Canny lass

A huge thank you from me for all your dedicated work, Malcolm. As you know, I no longer live there but I still take a keen interest in the area that, to a large extent, made me who I am today. It's nice to see that it's in such good hands and that, despite the trials and tribulations which you describe,it is growing and developing along the right lines. Thank you again for all your hard work.

Pencils poised? ready, steady, GO: 1. What would you keep in a cresset? 2. In which English county is Charnwood Forest? 3. What do we call a boat with an oval, wickerwork frame covered with a leather skin? 4. On which horse did Fred Winter win the Grand National in 1957? 5. Which footballer made a record with Lindisfarne? 6. How many children does Donald Duck have? 7. Who said “it’s not the men in my life that counts – it’s the life in my men? 8. Who, in 1907, was the first woman to receive the Order of Merit? 9. Which metal is extracted from sphalerite? 10. What was Charles Conrad the third person to do, in 1969? 11. Which member of the royal family abseiled down a dam without a safety helmet in 1998? 12. What make and model of car was James Dean driving when he crashed and died in 1955? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. The table fork was introduced to England by Thomas Coryat in 1608 Answer's on Thursday next week.

Yes, they certainly do.

Thanks Jammy! We get loads of blackbirds here. I'll be watching them more closely under the bird table now (they never eat on the table, but only pick up the spill from others on the ground). I'll see what I can identify.

You might find this interesting, taken from Trade and Empire in Early Nineteenth-Century Southeast Asia by G.R.Knight (pages 85-86). It gives some insight into the brother’s William and Henry’s life (and death) in Java and Bangladesh. Read even the footnotes as they give quite a bit of information. https://books.google.se/books?id=5AY3CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85&dq=Reverend+henry+Cotes&source=bl&ots=DGSX0Cz0dB&sig=ACfU3U2jylbFFZEScWxPZ5Cy9Nir_pW2-Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjn7IKgx7zvAhVkoosKHWW1BBI4ChDoATAGegQIBRAD#v=onepage&q=Reverend henry Cotes&f=false

Thanks Eggy! I think you're right! I never thought about a blackbird I've always assumed that blackbirds are always black - as the name implies. This is the only colour I've ever seen. Now I've had a look at them in my bird book and the adult female is described as 'olive grey' on the back and red/brown on the breast. It seems one is never too old to learn!

My research has only ever come across a couple of local newspapers which can be accessed through the Northumberland Archives. Unfortunately none of them go back as far as 1835. Blyth and Wansbeck Telegraph and East Northumberland Advertiser 1894 Blyth Examiner 1888 Morpeth Herald 1854 They also have the Newcastle Courant from 1828 but it seems a bit far away for a Bedlington person. It's worth remembering that your average Joe Bloggs didn't often have a newspaper obituary way back then. That was something reserved for the more affluent who could afford it.

Jammy and Eggy, you seem to know quite a lot about birds (of the feathered variety). Have you any ideas about what this might be? There's a pair of them here for a few days now but they don't seem to get along very well as the one is constantly chasing the other away. These are the best photos I've been able to get and they aren't the best. Both birds have a reddish brown breast but their back seems to have a strange greenish tint. Brown eyes and orange beak and about the size of a large thrush.

Sorry! I forgot to post the address: General records Office (GRO), Southport (for BMD certs): https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

Much better to apply to the General Records Office for all certificates. You can now get Birth- and Death certificates direct to your computer as Pdf files at a cost of just seven pound (compared to 11 pounds for the paper copy). Pdf is also much quicker it usually arrives within 4 working days (Occasionally one week because of Covid retrictions in the work place). It's a great service!

Hello again WW! I've had another look at your query and I'm afraid I'm no nearer finding an answer. However, I was able to ascertain that Julia's father - Charles - did not marry twice. Infact, I can't find any record of marriage for him at all. If, as Eggy suggests, Julia's mother is Mary (nee Rump) then it is Mary who has previously been married. At the age of 26, on March 7 1864, Mary married John Farrow at the church of St. Julian in Norwich. They had one child - George Farrow who was baptised 7 October 1866 at Swanton Abbott in Norfolk and therefore probably born the same year. Unfortunately, John Farrow appears to have died within a cuple of years of his son's birth as he was buried 14 January 1869 at Swanton Abbott at the early age of 35 years leaving Mary a widow and George fatherless. A couple of years later, 1871, Mary and George are residing in Swanton Abbott at Dairy House, Hill Farm. This appears to be the home of Mary's father - Thomas who is also an agricultural worker. However, as Thomas himself is an elderly widow Mary, John and George may have lived there as a family prior to John's death. Charles, the son of Mary and Charles Hunt was born about 1876 and has the surname hunt so I assume that the couple married between 1871 and 1876. You may already have this information but if you do not have it and you would like the documentation I can send it to you as a personal message on this site.

