Homework

Glory be,  blue sky and I was able to put some towels on the line - what bliss.  In such simple things is happiness found!  Of course, my mother would have frowned upon putting washing out on a Sunday - but then she also said 'the better the day, the better the deed'  !  She had a saying for everything and a superstition for everything.     I had hoped to get one of our many squirrels cavorting in the trees, but they are too quick for me.

I have been finishing off my homework.  Well, Jeremy's homework  to be precise  - which we worked on at Christmas.  He had to find an old person and talk to them about the Second World War!   We spent quite a long time with me reminiscing and him taking notes, but today I had an urgent call for a couple more photographs for his presentation.  I found a picture of my father William Angus

in his desert uniform with the skull and crossbones cap badge - he was in the 17th/21st Lancers.  I also dug out his dress medals (my brother has the real ones) ooops, sideways on I fear.  It gave me the

opportunity to look into the medals and it was really interesting.     The Defence Medal second from the bottom has a ribbon with a flame centre, enclosed in green borders with a black line.  Evidently King George VI (and I was particularly interested as I have just seen the marvellous film The King's Speech) chose the colours of all the ribbons himself.  This represented the flames which came to attack England's green and pleasant land and the black line depicts the blackout.  The Africa Star with the 1st Army bar has a buff background  for the desert sand with Navy, red (army) and airforce blue stripe.  The Italy star has the colours of the Italian flag.  The overseas service medal has equal stripes for navy, army and airforce.  I really enjoyed doing my research !

Then for good measure I sent Jeremy greatgreatuncle Frederick William Angus in his Gordon Highlanders uniform.  I can quite clearly remember his son coming to visit us in his highland uniform and being terribly impressed.   As a child I was perpetually dressed in kilts and tam o'shanters!

George's father was in the Irish Guards but he died when George was only 9 years old and all their belongings were lost so he doesn't have a single photographs of himself before the age of 14.  Isn't that sad?

So I am hoping that we get good marks !  I did wonder when we were watching the film on Friday how many other people in the cinema could actually remember listening to the final speech ?  I was only four but the memory is vivid because of my parents' reaction.

Hey ho.