Charlie's Essay

I just saw this masterpiece on the Family computer when I had my lunchbreak.

I have always known that boys are different from girls, and Charlie is certainly very different from his sisters.  None of them could have penned this amazing piece of prose...

How important was violence, amongst other factors, in bringing about the failure of Chartism? 12

Violence was an important factor in the failure of Chartism. The Newport Rising and violence at several Chartist protests did lead to condemnation by many and a fear of their motivations (REVOLUTION). However, other factors did play a more important role in their failure. In my opinion the most important reason was the division between the leaders. The fact that they couldn’t agree on a common goal or how to reach it led to a disorganised structure. This led to Chartism becoming a more localised movement, and it didn’t get to many industrial towns. This was in an age before mass communication, so different towns had different concerns. This meant that the overall movement lacked support.

Another factor in the failure of Chartism was the total lack of money. This was a major setback once the movement had started as it meant that the spreading of it was very difficult.  Grandma is behind me, coming into the room, I can hear her… puts a mug down. Picks it up. To the sink! Puts it down. Splashes water wanders away… breathes coughs. Shuffles about. Puts a mug away. Jingles all the mugs. ANNOYING. Shuts cupboard walkes towards sink. TEAPOT?emptyyies it, fills it empties it fills it empties it.WHAT? I think it is full now, she put it on boil. Now she gets things out cupboards. Farts. UGH. Tinkle water tinkle tinkle. Breathes LOTS. Sniff. OOoooohh now shes wiping down surfaces, empties the washing up bowl. LOUD WATER LOUD. Please to go granma? Stop all watering! Still wiping things.gkkkkkkkeeeeeeeeelllllllnnnnnbjv j    fj kd doihbdiohdx.fhib z bold? p whio put bold on? Turn bold off.

End

A Day at Pemberley

As an end-of-holiday treat, we had a family outing to Lyme Park, which featured as Pemberley in the BBC's Pride and Prejudice.

Ant and Bernie are huge P&P fans (as are Anna and I), and the whole family, including Grandma, enjoyed both the beautiful gardens and the impressive house.

Ant and Bernie were rushing around declaring 'What a notion!' and similar quotable comments at every opportunity, and Charlie and Dominique both played pieces on the piano featured in P&P.

And we were blessed with beautiful weather too.

Easter Celebrations

We went to the Vigil Mass last night: the new fire kindled outside the Church and spread among the faithful candle by candle until the whole Church was filled with the light of the Risen Christ! Had to sing the Regina Caeli walking back to the car, as it had not been included in the Mass.

Then today, we had a cooked breakfast (a rare treat) with sausage and bacon (as well as eggs from a local farm) to celebrate the end of Lent and our vegetarian diet. The table was decorated,as ever on Easter day, with an Easter tree - photo to follow once the camera is charged!

After breakfast, the kids found all but two of the small eggs hidden in the garden in our traditional Easter Egg Hunt, while Anna made a Simnel Cake. the kids and I then played Ultimate Frisbee, under Ant's loving instruction: boys v. girls - Charlie and I beat Ant, Bernie and Dominique 5 - 0!

After a light lunch we took Goldie for a walk in the country (we had been planning a stately home garden visit with Grandma, but she didn't feel up to it in the event, so we will save that for another day).

After a fabulous tea (and wine!....), watched a Poirot DVD with grandma; then said bedtime prayers with the kids, sang the Regina Caeli and the Victimae Paschali, and am now sat wondering about doing the washing up...

Life with grandma

It’s not always easy living with Anna’s mum. The other evening, Bernie had boiled some custard over in the microwave and forgotten to clear it up. Grandma arrived in her dressing gown, wanting to make her evening Horlicks and found the thing a mess. Instead of either calling for Bernie, or or Anna or me, or simply getting on with it, she got herself in a real stew. She did clear it up, with bad grace, but then stormed into the drawing room in a state to ask (or demand) that Anna put the glass dish back in the machine as she ‘couldn’t possibly reach. And it was a bit much expecting her to clear up all that mess...’ As we hadn’t known about the mess, that felt a little OTT, and then when Bernie appeared and tried to apologise she wouldn’t listen. She said goodnight to us and slammed the door - leaving me wondering who is the child in all this... and also whether I should address her bad behaviour, which had escalated a minor misdemeanour that had upset her into a situation when Bernie, Anna, and I - as well as she - felt thoroughly disgruntled.

Easter Day and Tudor Faith...

The day started with our traditional Easter Egg hunt in the garden. I placed the tiny foil-wrapped (and a few slightly bigger unwrapped) eggs before the kids were up, and had to stop Goldie, our retriever, from collecting them all back in. She thought that mean of me...

The kids, however, were enthusiastic, and charged around collecting them from the various niches nooks and crannies where I'd hidden them.

They were less enthused when they found at the breakfast table that the egg by each of their places was also rather small. This was Anna's joke: she'd found some small but humourous and relevant eggs (and had larger ones in reserve). It was only when the larger ones were duly produced that Ant (18!) admitted how disappointed she'd been at the sight of the small eggs. After a chocolate-free Lent, that seemed pretty harsh! And she was cross with herself for feeling that way, and desperately trying to put a brave face on it...

