THE LAST THREE MONTHS

Well it's been three months since Jeff had Birmingham Hip Re-surfacing surgery, he had suffered for many months with severe hip discomfort (mostly in silence)....eventually it was decided that he would benefit from the re-surfacing procedure as shown in the pictures.
Recovery is steady, 3 months to see any imrovement although anything up to a year for full recovery.

THE NEW ADDITION

Meet the new addition to the family. This is Jacob Nathaniel Joseph Lenton our fourth Grandchild!

Wedding Cake History

The history of the wedding cake goes back as far as the Roman Empire, well before the concept of elaborately icing a cake, was invented. Through the years, the wedding cake has become the focus of a variety of customs and traditions. Some of these customs have survived through time. Some have not. The custom of breaking the cake over the bride's head, is no longer practiced. The tradition may have its roots as far back as the Roman Empire. The groom would eat part of a loaf of barley bread baked especially for the nuptials and break the rest over his bride's head. History tells us that breaking the bread symbolized the breaking of the bride's virginal state and the subsequent dominance of the groom over her. As wedding cakes evolved into the larger, more modern version, it became physically impractical to properly break the cake over the bride's head. The tradition disappeared fairly quickly in some places, but there were still reports of breaking an oatcake or other breakable cakes over the bride's head in Scotland, in the 19th century. It's reported that in Northern Scotland, friends of the bride would put a napkin over her head and then proceed to pour a basket of bread over her. It's hard to say why some traditions endure and some do not, but the obvious male chauvinistic bent of this particular tradition probably leads to its early demise.

In Medieval England, cakes were described as breads which were flour-based foods without sweetening. No accounts tell of a special type of cake appearing at wedding ceremonies. There are, however, stories of a custom involving stacking small sweet buns in a large pile in front of the newlyweds. The couple would attempt to kiss over the pile. Success in the process was a sign that there would be many children in their future. .

First appearing in the middle of the17th century and well into the early 19th century, was a popular dish called the bride's pie. The pie was filled with sweet breads, a mince pie, or may have been merely a simple mutton pie. A main "ingredient" was a glass ring. An old adage claimed that the lady who found the ring would be the next to be married. Bride's pies were by no means universally found at weddings, but there are accounts of these pies being made into the main centerpiece at less affluent ceremonies. The name "bride cakes" emphasized that the bride was the focal point of the wedding. Many other objects also were given the prefix "bride," such as the bride bed, bridegroom and bridesmaid..
By the late 19th century, wedding cakes became really popular, and the use of the bride's pie disappeared. Early cakes were simple single-tiered plum cakes, with some variations. It was a while before the first multi-tiered wedding cake of today appeared in all its glory..
The notion of sleeping with a piece of cake underneath one's pillow dates back as far as the 17th century and quite probably forms the basis for today's tradition of giving cake as a "gift." Legend has it that sleepers will dream of their future spouses if a piece of wedding cake is under their pillow. In the late 18th century this notion led to the curious tradition in which brides would pass tiny crumbs of cake through their rings and then distribute them to guests who could, in turn, place them under their pillows. The custom was curtailed when brides began to get superstitious about taking their rings off after the ceremony..

In the minds of most people, wedding cakes are "supposed to be" white. The symbolism attached to the color white, makes explaining this tradition rather simple. White has always denoted purity, a notion as it relates to white wedding cake icing that first appeared in Victorian times. Another way in which a white wedding cake relates to the symbol of purity, has its basis in the fact that the wedding cake was originally referred to as the bride's cake. This not only highlighted the bride as the central figure of the wedding, but also created a visual link between the bride and the cake. Today, that link is being further strengthened as more contemporary brides have their wedding cakes coordinated with their wedding gown color, even if it's not white!.

Previous to Victorian times, most wedding cakes were also white, but not because of the symbolism. Using the color white for icing had a more pragmatic basis. Ingredients were very difficult to come by, especially those required for icing. White icing required the use of only the finest refined sugar, so the whiter the cake, the more affluent the families appeared. It was due to this fact that a white wedding cake became an outward symbol of affluence..
Wedding cakes take center stage in the traditional cake cutting ceremony, symbolically the first task that bride and groom perform jointly as husband and wife. This is one tradition that most of us have witnessed many times. The first piece of cake is cut by the bride with the "help" of the groom. This task originally was delegated exclusively to the bride. It was she who cut the cake for sharing with her guests. Distributing pieces of cake to one's guests is a tradition that also dates back to the Roman Empire and continues today. Following the tradition of breaking the bread over the bride's head, guests would scramble for crumbs that fell to the ground. Presumably the consumption of such pieces ensured fertility. But, as numbers of wedding party guests grew, so did the size of the wedding cake, making the distribution process impossible for the bride to undertake on her own. Cake cutting became more difficult with early multi-tiered cakes, because the icing had to be hard enough to support the cake's own weight. This, of necessity, made cutting the cake a joint project. After the cake cutting ceremony, the couple proceed to feed one other from the first slice. This provides another lovely piece of symbolism, the mutual commitment of bride and groom to provide for one another..

THE WEDDING

Our Son Simon met Nicki and they got married in Las Vegas on the 19th April 2006.....they honeymooned and holidayed in Las Vegas and San Francisco, returning home on the 2nd May.
They had a reception in Swindon on the 19th May, where Friends and Relatives joined them to wish them all the best in their future life together.

THE MOVE !

