Author: carolanneyeomanson

Some years ago, after some thought, I decided to find out who I really was. Mainly because I thought Curiosity Killed the Cat suited me down to the ground, so I filled in all the relevant questions. My name, Parents, Grandparents, so on and so forth, and did the DNA test and waited patiently. Back it came, and now I’ve been working on it a few years. I’m connected by my DNA to the Duke of Monmouth and Charles 1st and so on and so forth via my Grandmother on my Dads side, but it’s honestly not things like this which fascinate me so much. It’s finding out the history of what a lot of my Ancestors went through that I had no idea happened in this world of ours. I knew all about the Slave Trade. I have one Ancestor who was one of the first English immigrants to set foot in the U.S… On my Mother’s side I had, and still have some family who lived on Jersey during World War 2 and were caught and put sent to Concentration Camps. Some survived and some didn’t. Thanks to Ancestry I was able to see their ‘cards’ they had to carry. Thanks? In a strange kind of way I was pleased to be able to see them even if it did break my heart. Break my heart over people that I didn’t know or had never heard of? Yes, because with Ancestry they tell you how you are connected to to these people. Even if it is your Grand Mother twenty four times removed from your second cousin! Well, we’re all family aren’t we and believe it or not I’ve had some e mails from people saying I think we may be family and we’re still in touch.

A while ago I was contacted by a young man. My Uncle George had a brother. His brother left home many years ago, aged 15 years old and was never heard of ago. This young man was the Grandson of my Uncle George’s lost brother and he’d been able to trace Uncle George through me and Ancestry. Sadly Uncle George had been dead many years, but we were able to lay some ghosts for each other.

The fact that Acadian families were deported from from Canada in 1767 was also something I learned. They are also connected to me by our DNA. There is a Deportation Cross to their memory at Horton’s Landing in Grand Pre.

I was also surprised at the jobs some of my Ancestors did. My Auntie Em was a Seamstress which, I suppose is why I love to sew, but I’ve managed to get back to the 1200’s in some cases and I really love some of the names. I’m connected to someone called Muk and his wife was Mistress Muk. Wasn’t that lovely???

And then of course, there’s always that feeling of – well I’d never have thought that – I always thought my Auntie so and so was such a nice person – when she ran off with the Baker’s husband. Not that my Auntie so and so did run off with the Baker’s husband!

So I shall continue with Ancestry for as long as there are records about my family and there always seems to be something new to find out. Oh yes and I’m connected by my DNA to Mary, Queen of Scots but then I’m also connected to someone on my Mum’s side to who ran a Fish and Chip Shop at the seaside!

I confess, two chocolate biscuits, and my bathroom scales start to beg for mercy but I have found a couple of ways of enjoying near normal food and not having to worry two much.

TASTY CRISPS

Take as many wraps as you want and cut them into triangles. Place them on a baking sheet and spray with low calorie oil. Put them in the oven at around Gas Mark for but PLEASE watch them carefully as they burn easily as I know to my cost. When they start to crisp turn them over and spray again but cover with dried herbs, or curry powder or something like that, its your choice. Don’t let them get crisp. Take out of the oven put on the baking tray, and the fresh air will crisp them up. Eat as many as you want.

ROAST POTATOES,

Peel and part boil your potatoes having cut them into shape ready to roast. Place on a baking tray, then spray with low calorie oil. Watch carefully, turning as they brown and spraying again until they are soft and ready to eat.

Do exactly the same with chips. Cut potatoes into the shape of chips. Keep spraying with the oil. Keep turning, until done and I promise you will never know the difference,

I’d like to introduce you to a new Tour Guide who will be guiding shortly in London. His name is Jack Yeomanson and this will be his own Tour Guiding business. It’s called Blue Umbrella Tours and his Logo will be just that. A Blue Umbrella. He’s been a Professional Tour Guide for many years now and has Guided in most places in London. Everywhere except around the inside of St. Jame’s Palace, Parliament, St. Pauls, Westminster Abbey. Parliament have their own Guides.

