Hi Everyone
When I was young I cannot remember seeing anyone who could be described as obese,
This was a time when men were returning from war across the world, women had filled the void by working in factories or on the land, with the majority
of people doing a manual job. In addition, food was rationed and nearly everyone ate fresh food with very little of it in tins or packets, and apart from a few factory canteens, nearly everyone would eat home cooked fresh food. There were few cars so most travelled to work by bus with a daily walk from home to the bus and from the bus to their place of work or by bicycle and with the local hilly terrain, a great deal of good exercise. The contrast between life then and now is striking with many living a sedentary and convenience food lifestyle. I am reminded of all this Rubbish as this week our NHS is planning to offer an injection designed to help people lose weight. Up to that point, I was on board with the idea until they then said it could help people get back into the world of work. It may of course work for some people but I cannot help thinking that a large boot up the backside would equally be an incentive for many more which would cost the NHS exactly nothing.
I am sure that we all realise that when the time comes for us to leave this life, many of our possessions will be sold, taken to the charity shop or even thrown into a skip. We have just a handfull of things left by our parents that we still treasure even though they may be almost worthless in money terms. Now we have added our own treasures over the last 60 plus years that we would like the think that the next generation of our family and long standing friends will treasure. A few years ago I was involved in helping a family member with a dispute over a will. A lady who I had never met had a will written that was eight pages long where she listed practically every item in her home to a specific friend. Now I am not suggesting that you should follow that example but if you have things that you would like kept, then list them or at least make your family and friends aware of your wishes.
One item we have is a plaque has been in the family for many years. The Junior Partner had an aunt who lived in Hollins Street in Fenton in Stoke on Trent. She was a well known local operatic singer. One evening she sang at a concert in Burslem one of the Pottery towns probably sometime in the early 1900s. In appreciation of her performance she was given the plaque by Hugh Irving who, in partnership with Herbert Aynsley were the owners of Paragon China in Longton, one of the best china manufacturers in the city.. Sometime in the 1920s my aunt died. She was apparently very fond of the Junior Partner and before she died she asked him if he would like something to remember her by.
He chose the plaque and he had it mounted in its present circular frame. As a boy, I remember the plaque hung on the wall over the fireplace in the Living Room behind the Fruit, Vegetable........ shop. Sometime in the 1950s a Mrs Lovatt who lived in Weston Road fainted in the shop (probably due to the Senior Partber's high prices!!). Anyway, she brought her into our Living Room to recover. She saw the plaque and asked where we had got it from. She told us that there were only 6 made and were all owned by the members of the Irving family, except obviously this one. She knew about the plaque as her husband was a manager at the Paragon factory. The plaque is cast in plaster and has no great value, probably about £200, but it is a lovely piece and one of the few things that we would like to be kept in the family to be enjoyed by future generations. It may be that there are some marks on the back of the plaque but we have never removed the back. It would be good to think that a treasure that has been in our family for over 100 years, would still be a family treasure for another 100 years.
Just a Thought :
You call it lazy. I call it selective participation.
If my friend won an award for laziness he would send me to collect it for him.
Be grateful that you are not buried treasure.
Brian
Comments