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