After Sung Mass (EF, chant, wonderful) we went to a local National Trust house: Rufford Old Hall with Grandma for a picnic and to look round the Hall and gardens.

Built in 1530, the house includes a magnificent Tudor Hall, with hammerbeam ceiling and much else of interest. The kids love the armour, of course, but also things like the engraving of the five wounds of Christ high in the ancient oak woodwork: the emblem of the Pilgrimage of Grace, organised to resist Henry Vlll's rejection of the Old Faith.

Sang the Regina Caeli at evening family prayers: after weeks of the Ave Regina Caelorum, that's a real sign that Easter has arrived.

Life with grandma

Mothering Sunday seems a good time to reflect on life with grandma.

It is some time now since she moved in with us. I had not realised quite how difficult Anna would find it, having her mum living with us. It feels to her as though she is being watched, critically all the time.

Grandma finds it tough, too: we don't do things the way she would. She also finds it very isolating living in a small village in the middle of nowhere, and feels she has lost her independence, as she has to rely on Anna to drive her anywhere if she wants to go out.

However, she does see people who love her every day, and takes a lot of interest in the children and all their doings. So while she may complain at times, I am convinced she's much better off with us than she was on her own, when she could go for days without seeing a soul to talk to. She may have forgotten it, but she used to get very depressed and lonely on her own.

And although Anna and I can find it trying, at times, to have her always in the house, I am quite convinced it it the right thing to have done: not least as an education for the children.

Going Tudor

Dominique is studying the Tudors at present, and after half term they are having a Tudor banquet. So today, she has spent a lot of time with Grandma and Ant putting together a most convincing tudor costume. Much of the rest of the day has been spent with Anna, looking for tudor recipes on the internet and baking some (Tudor?) bread. She and Charlie did take an hour or two out in the afternoon to play tennis in the field (not Real [Tudor] Tennis, alas) while Ant, Anna and I took Goldie for a walk in the woods. Bernie was at the pictures with friends (Slumdog Millionaire) which she enjoyed. The bigger girls (inc grandma) are off to see Oklahoma! tonight, so I will have a quiet night in once I've put the little ones to bed.

Casablanca

As a treat for the last night of the holidays (it's not really, but tomorrow night we'll be travelling to an EF Mass for the (real) feast of the Epiphany) we watched Casablanca. I'd been given it for Christmas, so you can see the strength of my will power that it had remained unwatched until today.

We put up the big screen and hitched up a projector and speakers to my Mac, so it was a proper film showing (this is what we do to make up for no TV!)

The kids, who had been shocked that I could read How to Live For ever without shedding a tear, were astonished to find the tears rolling down my cheeks during the film... But they seemed to enjoy it, too. As did Anna's mum, and Anna herself, of course.

I hadn't seen it for years, and was a little worried that it might not be as great as I had remembered. But it was greater.

Grandma

It's now two months since grandma moved in with us, and it has not been uneventful.

She and Anna have a somewhat stormy relationship - all seems smooth on the surface but every now and then there is a major row.

I hate this, but neither of them seems to mind it. One of the dynamics is that grandma has to feel useful, so spends a lot of time cleaning, ironing, etc, and pointing out to Anna that if it weren't for her we couldn't cope (never mind that we coped perfectly well before she moved in).

Anna, of course, resents the implication that the house would be a tip but for her mum (though there is a little truth in that), and that she can't cope.

Also, grandma is very pro-Antonia, which can lead to her being unnecessarily critical of one of the others. It used to be Bernie who got the brunt of that, but now it is more frequently Charlie or Dominique. That's partly because Bernie has worked very hard at building her relationship with grandma - and showed great maturity in doing so.

So it's not always easy, but Anna and I are convinced it's the right thing to do - and when we step back and look at it, it is clear that grandma is much happier with us than she was on her own: she just doesn't always remember that herself...

Optimist or pessimist?

The week running up to Dom's 10th birthday party was funny. Every day grandma would point out that the weather forecast was for heavy rain on Saturday. Every day I would answer that the forecast was not always right and we could well have a sunny afternoon.

In the event it rained - and we feel back on plan B - to hold the party indoors.

It was less than ideal, having 16 ten year olds in a relatively confined space - but Ant worked wonders to keep them all busy and happy.

Afterwards I reflected on the fact that grandma had had a miserable week expecting rain to ruin everything, while I'd had a hopeful week, knowing that even if it rained we would survive.

I remain an optimist, even though she was right this time...

Major upheaval...

...as grandma moves in. She's got to the stage where living alone is increasingly difficult, and the recent death of her (only local) friend did not help.

It won't be easy: Ant loses her bedroom and has to share with Bernadette, which no teenage girls would think a great idea... And Anna's relationship with her mother has never been the easiest, so how they'll get on in one house is anyone's guess.

I have a civil relationship with her, but I was the last person she'd have wanted her daughter to marry. And she'll find the noise, untidiness and dog all very trying.

On the positive side, it will be very good for her to be living with the family: on her own she could often go for days without speaking to a soul: now she will see us and the kids (whom she likes) every day, so get a lot more interaction on a regular basis.

Also it's good for the kids to have her here: she is so different from us, that they wil learn a lot, and more fundamentally, they will learn the importance of the family: how we are there for each other, even when it's not convenient or easy; and in particular that we look after the elderly (I hope they remember this when I'm senile!)