Tag: Love is patient

Oh where, oh where, can they be?

(I published this elsewhere 5 years ago and am still looking 🤔)

My paternal grandad (the one who was gone before I arrived) had two brothers plus several half brothers  Deaths in Ireland in the mid 1800s were frequent so his father (my gt grandfather) was married twice.

The habit of giving children family given names – 1st son usually got their paternal grandfather’s name (plus more sometimes) likewise for daughters being given maternal grandmother’s names and so on – makes it so hard to pin point and attach the correct John, James, or even Archibald (who calls their child Archibald – my family obviously because it seems like there are hundreds of them out there) or even anyone else for that matter to the correct family.  John Smith could have 5 sons who each have a son, which means there you are, there’s 5 more John Smiths often with only a few years between them.

When my gt grandad named the boys in his second family he obviously couldn’t carry on the way he was going – he’d used up all the male names from both his and his deceased wife’s extended families which meant the new sons ended up with slightly different ones that originated in the new wife’s family.

So when associated with an unusual surname you’d think they’d be easy to find in amongst all the online records available on various family history sites.  You’d think??.

I’ve found the correct birth records for all three brothers plus 1901 Irish census and they’re filed away…… I’ve located a marriage certificate, 1911 Irish census record as well as a death cert. for my grandad (my dad’s dad) but nothing more for the other two.

The trouble is so many in their family or extended family from other counties all with the same surname (and at times with the same given names) decided life would be better elsewhere and hopped on ships to sail to other lands.  Passenger records are interesting in that sometimes the name recorded could be a full set of given names plus family name or any one of abbreviations/nicknames the person is called…..  Alexander James could be that or Alex or Alec or James (if his father has the same name) or even Jimmy!

Then there’s the case of illiteracy…….lack of reading and writing skills……….or even bad hearing in a noisy environment…..where names spoken aren’t always transcribed with the same spelling.  My father was adamant one of his grandmothers was a Muldoon – yes that, plus the McIldoon – McEldoon or M’Eldoon which I’ve found on legal docs.  Same with his other grandma – she’s recorded as being Mary M’Endoo or McAdoo or McAdor!  Northern Ireland accents could fool even the locals lol

That little saying up above is what my dad told me when I gave him his first grandchild.  Tell him about where the family came from but don’t stop him flying away to see what the rest of the world is like.

Now if anyone knows where my Thomas Henry ***** and his brother Joseph Arthur ***** have flown off to could you tell them their gt niece Catherine is looking for them 😊😎

Oh, the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we’ve no place to go….because golf was cancelled
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!.

Let it rain! Let it pour! Let it flood!.

(The predicted wet weather arrived – it’s very wet and almost like winter!)

This new tv has arrived at just the right time
It’s kept The Golfer occupied
Not actually watching anything
Just discovering what mysteries are located in the settings

The latest discovery – voice control!
He doesn’t have to use his finger to change channels
He can just ask the voice assistant
I really need to know her name because he’s become quite friendly with her this past week

Not to warn her off but thank her for keeping him out of my way😊

Three remotes on the bench – which one will you choose?

When we left town in July we had a television that might not have been used all that often but was working well, even though at 17yrs it was getting on a bit (compared to modern standards that is)
Returned home and it started to play up…turning itself back on from mute plus the sound kept rising all on its own accord….responding to the remote at times, then defiantly staying at ear splitting level 100.
New batteries were no help – set top controls not working either.
So the decision was made!

There was lots of measuring (limited space where it will live) looking/ comparing/ discussing at home then repeated live in the store. In the end it was ‘that’ll do’ – it fits the space and doesn’t seem too complicated plus there was a bit of price negotiations (“we don’t usually match that place” prove you’re a member etc etc) which ended well and saved us travelling further afield. The enormous box just fitted across the back seat which saved us ‘persuading’ one of our boys to pick it up….

Then it was onto the rigmarole fun and games we’d heard about called ‘setting it up’.
We sort of knew it wasn’t going to be a case of turn it on and away you go but oh dear, this was a new experience (hopefully not to be repeated any day soon) who knew it would be such a palaver trying to connect it to the house wifi.

Anyway this new television came with clunky strange shaped ‘smart tv magic remote’ that does more than the usual on/off softer/louder change channel stuff – remember we’re really latecomers to this game and learning ways to use it….when there are only basic instructions included….has been interesting.
Attempts at trying to direct/guide a cursor by waving this unfamiliar object in the air were frustrating (for both of us) …I had to leave the room a couple of times, my suggestions were not welcomed at all 😊

And this is where the tale of the three remote controls begins…

A while ago some of the buttons on the original remote for the previous set were playing up so The Golfer got himself a universal one, a new ‘better, everything worked one’, I was content with the original (give it a bash tap on the chair and the buttons worked again 😊)
Saved me asking him to change channels or alter the sound although there had been words ‘spoken’ (by me) if he got annoyed tired of watching adverts and started looking around at other programmes forgetting we – not just he – were in the middle of watching something.

‘So I suppose we just toss these’ said a rather unhappy Catherine looking at the two discarded ones.
There were visions of ‘change the channel please – turn it up a bit, I can’t hear it – cut the noise, I can’t hear you’ returning to the lounge room.
Plus having to actually locate the thing if needed. Things have a habit of being covered up or sliding down the side of chairs.
‘Well they’re not going to work, are they’ he said.
‘I’ll just try’ she said, Fingers crossed, hoping hoping
Surprise Surprise…against all odds she was pleasantly surprised to find the old original one does.
So does the universal one, except it just sits ignored beside a certain person’s chair, because he’s happy playing with his new beaut one.

So things have returned to ‘normal’ our lounge room, Catherine still gets to change channels and control the sound if she wants to without having to wrestle verbally (or physically😊) with another (who has a habit of guarding those black things with his life….just joking….but it does seem like that at times)