THE FINAL ANALYSIS OF TRIP (I hope!)

It's now been 6 days back in Oz and we are starting to get back to some normality. I am unable to work out if it is jet lag or just plain laziness but by afternoon I am having trouble keeping my eyes open but come bed time and I'm wide awake and bright eyed.

I look back on the trip with very mixed emotions. The highs were unbelievably high but there were some equally incredible lows. I have listed some of these events in previous posts on the blog but have kept some of the downs secret. As I look back I am satisfied that the highs well and truly overshadow the lows. The true significance of that statement will become more clear shortly.

To have met so many relations who had been nothing more than names, and in quite a few cases not even that, was a wonderful blessing. Without exception I, make that we, were instantly made to feel welcome and part of the family. Going to meet so many 'new' family members can be a bit daunting, we are all from different life styles, different customs, different backgrounds, different surroundings and you can never be sure how we all will react with one another. All of my concerns about this were a complete waste of energy. I am truly blessed to be part of such a wonderful family, both paternal and maternal. None of the lows could come close to dampening that wonderful feeling. Two years in a row now I have met family from the other side of the globe and in every case I have come away with the same wonderful feeling. What more can I say.

Also to have visited the places where so many of my ancestors lived and worked was great. I will never cease to be a 'Dinky Di Aussie' nor will I ever have any desire to live anywhere else. I do not know if it is physcological, emotional, genetic or imagination but I did feel a bonding with the Suffolk countryside, especially the smaller villages. This was especially so when I visited some of the Churches where significant events in our family history occurred. There were times when I did feel a 'presence', maybe I'm losing the plot! As I said I have no desire to go back there to live but still did feel a kind of sadness when it was time to leave. Maybe it is a good thing I had to leave!

There was also the visit to the area of Cambridgeshire where Ann's ancestors came from. In the area around St. Neots. I know that was very special for Ann but I also thoroughly enjoyed that occasion. Now that can't be genetic but maybe it was a transmission from Ann and her pleasure in going to those places. This was certainly another high.

The Lows started before we had disembarked the 747 at Heathrow on our arrival. I refer to the failure of the air-bridge and the wait for suitable stairs to be found and brought to the aircraft. It was only an hour or so but seemed longer. I will now list the lows without dwelling on them. Suffice to say that their effects will soon be behind us, I hope!

Hire car scraped by someone unknown in shopping centre car park on the day of arrival.
Lost (temporarily thankfully) car keys.
Broken dental plate (3 times!)
Loss of 290 pounds in cash.
Car accident when hit from behind at traffic lights.
Broken screen on lap top computer.
Theft of my credit card at a ATM (teller machine)
Fraudulent withdrawal of over $1800 Australian from my account.
But by far the worst feature was the effects of Ann's failing eyesight. Because of this she was continually terrified by the sudden appearance and the apparent closeness and speed of other traffic. This made any car travel a most uncomfortable experience for her and her obvious tension and concerns had their effect on me. It also had the effect of shortening time we spent with family on occasions. To those affected by this I can only say sorry but thank you one and all for your acceptance of us and our 'ways'.

The final chapter of all this will unfold over the next few weeks as I have dealings with insurance companies. There I go again, probably worrying unnecessarily!

My final overview of the trip? I wouldn't have missed it for quids and the memories will be with me for the rest of my days. Thank you one and all for making it such a great time in my/our lives.

I am typing this with the lap top plugged into a monitor (borrowed from son in law Peter) but on Monday it will have to go in to get a quote for repairs. I am led to believe that it could be in the vicinity of $1000. Obviously it is still working with the exception of the screen which has the most amazing mosaic patten.

Until the next post, love to all. Dave and Ann

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN, JIGGETY JIG.

Well we have arrived home safely, tired, jet lagged but happy to be here. We arrived about 7.oo am yesterday (Saturday) and were met by Amanda, Danah and Andrew. This will be a very short post as I am using Amanda's computer, mine is still dead. Will attempt to take steps towards its repair tomorrow (Monday). This is just to let you all know that we have arrived safely. The two day is Singapore were tiring, very muggy and were glad to get out of the heat. I will update with more information when my own electronic device is again up and running. Soon I hope, as I have mountains of new information to introduce to my family tree as a result of the trip. In spite of all the ups and downs we both enjoyed the experience and are very glad that we did it.

Until next time, Cheers, Ann and Dave.

