I had a baby, life got busy and this blog came to its end. I had great fun with it. Find out what I’m up to these days at https://about.me/sarahanderson1980.
Merry…erm…Christmas
I’ve not seen a less festive Christmas card. In Thomas and Penelope’s defence, maybe this was a work greeting, and their friends would have received something warmer.
I picked this up for FREE from the kind people at Edinburgh Books (my husband was buying a proper book too, and the shop had no change). From a quick Google, I reckon Thomas could be the MP and Baronet Sir Thomas Cecil Russell Moore – the dates, Scottish connection and Thomas’ likeness tally.
1930s Kitchen Furniture
Our new favourite shopping destination is the flea market which takes place on the last Saturday of each month at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall in Edinburgh. So far, we’ve got some good deals by going along towards the end of the day (out of laziness more than drive to get a bargain, mind you).
On my first trip, I picked up The Home of To-Day: Its Choice, Planning, Equipment and Organisation. This housewives’ manual was published by the Daily Express in what looks to be the 1930s. Here’s what it presents as the desirable kitchen:
Fitted kitchen
Small gas cooker
Family-size gas cooker
Anthracite stove
Fitted sink cupboards
Kitchen sitting room for a maid
Well-organised dresser
Enclosed units for easier cleaning
I certainly wouldn’t mind the dresser or anthracite stove.
The mysterious coffins of Arthur’s Seat
I’d forgotten all about these. If you like the weird and are ever in Edinburgh, do pop along to the National Museum to spot the Arthur’s Seat coffins.
W.I. Fashion
Bridgnorth’s charity shops always come up with the goods. Today, I bought a compilation of Home and Country for £1.25. Home and Country is the magazine that the UK’s Women’s Institute (W.I.) started publishing in 1919.
Because you can never have enough pictures of inter-war clothing and hair…
Summer outfit ideas, 1941
Ostrich skin shoe, 1922
Brassiere and girdle, date unknown
Anlaby Hosiery, World War II years
Women’s overalls, date unknown
Francobarbe remodelled hats, date unknown
Lady Jayne Wave Clip, 1920s
Dress dyeing, date unknown
Knitted two-piece bathing suit, date unknown
Spring afternoon dresses, 1941
Sad and incommodious things | Early Modern Medicine
Image reproduced from the FWSA blog (http://fwsablog.org.uk/2013/08/23/mrs-jane-sharp-a-pioneering-midwife-discovered/)
If I ever did another PhD (no danger of that, mind), it would be in the history of medicine – women’s medicine, probably.
Googling Jane Sharp’s Midwives Book tonight, I came across this blog post about miscarriage (an experience I wish I wasn’t familiar with…) by academic Jennifer Evans:
What struck me was that several hundred years ago, as now, pregnant women were making every possible effort to control an outcome that was, in all likelihood, already decided – whether they gave birth to a healthy baby.
Should I ever get a third stab at pregnancy, I’ll not judge myself so harshly for seeking out my own Dragon’s Blood; I’ll not be the first or the last woman to do so.
1961 – Bavaria and Austria
In this instalment of the postcard collection, our writer is back in Bavaria for her annual holiday.
Updated January 2014 with a couple of extra cards.
Ruhpolding, Bavaria
23rd May, 1961
Sunday night
Have been on familiar territory again at the Kurhaus. We don’t sit at the same place so haven’t seen George yet, but we were doing all right. The Dutch girl courier is there again and came and spoke to us, so we are well in. The Kurhaus didn’t look like this to-day. It has poured since lunch time, just like the day at Caithness. They say the weather forecast is good for to-morrow, we will have to wait and see.
Was George a hot waiter?
Traunstein, Bavaria
[day unclear] June, 1961
I am trying to number my cards but whether I do it right or not I do not know. We have had breakfast and are waiting for our train. The crossing was beautiful at first then it was terrible. I lost some of my lunch but will soon make it up, Hope you are managing.
Although I cannot make out the exact date on the postmark, the writer’s numbering indicates this is the second postcard in what I’ve got.
Ruhpolding, Bavaria
5th June, 1961
I know that this card is not Ruhpolding, but it looked nice. We have got the length of knowing that we go to Vienna next Wednesday. We have had a lazy day to-day, Monday looking round the shops and trying to book tours. We are sent somewhere different every time. We sat and knitted on the veranda for a while as it was showery. Hope you are doing all right at home. Still no sign of K.
Ooh, who was K?
Ruhpolding, Bavaria
7th June, 1961
Wednesday
To-day we have been going round all the back streets. They are just [xxxxx] but the houses are very pretty. We are getting as bad as you for looking for seats. The weather is still not good, misty and cloudy but not so cold as home. To-morrow we go to Salzburg so we will have plenty of energy. How are you doing? Fine I hope. Must get going again to the nearest café as usual.
With their occasional references to men and shopping, I had always got the impression the writer was sending these postcards to her sister. The way the last few cards have been signed off, though, give the impression the recipient isn’t in the best of health; that, and the reference to looking for seats in this postcard, make me think she is writing to someone older – her mother or grandmother.
