Chuckle 2

This year it's The Boy's father's turn to
have The Boy for Christmas. The choir master at church asked if The Boy
would be available of the Nativity so I said I would check with his
father. I asked as we were walking down to catch a bus and the tube
respectively.

"Hum", he said, "when is that exactly?". "Christmas
Eve, in the evening, as part of the midnight mass" I replied. "Oh", he
said "what a stupid time to have it, why do they do it on Christmas
Eve?". "Well" I answered - trying hard to hold back on the sarcasm and
probably failing in a big way, "because it's a nativity, it's kind of
an important mass in the church calendar". "I think it's a stupid time
to have it" he said again " people are busy on Christmas Eve and
transport is a bit of a problem". "You don't think you are missing the
whole point of what Christmas celebrations are about then?" I added.
His reply was just a quizzical look as we reached the bus stop and I
kissed The Boy good bye for the week-end.

I find it funny to
think that out of the 2 of us, he is the one who was christened, the
one who took RE as a GCSE, the one who recently married She Who Married
The Boy's Father in church and the one who writes CofE on the ethnic
questionnaires. The irony of my trying to remind him that there is a
reason why the Nativity is taking place on that particular day is
priceless.
6.11.05 21:04


The wonders of genetics

You know you child has
inherited at least some of your genes when you send them to get dressed
in the morning and they return wearing school shorts in November.
8.11.05 19:11


More wonders of genetics

As we walk home from after
school club,  "you see Mummy, your intestins are all coiled up
inside, if they weren't our bodies would have to be at least 10m tall
for our digestive system to fit in."

Maybe he didn't get that many of his genes from me after all.
9.11.05 23:33



To be or not to be domesticated


Kapla towerMy
parents are coming over to visit this week-end. The main living area
could do with having its floor swept only the floor is currently
occupied by the edifice you can admire to the left. The Boy built it
out of Kapla blocks
and it
nearly reaches the ceiling. Before you ask, no, I am not thrilled at
his standing on stools either but at least it wasn't a swivel chair.
The thing is, it is fairly stable as tall wooden bricks towers go but
not so stable that it can cope with my clumsy broom handling.

Now there
are a number of options:

  1. I can leave it in situ and not bother with
    getting the broom out.
  2. I can leave in situ and try and sweep as close as
    possible and get ready to blame the cat if I knock it down.
  3. or I can ask
    him to dismantle in order to get access to the floor and then suggest
    he rebuilds it higher and better.

Ah, who am I kidding? Of course the
tower will stay where it is, it's not everyday you get the perfect
excuse not to do housework and the opportunity to make up for the usual
motherly shortcomings. And lets face it, if the house was immaculate my
mother would probably worry there was something horribly wrong with me
and I'd be depriving my father of an opportunity to comment
unfavourably about my domestic skills. Couldn't have that could we?

Now I'd better go an try and work out what I am going to feed my visitors over the week-end
18.11.05 22:38


Quelle connerie la guerre - part 1

My father brought
with him the old suitcase full of the old photographs which used to be
kept at my paternal Granparents' house before their death. The custody
of the family archive has fallen to my uncle but my father thought he
would borrow it to give me a chance to scan some of the pictures so I
have been busy scanning this week-end in between cooking and keeping my
parents entertained.

Inspired by Channel Four's Lost Generation website and programmes
I thought I'd introduce my great-grandfather Louis Boisson over the
next few posts. It's a story with an unhappy ending so if you like your
films to end well make sure you miss the last installment.

Louis Boisson as a child

This
is Louis Adrien Boisson. He was born on August 6th 1890. He is standing
to the left of his sister Heloise and his brother Amede.


Louis Boisson's first communion

And here he is again seating next to his brother Amede (standing) on their first communion picture

.
20.11.05 17:43


Quelle connerie la guerre - part 2

By 3rd November 1903
Louis Boisson had completed his military service and his "Certificat de
bonne conduite" states that he kept to a good conduct during the time
his service and that he consistently served with honnor and fidelity
(their wording not mine).

He then started a 3 year apprenticeship
with Raepsaet Freres, rue Charonne in Paris (if the street name rings a
bell it could be because of the events which happened on 8th February
1962 near the tube station Charonne). The headed paper advertises the
company's fine cabinet making.

When he completed his
apprenticeship in 1906 Louis set up his own cabinet making business.
The picture below is a copy of his business card. I was told that he
was a rather talented craftsman and that he entered and won cabinet
making competitions. As far as I know the only piece of his I have ever
seen was a little dressing table on which my grandmother kept the
Baccara crystal bottles she had inherited from her mother who worked
for the Baccara factory. It was a rather dainty piece which has passed
on to my uncle.

business card>This is his business card.
23.11.05 19:59


Quelle connerie la guerre - part 3

First apologies, this is rather picture heavy

This is Regina
Gudin, my great-grandmother in 1914, she was 24. I have no record of
when or how they met but they got married in July 1915.

Regina Gudin in 1914

Unfortunately
there are no wedding pictures of Louis and Regina in the archive. The
only picture I could find of the two of them together is this one.
Regina was fond of amateur dramatics and it looks like Louis might have
enjoyed the stage too.

Louis and Regina in costumes

All the other pictures of Louis show him in uniform, on the front.

I
expect he must have missed his workshop and his wife. Here are some of
the messages he sent her while he was away. They are cut out of silver
birch bark. The pansies are a symbol for thoughts (in French the word
is the same - pensee). The first is a birthday card, the second reads
distance separates us but thoughts unite us.


birthday cardthoughts card
26.11.05 00:11


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