THE LAST POST!

I mean that quite literally. Some fool about my size pulled his laptop off of the table and broke the screen so it is not unreadable. I am sending this from an internet cafe (at the Bury Tourist Information Centre) and expect this will be the last word prior to our getting home. I am a bit confused about what has happened since the previous post so will only give a rough outline of what has been happening. Today is Thursday afternoon (here) and we went for a drive to a new area (for us) this morning. Saw lots of interesting things and visited yet another Church. This one was unique in that it had a hexagonal tower. Like them all it had a very long history and was truly beautiful.

Yesterday we went a visited a 2nd Cousin who lives in Attleborough. It is about one hour away and once again was a beaut day. He is the brother of a Cuz I discovered a few years ago via my web page and who lives an Adelaide (South Aust). We had a great day and of course you got a bit of a bagging Brian! Ann is still very nervous in the car and particularly as it gets toward night so we (BOTH OF US) were glad to get home as it was after dark by that time.

Only about 4 days and we will be off to Singapore for a couple of days and then HOME! I hope I can shake the cold I have caught before the flight.

Until we get home, Love to all, Ann and Dave.

I'VE RUN OUT OF SUPERLATIVES!

As promised on Saturday I loaded the birthday girl into the car and headed off in a new (for us) direction. Another lovely drive through the Suffolk countryside found us at Colchester. A birthday lunch in a French restaurant for 'she who must be obeyed' was followed by a visit to the Colchester Castle. It is amazing to follow the development of mankind over a period of 4 or 5 thousand years. For me the most interesting information was the display of the bronze age. I was astounded by the quality of the implements cast from bronze about 1500 BC!

On Sunday we went to Church at Shelley, one of the churches we visited early in our stay here in Bury. It was a family/harvest festival service. Once again we were made most welcome by all the parishioners. The Church Warden opened the safe and produced the 'Burial Register'. In it I was able to discover the entries for my G/G/G/grandfather's and my G/G/G/grandmother's burial. Other family members were recorded in the 'Banns Register'. Over the after Church 'cuppa' one of the ladies said that she knew a Stannard who lives in Hadleigh. Her husband was sent to get the address book and I was given the 'phone number of Jimmy and Norma Stannard. On our way 'home' we had the usual stop off at Corn Craft at Monks Eleigh for lunch. After getting home I went for another walk to 'The Nutshell' which was shut.

On Monday we went to Little Waldingfield to visit with the local 'History Recorder'. Patricia has a wonderful knowledge of the area and it's history. Her position involves recording present happenings for future generations. We had a lovely morning and got a good insight into the village and the life style of previous generations. After that we went to Hadleigh to visit a 'Antiques Shop' Ann had seen as we drove through. It turned out to be a farm supplies shop! A hamburger in a Cafe and then a nice drive where we managed to get lost so Deidre was on duty to bring us home by a series of back roads. Following the disappointment of the previous day I again went for a walk. This time the Nutshell was open so I had a pint in 'my' corner of the bar. While I was there an Irishman with a very broad accent came in. I think he accent was affected by what he had consumed before he arrived! He had an interest in Australia so claimed me. He was a great fan of Slim Dusty and gave me a rendition of 'Pub with no beer' which amused all 6 or 7 patrons in the bar. He knew all the words too.

Tuesday was a partly domestic day and partly research at Suffolk Registry Office. I spent a few hours there going through records in search of new information with very limited success.

Today we went to meet Jim and Norma Stannard in Hadleigh. There are quite a few Stannards in the area so it is unlikely that there is any connection. On arrival we had the mandatory cuppa and then Jim gets out the 'Family Tree' which was given to him by some distant relative that he hardly knows. He hands it to me and I look at the first page to see if I can find any link to my tree. The first names I see are James Stannard who was married to one Ann Garwood. What can I say, these people were my G/G/G/G/grandparents! We then clapped one another on the back and called each other cousin. I now have a copy of all this information which will add lots to my tree when I get it all sorted. The family circle is growing daily! We followed that with another lunch at Corn Craft and then a visit to a antique shop in Lavenham we were told about by my new found cousin.

That's about it for today. It will soon be time to cook up a meal. The central heating is just coming on which will make things nice and cosy. That will please 'you know who'! We will probably go over to Cambridge for a look about tomorrow.

Until the next post, love and greeting to all, Ann and Dave.