancies took their toll, I had called the American Hospital in Paris for a referral on an English speaking dentist.
Fred's travels. He was in Dublin and I sent him looking for peanut butter and Marmite for me!
French lessons. I am barely managing my classes but working through my textbooks at home.
Shopping for winter and sending Doreen a polo for her birthday.
The kids. Barry's food routine, seeing the doctor for his injection, I seem lost because I cannot find gems and butternut to cook for him, so feeding him on Purity. Shawni making mischief at the Halte Garderie and launching herself out of her cot. Early warning about her adventurous spirit like launching herself out of aeroplanes!

The big news is buying a little car for me, we may have christened her Spook but very quickly she became Ma Poubelle, my dustbin.

This is one of my favourite photos from our time in France. 

It shows my hard working VW Polo with its crazy black and white checked fabric, two carseats in the back. Two babies, dressed for the Arctic, dummies in place and the boot would have been full of baby paraphernalia. Shawni already trendy in her wellies and scarf. 

Getting ready each day, whether for a trip to the Halte Garderie, or shopping or sight-seeing, was a feat.

PS: I am reading a later letter and I have sketched a 'cagoule', I see Shawni is wearing one in the photo, 'they work like a bomb'. 

I should try and see if I can find a knitting pattern online.

Ian du Barry Wedderburn, a cousin and friend

A thank you card from 1973

I am busy reorganising the Wedderburn Book, streamlining and making it more accessible.

Mom started the next generation but it become unwieldy so I am removing those unfinished pages.

She has this little thank you card in the album from Ian and Julie who were married on the 15 September 1973 in Kimberley.

Their friendship with my parents was important to them all and when Ian moved to Iscor in Vanderbijlpark they became close.

Mom particularly enjoyed her times with Julie.

Ian mentioned this old black and white photo, it signified a special moment, it is of Grandpa Percy, Uncle Ralph, Dad's older brother and a very young Ian.

They have just been down to the Loft to visit and see Dad which we both appreciate.

Three generations of Bloemfontein Wedderburn's

Lovely to see you both.

Grey College School, Bloemfontein, a proud Wedderburn tradition

The fragile sepia toned report card is torn down the middle, its from Grey College School, Bloemfontein.

The date is the 28th September 1906 and it is the oldest report card in the small pile of documents that Mom had kept lose in her Wedderburn Book.

A hundred and nine years ago, Grandpa Percy, would have been 17 and completing Form 4, as have many generations of Wedderburn boys since then.

He has done well in his six subjects, English, Dutch, Latin, History, Mathematics and Drawing.

He is certainly strong in Arithmatic and second in the Order of Merit for his form.

It is interesting to note that Afrikaans is not yet on the curriculum at Grey College, as it only becomes an official language in South Africa from 1925.

Wonder how good his Dutch would have been?
Could he have chatted to Fred?

Percy Wedderburn is known for his sporting prowess and we have a couple of wonderful old black and white photos of the teams that he played for from The Collegians Rugby Football Club.

The one that I am taken with is from 1921, where the team is the Winner of the Grand Challenge Club.

Percy is the Captain, sitting centre of the middle row with the cup in front of him on the floor.

He is staring intently to camera, already bald, good looking and strongly built.

Percy Wedderburn, Captain, The Collegians R.F.C 1921