Amongst other things, they sometimes trigger a line of thought such as this:
My mother spent a lot of time at first Edwardstone and then Castle Hedingham in the years between 1927 and 1943 before and after she got married. You might have thought that, in later years, when we were living near Stowmarket and later outside Braintree, she would have wanted to show us (in particular my brother Johnny and me) the places where she had lived before we were born. And yet, to the best of my knowledge, I never saw Sheepcote in Castle Hedingham or Great Wenham (where I was born) until long after she died. And I have to this day never been to Edwardstone!
This is certainly not a reproach. I can't speak for Johnny, but I am pretty sure I did not show much inclination to visit these places at the time, and no doubt transport, especially in the early years, would have been a major obstacle. Just the same, I wonder why?
How strange. Do you think this might have been a gender thing? Because I was aware of and visited Sheepcote from a very early age, tho Edwardstone only once. You must remember visiting Winifred in her cottage in Chelsworth, surely? She'd been one of the maids at Edwardstone which was (I now see from my map) a very nearby village. And did you never hear tales of our 2nd cousin, Dan Farson, falling (or pushed?) into the pond at Edwardstone and how Wilma had to plunge in after him?
ReplyDeleteIt is of course quite possible that my failing memory is the real culprit here! On the other hand, I do remember travelling to Chelsworth very well, but have no recollection of our going further afield.
ReplyDeleteEdwardstone and Sheepcote were names to be conjured with but not, as far as I can remember, the object of visits!
We used to go to Chelsworth on our bikes, and I suppose to go further afield might have been difficult. On the other hand, remembering how scruffy we all were might it have been possible that Mose didn't want to be recognised in Edwardstone?!
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