Day 16 Cheltenham

The day began fairly wet here in Cheltenham - but that did not affect us here inside in the warm.
Eddie had a funeral to go to, but before he went he showed me the records he has of his father's World War II Service and his grandfather's World War I service. We were both pretty animated about family history and the history of the Wars. 

William Henry Hunt

Eddie's grandfather, William Edward Hunt was killed at Passchendale in  1917, possibly never seeing his son. I think that we may be able to find out more about his regimental movements through Lives of the First World War. and Forces War Records.  It's hard to imagine how the impact of never knowing your father because of War - but an experience of too many children.

William Henry Hunt (top row right end) in his regiment.

So I spent several enjoyable hours researching Eddie's family tree, using Ancestry.com.au. By the time Eddie returned I had quite a bit of information and more questions. I had discovered that his 2xGreat Grandfather was a "tennis marker". To date I  have not been able to find an explanation for exactly what that involved, or who might employ one.  We've also found a printer's compositor and a French polisher

I haven't as yet posted a request for information from Forces War Records, but I will do so over the next few days.
Eventually I dragged myself away from Ancestry (my computer battery being nearly flat) and back to my Estense Embroidery. I managed to make a bit of a twisted cord in my hands and thread it through the drawn thread hem I'd sewn.

I'm not sure what I'll do with this (after I've ironed it!) - but it is quite attractive.

By the late afternoon the sun was peeping through, although the forecast from now to the end of Easter is for rain.

I noticed, across the road, a couple of tall trees with clumps of mistletoe in them. Apparently, unlike mistletoe in Australia, it does not harm the tree.
In front of two mistletoe-adorned trees is an intriguing house with a vine - apparently ivy- trained over the front wall and part of the roof. It also has a topiaried tree and meticulously manicured lawn and garden.









It must look amazing in Summer, when the wall is completely covered with ivy and the window just peeping out. Very much a Sleeping Beauty abode. I really love it (my father would hate it) but admit it presents some maintenance issues.





Here it is with the trees.

Many thanks to Christine and Eddy for their hospitality and company.