You’ll be able to book his walks via Event Brite on line by filling in a form. Dogs and children are very welcome. You don’t have to wear a mask now, but if you feel safer wearing one, you are very welcome.

You will be able to find him very soon on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and of course he’ll have a permanent place on my blog, and as soon as his website is set up I’ll let you know.

So, at long last, after a lot of messing around because of a Health Problem last year that badly affected me mentally, I’ve finally finished my latest book. It’s Book One of a new series which is set in the small village of Abbotspride in Scotland. The two main characters are two Captains. Andrew Foster, the disgraced Captain of a Cruise Ship and Captain Roger Ringly, the Retired Royal Navy Captain, who served on Nuclear Submarines. They have both retired to what they thought, or at least hoped would be peace and quiet. Well anyone can dream can’t they???

Come and meet Barlinnhe Tish, who runs the local Bakers. John and Heather Jollison. John runs the local Fishing Boat and Heather, his Daughter is a Doctor. Doctor Pertwee the local Doctor and then there’s Mrs. Mcgrew, the local gossip, who knows everything but knows nothing. And we won’t say much about Minister Hagan at the moment.

The book will be available on Amazon Kindle and Kobo as always. As soon as it’s available I’ll let you know.

I also have a monthly newsletter, so if you’d like a copy please drop me your e mail address and I’ll add you to the mailing list. You can find me on Facebook, or Twitter, or Instagram. If I’ve been lax in talking to people on here, then I’m sorry, but I’ll be getting back to people from now on.

Well, I’m pleased to say, that I’m back. After far too long and a very nasty health scare that I’ve had trouble coping with, I’m back and I’m really pleased.

I’m still an Author. That will never change. I’ve got books in the pipe like almost ready to go. All I need to do is finish them and pass them to my lovely Editor. I’ve had one new book out which is called The Liar’s Revenge which you can find on Amazon Kindle and will be on Kobo very shortly.

The other thing you probably didn’t know about me is that I own several Race Horses and I do love horse racing. This is a love I share with my son. We’re successful – although in saying that not all our horses win by any means. Sadly some have been put down, some have had operations due to bad health and have not raced for a season and some are real characters. Let me introduce you to Judicial. Now this is one character if ever there was. Judicial loves peppermints although most racehorses love crunching on peppermints because they keep their teeth sharp. So on the way to the Parade ring, and down to the starting stalls he likes to have a chomp on a few peppermints, and he’s not a horse who rushes. He likes to take his time. Have a look around, see people. Get’s there when he gets there, but when that starters gun goes, he’s off like lightening.

Then there’s Viola. That’s my girl. Viola was doing really badly. So bad that at one point she was going to be retired. One race with a 16 year old apprentice jockey who had never raced before. Viola never stood a chance. He gave her a couple of slaps, and out of the way. She was gone like a rocket. He brought her in first. No one, but no one could believe it. Viola is now Miss Viola!

So on to my crafting. Hobby? No it’s my obsession. I admit it. I’ve just opened a shop on Etsy called Violets and Lace Crafts and I’m setting up another on http://www.stallandcraftcollective.com or co.uk. Put it in your search bar anyway and take a look. It’s a fantastic place. You can find all sorts of things there, plus you can find out about fairs and sales in your area. So I’m doing knitting, crochet, jewellery making. In fact I’m working my way through all the craft kits that people have bought me over the last couple of years that I’ve never got around to using. I sew a lot too. Forgot that one. I quilt as well. I know I sound one bore, but in all fairness I’m far to old for jumping out of planes and climbing Everest, so I’ll just stick with the things I’m happy with.

I’ve found the most amazing new crochet sensation, and I’m talking not just great or very good. I’m talking amazing with a capital A. As you know I love to crochet and I came across this young man purely by accident.