Salzburg, Austria
8th June, 1961
Thursday
Here we are in Salzburg. We came on the German tour. It has fired up now but the journey was very wet. As usual we are at our favourite occupation, eating. We hope to get to the castle but haven’t bought much, for a wonder! The streets are very narrow in the [xxxx], so is the café, it is a squeeze to get in. We haven’t even taken photos. Have a bash at the bottle [?] before I get back.
Innsbruck. Austria
9th June, 1961
Friday
We are now in Innsbruck. The run was beautiful at first but then rain. We have been half way up a mountain but the view was spoilt by the cloud. We have lunch then go a tour of the city and then shop. It was the amateur night last night in the Kurhaus, and the [xxxxxxxx] went up to do a turn.
Ruhpolding, Bavaria
12th June, 1961
Sunday
Had a nice day although there is still not much sun, In the morning we wote cards and in the afternoon we went a run on the horse cart. It was beautiful, right into the mountains. You certainly see the scenery, we climbed (on foot) away up a path to see the waterfall, the most energetic we have been yet. Hope you are feeling fine.
Ruhpolding, Bavaria
14th June, 1961
Tuesday
another very wet day. We have got most of our shopping done. I got your letter to-day and got the material, it looks nice. N.D. seems to be doing her stuff. She might have brought something with her. I have marked our window. Its upstairs but we haven’t meeded the sunshades. There isn’t any news to-day. We are getting ready for Vienna to-morrow, we start at six in the morning. I hope it is fair. I hope you are not feeling too fed up.
You might just be able to make out her blue cross showing her room against the top left window of the hotel. This hotel, Haus Feichtner, is still going today; it is in the village of Reit im Winkl on the German-Austrian border.
I wonder who N.D. was.
1960 in Bavaria
It is more than six months since I last blogged, and nearly a year since I last blogged about the postcard collection. My only excuse is that work and home life have been pretty full-on, although that’s not really an excuse – I’ve still watched plenty of crap TV.
Anyway, seeing as I work in a UK university, I can officially claim September to be the start of a new year, so my resolution is to get back on top of this blog and, in particular, to finish telling the story of our Edinburgh lady’s trips to Europe.
London, SW1
21st May, 1960
Have arrived safely in London and are waiting to eat. The train was packed and very warm, managed to doze off and on. It has been very wet here but seems calm so I’ll hope for the best. Hope you are all right.
Königsschloss Herrenchiemsee, Bavaria, Germany
23rd May, 1960
We have just toured this castle. It is very beautiful with mirrors and chandeliers, crystal and china. Puts your candlesticks to shame. The weather has cheered up and we had to sail to the island We are experts at eating wedges of cake our frocks will soon not fit. I don’t think we will have time to do half of what we want. Hope you are feeling all right.
Kochel am See, Bavaria, Germany
24th May, 1960
We are sitting at this hotel drinking cider. This is our first stop on the way to Oberammergau. The sun is shining and we have had a lovely run. Imogen liked her birthday presents, we were up at 5.30am. She is getting off with a Swedish courier nothing like mixing the countrys. Must go now.
Imogen has accompanied her on previous holidays.
Oberammergau, Bavaria, Germany
24th May, 1960
Tuesday
We have arrived in Oberammergau at last. We are staying in a little house half way up the mountain so we have quite a walk but the view is beautiful, as usual our first stop is a cafe but there are plenty shops, we have still to find the flowers [?] we should see. The run was cloudy specially at the end when we climbed into the mountains. We have seen the highest mountain in Germany, still covered with snow. It is a very nice village although we haven’t seen much of it.
Oberammergau, Bavaria, Germany
25th May, 1960
Tuesday
Have had an afternoon shopping, there are lovely shops but we don’t seem to be getting on very quickly. The men here have all got beards and long hair and look very wild, and you can’t tell the boys from the girls. We had dinner in a little café and it was very good. We met some Americans, the place is overflowing with them. This is the mountain we passed this morning but it doesn’t have much snow now.
Königssee, Bavaria, Germany
27th May, 1960
We have just been on the Königssee again, it was cloudy but quite nice. We have just been down the salt mines, we had to wear trousers a jacket and a hat and looked like something out of a harem. We went in a little train and down shutes. I can hardly sit down now. The salt is the mineral salts for curing different troubles. It is fine knowing [?] our way about.
Taking the tram
Before Christmas, I started stripping the paint off the cast iron fireplace in our bedroom. Using a heat gun worked well, but I got spooked when I realised that I was almost certainly vaporising old lead paint, so we decided to get the fireplace dipped ‘n’ stripped instead. (The whole fireplace is put in a big vat of paintstripper by specialists.)
Dipping ‘n’ stripping is surprisingly cost-effective – £40 for a bedroom fireplace versus £20 and a lot of time doing the same job with a heat gun – but the downside is that you have to remove the whole fireplace. As we speak, I’m waiting for someone to come and refit it – another £60 as the plaster on the surrounding wall needs fixing after a messy removal executed by moi.
In spite of the expense and insidious rubble dust from the crumbling wall, the process started to feel worth it when I found an old tram ticket behind the fireplace.
The tram stops listed are for east Edinburgh, in and around Leith, and its edges are blackened from the fire. A little calendar card I found with it dates from 1919, so I’d like to think the ticket dates from then, but in truth I have no idea.
The Auld from Reekie 