Point of clarity: This statement refers to the average human brain and does not, therefore, include the brains of several politicians.

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. Massachusetts 2. Orion 3. John Merrick 4. Baritone 5. Nine 6. UB40 7. Belmopan 8. Cornwall 9. Urdu 10. Parakeet 11. Australia 12. Gopher New quiz tomorrow.

It took me a minute or two ut the penny eventually dropped! hahahaha!

Sorry, Walsham Wonderer! I should have said "Charles, I believe" not John. I was looking at the wrong line of the census form.

Hello Walsham wanderer and welcome to the forum! One way to move forward in your research would be to obtain a birth certificate for either Julia or Charles. There you will find both the occupation of the father, John I believe, and more importantly the family's address at the time. It wasn't uncommon for farm workers at that time to be 'contracted' för X number of months with housing provided. Once the harvest was safely in the contract ended and the worker was free/forced to find another contract. Once you have an address I may be able to help you further. BTW Is there any chance that Charles has been married twice?

Welcome to my birthday world, Vic!

Happy Birthday, young man! I hope the Corona restrictions aren't getting in the way of any celebrations!

Get your thinking caps on. Here's this week's quiz: 1. According to the Bee Gees where did all the lights go down? 2. In which constellation is Rigel the brightest star? 3. What was The Elephant Man’s real name ? 4. Which adult male singing voice is lower than tenor and higher than bass? 5. How many players are there in a baseball team? 6. Which pop group derived their name from an unemployment benefit form? 7. What is the capital of Belize? 8. Prince Charles is Duke of which English county? 9. What is the official language of Pakistan? 10. What type of bird is a budgerigar? 11. In 1930 which country did Amy Johnson fly to from England? 12. Which type of wood did Noah use to build his Ark? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. The average human brain uses as much electricity as a 10-watt electric light bulb. Answers on Thursday next week.

Ten minutes left before my Thursday comes to an end! I thought I wasn't going to make it but here are the answers to last week's quiz: 1. Nirvana 2. Mozart 3. Scatterbrook 4. Big Daddy 5. Wilfred Pickles 6. Jerusalem 7. Ambrosia 8. Blackburn 9. An apple 10. Parish 11. Cambridge University 12. Orange New quiz tomorrow,

Time to get those grey cells ticking over! 1. What is the supreme goal of Buddhists? 2. Who composed the tune to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? 3. On which farm did Worzel Gummidge live? 4. By what name was the popular wrestler Shirley Crabtree better known? 5. Who hosted the radio quiz show Have a Go? 6. In which Middle Eastern city is the Dome of the Rock? 7. In Greek mythology what did the gods eat? 8. What was Barbara Castle’s home constituency? 9. What is a Laxton Superb? 10. What is the Church of England’s smallest administrative unit? 11. At which university did Prince Charles study? 12. What is the usual colour of the flight recorder in a modern aircraft? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. The desert rat can have sex as many as 122 times per hour. Answers on Thursday next week.

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. Four 2. France 3. A water beetle 4. Everly Brothers 5. England and France 6. Cherries 7. Standing jumps 8. Antonio de Oliveira Salazar 9. George Orwell 10. Existence 11. Toto 12. Hair New quiz tomorrow.

It's late but it's still Friday so here is this week's quiz: 1. How many sides has a parallelogram? 2. Which country won the 1998 World Cup? 3. What sort of creature is a Whirligig? 4. Which US duo asked us to Walk Right Back in 1961? 5. Which two nations fought at the Battle of Agincourt? 6. From which fruit is the spirit Kirsch made? 7. In which discontinued event did Ray Ewry win his ten Olympic gold medals? 8. Which dictator ruled Portugal from 1932 to 1968? 9. Who wrote the novels Animal farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four? 10. Which word is spelled correctly: existence or existance? 11. What is the name of the dog in The Wizard of Oz? 12. Which part of your body would suffer from trichosis? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. The Spanish word ‘esposa’ means both ‘wife’ and ‘handcuffs’. English gets the equivalent word ‘spouse’ from the same Latin source. Answers on Thursday next wek.

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. The Cheviot Hills 2. Chicken 3. Lacrosse 4. Pontefract 5. John Galsworthy 6. Lord Nelson 7. Capuchin monkey 8. Lawyer 9. Kenny Dalglish 10. Crust 11. Clock 12. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation New quiz tomorrow.