His business is called Leonardo’s Cfashion and you can find him on Facebook at the moment. I first saw him when he modelled one of his own designs. It was a crochet hoodie, which if I’m not mistaken was made from Granny Squares. I’m going to be following him closely because apart from being interested in what he does he’s a lovely young man and has become a real friend.

Personally I think Leonardo has got a great future in the world of Crochet. He’s young. He’s talented and we need people like him, which is why I’m going to be following his every move and giving him a regular space in my blog and I hope that some day we’ll see a book of crochet patterns from my lovely new friend.

                                               

It was a dark morning when I went to visit Auntie Sarah’s grave.  I always went once a month.  I always took her white flowers.  Why?  Because she loved white flowers.  It didn’t matter what kind of flowers they were, but they had to be white.  They could be lilies, roses, snowdrops, anything you cared to name, but they had to be white.  She always said it was because, when she got married, she had been ‘with child’ as those ignorant people had called it in those days.  In other words she had been pregnant by the man she loved but he had been killed fighting for his country in World War 1.   They had been married, but according to my family, to get married in white, whilst knowing she was pregnant would have been the worst thing ever, so poor Aunt Sarah was forced to get married in a long plum velvet suit, trimmed with grey fur and carry a bouquet so big that her condition didn’t show.

Her new husband was called up into the Army where he was killed by the Enemy.

As could be expected, Aunt Sarah was more than distraught and had expected the family to gather around her and help her through her misery, but no.  Our family, to this day, preferred not to be embarrassed by anything like this – as they termed it – and turned their backs on her, telling her that she had shamed them and must now make her own way in the world.

With no money, no job, and no home, there was no world for Aunt Sarah to make her way in as far as she was concerned and her body was found floating in the River Thames.  As I understood it not one member of my family even went to her funeral.  As I became a man, I overheard two members of my family talking about this person known only as ‘Aunt Sarah’ and after much badgering I finally dragged the story out of them.

My reaction was one of something between disgust and revulsion.  In the end my Uncle Jimmy who liked his Alcohol a little too much finally told me her body was been buried in a ‘grave’ somewhere or other, but she most definitely didn’t lie with the family.

After searching for what seemed like forever, I found my Aunt’s body in this place called ‘somewhere or other’ and made sure that it was removed and given a proper burial. By this time I had my own money and a temper that my Family wouldn’t dare cross and that’s how I came to visit my Aunt every month with a bunch of white flowers.

As I walked along, a grave worker was down a ‘hole’ he was digging ready for a new incumbent, but the stone was in place complete with the new person’s name and date of birth and death. I’d never seen such a thing before.  A gravestone in place with the details of the deceased before the person had already arrived at their last resting place!

The smell of the Lilac’s I was carrying was overwhelming. The most beautiful smell.  As I walked toward the man, he stopped and looked at me.  He never spoke.  Just looked at me.  No particular look on his face that made me think anything was wrong or unusual about that day.

Then for some reason, it was as though my feet had taken on a will of their own.  I stopped.  Suddenly, in front of that Gravestone. The man still stood there.  The same look on his face, neither of us moved.

I read the words on the stone.

                In Loving of Benjamin Harold Fortescue, Major.

           Killed during Operation Overlord in World War Two 

                                          6 June 1944

I was Major Benjamin Harold Fortescue, Major.   The date the day I visited Aunt Sarah’s grave for the last time in this world, was the First of January 1944.  The first day of a New Year.  When people had so much hope that this was the year when this dreadful war would be over and I had been given the privilege of knowing it would not be.  As I walked away that day, I felt a strange kind of calm.  Not the fear of death.

A strange hope inside me that some day, this world would be able to exist in peace.

LONDON TOUR GUIDE

Today I would like to introduce you to Jack Yeomanson, a Tour Guide and Public Speaker.