At last time to log an account of our move from the Thames and Kennet Marina at Reading to Wigrams Turn Marina at Napton on the Hill.
31st March
We left Reading in the afternoon and made our way across the Thames, mooring up at Tesco to collect those all important provisions for the journey.
1st April
After spending the night moored up above Maple Duram lock, we made a move, the weather was very cold and the River was running fast. When we reached Goring and Streatly we were advised by the Lock Keeper that it would be advisable to stay put as the River was very fastg and the level rising rapidly...so we dropped anchor and there we stayed for two days .Our Grandson Ronan joined us here for the rest of the trip and we made friends with fellow travellers Kirsty and Tug.
3rd April
So with two days lost of our journey we made a move today and travelled 18 miles, the weather extremely cold and the river current very strong, we reached Abingdon late afternoon and moored for the night.
4thApril
After a very hard previous day, we decided to take things easy and decided to call it a day when we reached Osney Lock just after lunch.
5th April
We made a fairly early start, and left our friends Kirsty and Tug behind and made our way on to the Oxford Canal. The locks on the canal were very different than that of the Thames, going from the very large manned, to the very narrow and of course manned by ourselves. Today we reached Lower Heyford, the weather still very cold and windy.
6th April
We left Lower Heyford today and meandered our way through many locks and swing bridges, and stopped overnight at Cropredy.
7th April
Another early start today and ready to do the Claydon Flight, reaching Marston Doles late afternoon, we moored here for the night....ready to complete the last leg of our journey the next day.
8th April
Today we made the last leg of the journey down the Napton Flight and arrived at Wigrams Turn around 11am.We really enjoyed the journey as did our Grandson Ronan as you can see from the picture, dressed for the job!

The journey from Reading to Wigrams Turn was:

87 Miles
53 Locks
16 Lift Bridges

DON'T QUIT

The trials that are sent along

Sometimes for us to bear,

May so easily discourage us

And weigh us down with care.

Yet, whatever you decide to do,

Never think of giving in,

For, no sooner will this time

havepassed,

Than a brand new chapter will begin!

For, if you ride out this time,

You'll find the strength to carry on -

Even if your energy

Seems at the moment to be gone.

For, if you do so, it is certain

The time won't be far away,

When you find you'll awaken

To a beautiful new day.

For, within every one of us

Lies a spark that's always lit

Which can easily become a flame

As long as we don't quit!

MY 'HOBBY'

Some of my creations.

SOUTH of FRANCE

For many years Jeff and I have spent our holidays in the South of France, near St Tropez!, we both loved our holidays there, always sure of the sun...although at times the French can be quite frustrating!We owned a mobile home in France which was situated on a very nice campsite, but at the end of the 2004 season we decided to sell it and concentrate our holidays on the boat....although I can't quite give up the sun and still visit a couple of times a year.In memory of the goods times we spent in France we decided to give our Boat a French name and called it 'PaixD'esprit'.....Peace of Mind or Free Spirit.....last year was our first real holiday afloat. We spent 16 days on the River Thames last August and meandered the river as far as Lechlade....14 days of scorching sun (bliss) and 2 days rain....long may the holidays continue!The picture is Old Father Thames who resides at the side of St John's Lock Lechlade.

ELLIS ISLAND

Over 40% of all Americans can trace their roots to Ellis Island. ..more than 12 million immigrants passed through these doors. Opened in 1892 the first immigrant to arrive was a fifteen year old girl from Ireland called Annie Moore.




First stop was the luggage room, they left their trunks, suitcases etc., here and then climbed the stairs to the Great Hall for medical and legal examination.
By 1917 complete medical examinations were required, the main purpose to find persons with contagious diseases or conditions that would make them unable to work.At best the entire process through Ellis Island took three to five hours.
By 1921, immigrants had to pass a literacy test and show a passport and visa.
Laws passed in 1909 required each immigrant to have at least 20
dollars before they were allowed to enter America.

Two thirds of the new Americans then boarded the ferry to New Jersey, where the next leg of their journey would begin. The remaining immigrants took the ferry to Manhattan to begin their new life in New York City, only one mile away!

Ellis Island re-opened as a Museum on September 10th 1990, dedicated to the history of immigration.

My Son Simon and Myself visited New York in March 2004,
and visited Ellis Island, all the pictures you see in this post
were taken by me. Some of the pictures depict various rooms
and there contents just as they were left in 1954.

BABY LOVE !

I love my Grampy but not too sure about the beard!

LIFE STYLE

Three years ago we decided to change our lives for ever, and sold
our 16th Century Tudor Cottage in Wiltshire where we had lived
for 24 years. We bought a brand new 57' Traditional Narrowboat.
Our children Nicola and Simon were married by this time, our Son's
first reaction was 'oh my God Mum and Dad are going to live on one
of those 'barge' things and be drawn up and down the tow paths by horse'!
Of course he soon came to think that it was an ok thing when we showed
him what we had in mind. Our Daughter didn't take as much convincing, with her Husband Jason they were sold on the idea right away, but with with the children, the lifestyle wouldn't be right...but they are definitely going to buy a boat at some stage in their lives...but with two Sons and a Daughter and another on the way it all seems a long way off.
So...our house sold, we started our life afloat at the Devizes Marina in Wiltshire, this proved to be a bad move and we sailed off into the sunset on the morning of the 14th December 2003 for the Thames and Kennet Marina in Reading...arriving just in time for Christmas!