Sunday 31 July 2011

MY MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER

The only thing I have of any of my grandparent’s possessions, apart from a few photos, is my maternal grandmother’s Identity or Aliens Book.

This was probably issued to her in 1914 at the start of the First World War. According to this she was unable to write and signed it with a cross and a thumbprint. Whether she was actually unable to write anything, or just unable to write in English we will never know. The Book was also used after the war and during World War 2.

According to her Book she was born Cecelie Walbaum to Woolf and Sara Walbaum in Bialystok in Russia (now in Poland) probably in 1877. She married Lewis Feinson in about 1899 in Russia and came to England in about 1904 with her husband and 2 children. My mother the youngest child was born in England, as were 2 other children.

How they got to England I do not know, but in all probability they came by boat via Libau in Latvia or Hamburg in Germany.

Again according to her Book she came to England on a Russian passport, number 2176, issued by the Russian Police in Bialystok in 1904.

Aliens were required to register with their local police every time they left the area overnight and register with the local police in the area they were staying.

The 1911 Census shows the family living at 56 Lindon Buildings, Bethnal Green. In 1912 when my mother was born, they were living at 7 Whitby Street, Bethnal Green. In 1934 the family moved to 50 Graham Road, Dalston, London, E8 and in September 1940 my grandparents moved to 34 Springfield Road, Windsor where my parents and I also lived. On 8th December 1940 my grandmother was given permission to visit 50 Graham Road until 14th December.

She died on 18th December 1940 in the King Edward Vll Hospital in Windsor from Cerebral Haemorrhage and Hypertension, when I was 4 years old.

Thursday 21 July 2011

On this day - 21st July

1940 - My brother Michael Jeffrey was born at the Bearstead Memorial Hospital, Hampton, Twickenham, Middlesex. At the time, my parents and I were living at 150 King Edward Road, Hachney, London, E9.

Michael was very ill from birth and eventually died on 8th June 1941, aged just 10 months, in the County Council Emergency Hospital, Old Windsor. The cause of death is recorded as:
1 (a) Cardiac failure
   (b) TB Meningitis
2       TB Broncho Pneumonia

At the time of Michael's death we were living at 34 Sprinfield Road, Windsor wth my grandfather on my mum's side. My grandmother having died on 18th December 1940. It must have been a very painful time for my mother.

Wednesday 13 July 2011

HOW THE INTERNET BEGAN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know that one shouldn't plagiarise, but as I don't know where this originated from, I thought that I would take the liberty of posting it.

With apologies for offending anyone and everyone. Remember it is only a bit of fun.

In ancient Israel , it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot.

And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com.And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy
tent?" And Abraham did look at her - as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load - but simply said, "How, dear?"

And Dot replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. The sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."

Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. The drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.

To prevent neighbouring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was called Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures: Hebrew To The People (HTTP). But this success did arouse envy.

A man named Maccabia did secrete himself inside Abraham's drum and began to siphon off some of Abraham's business. But he was soon discovered, arrested and prosecuted for insider trading.

And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.

And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the
deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. And he did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates' drum heads and drumsticks.

Lo, Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others!" And as Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel , or eBay as it came to be known, he said, "We need a name that reflects what we are." And Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators." "YAHOO," said Abraham. And because it was Dot's idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.

Abraham's cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot's drums to locate things around the countryside. It soon became known as God's Own Official Guide to Locating Everything(GOOGLE)
And that is how it all began. 

 AS IF YOU HAD ANY DOUBTS !!!!!

Thursday 7 July 2011

TRUE LOVE


On the 16th April my wife Diane’s Aunty Milly died aged 98. She was Diane’s dad’s youngest sister. 8 weeks later on the 11th June her husband Jack died.

Milly and Jack originally met and fell in love in the early 1930s. However, the path of true love never runs smoothly. Milly’s parents did not approve of Jack because he was only a butcher. In those days, unlike today, girls didn’t very often go against their parents wishes, and in 1936, aged 24, Milly married Morry who was a tailor and whose parents had a menswear shop.

Jack was always a close friend of the family and Diane always referred to him as Uncle Jack. When I joined the family and called him Jack, he very quickly put me right and said it’s Uncle Jack to you. Jack was at our wedding, our three sons’ barmitzvahs and weddings.

In 1984 Uncle Morry died

Even though she was now free to marry “Uncle” Jack, she wouldn’t whilst Diane’s dad was still alive. He died in January 1989.and later that year Milly and Jack married, over 50 years after they first fell in love.

During the last few years they were in an old age home together, always arguing but still very much in love.

When Milly died, Jack couldn’t carry on without her.

On this day - 6th July

1712 - Abraham Rodriques-Ribera married Paloma Mizrahi at Bevis Marks Synagogue. He was born in 1690 He was Diane's 6 x great grandfather on her mother's maternal side.

Saturday 2 July 2011

On this day – 2nd July

In 1837 Abraham Bittan was born to Joshua Bittan and Esther Martin (Nunes Martinez). He was one of 11 children. His brother Benjamin was Diane’s greatgrandfather on her mother’s maternal side.

On this day – 1st July

In 1838 Moses Hart died.  He was Diane’s 2 x great grandfather on her mother’s paternal side..