Jack is a qualified London Tour Guide and has been for many years now. He is a City of London Guide, a Clerkenwell Guide and a Westminster Guide. His walks are varied. In fact far too varied for me to list on here, but you can find all his walks by going into Event Bright and typing in the name Jack Yeomanson and there will be a link to all his walks including the London Literary Festival which is coming up shortly where he will be leading a walking around London on the Bradshaw Walks. Jack doesn’t specialise in just kind of walk. By that I mean that he also does bespoke walks. If you have a particular kind of walk that you would like, then he will write one especially for you e.g. if you would like a walk as a birthday gift for someone then he will write that walk for them. However, please give him plenty of notice. Dogs are very welcome, although please keep them on a lead. If you are bringing any medication with you, please let him know so that he is aware if you have any medical condition. Children are also very welcome.

He will guide walks for Groups or Organisations. His walks have to be in London however, because he is a London Tour Guide.

If you would like to contact Jack for further information on his walks, please contact him on

rowdenyeomansonwalks@gmail.com

SEA AND COAST MAGAZINE

Today I would like to introduce you to a magazine that you may never have heard of before unless you are in some way attached to or interested in the Marine Industry. I would also like to introduce you to it’s Editor. He is an Indian Gentleman called Amit Kumar. I am very lucky to call this man my friend. I’m not really sure how we ever came to be friends. I think we ‘bumped’ into each other as we English people say, and struck up a friendship that is strong and always will be, because we fight for what we both believe it. The rights of Seamen.

Amit Kumar is an ex Mariner, who founded Sea and Coast in 2016. Hopefully a new Satellite t.v. channel will be launched especially for Maritime services. Amit was born in New Dehli in India so knows how Seafarers suffer and the pain that comes with Container ship crews who are away from their families for long periods of time. They are paid little and ask for little in return.

You can find him on both Twitter and Facebook although at the moment he is being treated very badly by the owner of Twitter who refuses to give him the Blue Tick that he most certainly deserves.

I would like to take about two things that are very important to me. One is a magazine called Sea and Coast and the other is a very special man who I call my friend called Amit Kumar, an eminent professional from the Mariner Fraternity and the Editor of Sea and Coast. Amit was born in India and started Sea and Coast especially for the Maritime Industry – or anyone else who is interested – like me!

It covers navel, cruise, coastal, ferry and sail sectors, and is the official On Line Partner of the Indian Navy’s Think Tank National Maritime Foundation.

It was a humble endeavour to pay gratitude to shipping and maritime community worldwide. Todays seafarer must be informed and entertained in an increasingly complex and commercial shipping environment.

It’s available online and in print and there’s a mobile app for Android phones and is available every month.

At the moment Twitter won’t give Amit the Blue Tick which he so deserves, which is really nasty of them.

In 2021 it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SAMDES (Society for Aerospace Maritime and Defence Studies) a Non Profit think thank of India.

Sea and Coast if you are interested in Maritime news is one of the most interesting magazine you can read.

Just a small except, which I’m sure Amit won’t mine me telling you is

A little know fact about Amit is that he is also Chairman of a Mother Teresa Charitable Foundation in India so must have our Greatest Respect for that as well.

So I’m going to be talking Sea and Coast and Amit on a regular basis on my blog? Why? Because he’s my friend and I like to talk about my friends as well as just me! I believe in loyalty and my Seaman have been at my heart and soul since I was a young girl and I still knit hats and gloves for them. And well – you see we can all talk about our friend, so here’s what no one knows about Amit, but they all think they can get out there on Social Media and say nasty things about him, but here’s what they don’t know the Amit Kumar that I know. The man behind Sea and Coast. The man that fought he’s way back from Covid, and believe me I thought we’d lost him, but he still found the energy to message me and say he was alright. The man that always sends me a message to ask if I’m alright. He’s sweet, he’s kind, he’s funny and more than that, this man that everyone seems to judge by his picture, will fight to his last breath to get better rights for Seamen.

I’ve very proud and lucky to call Amit Kumar my friend.