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curiouswombatIt has been a hectic past few days. I am involved with the small Christian Bookshop on the island, as a member of the multi-church committee that supports it. It survives, from month to month, making just enough to pay for the one paid, part-time, member of staff; a small (very small) haven in the town centre. And this month it celebrated its 40th anniversary, when so many similar shops have closed in recent years. Of course it is also the 400th birthday of the King James translation of the Bible - although these days the shop sells more copies of more up to date translations.
Both seemed reason to celebrate - and so we had a party. A party to which everyone was invited. In fact we had an 'all-day coffee morning' on Saturday in The Promenade Methodist Church.
For my part this meant baking cookies and flapjack (British stuff, not American which is a form of pancake, I have discovered), donating some family Bibles to the display of KJVs (King James Versions), and being one of the 24 people who read from the Bible during the day.
Along the way I made some fascinating discoveries and links - and took a few pictures... oh, and ended up on local radio.
I knew that, in the family deed-box which my mother has passed to me, there is an old Bible belonging to my paternal grandmother - so S2C helped me get the box down from the wardrobe and I delved inside - to find there were more old Bibles that I hadn't ever noticed before.
The one I was looking for fascinates me - it was given to my grandmother's great-great aunt in 1849 and passed from female to female as far as we can tell. And every one of them kept all sorts of 'important' things in it as bookmarks; marriage certificates, newspaper cuttings, death announcements, letters announcing births... and less important things like notes about trousers cut down to fit Granny's brother, and stained ribbon bookmarks. Oh - and letters from the Session Clerks of different Church of Scotland parishes which told of the right to be buried in churchyards, and that various women of the family were of good character - all both interesting and helpful in tracing the family.
But the unexpected Bibles had fewer, but different, things used as bookmarks - one had flowers and ferns; the other, dated 1843,had belonged to one of the Moncrieff family members whose letters home from Australia are in the first. And he had stored his certificate of the right to dig for gold in Victoria in 1853 between the pages. So somewhere, in my family tree, is someone who was a gold-miner in Australia and, presumably, returned to Britain later for his Bible to have joined the others in 'Maggie's box'. (Maggie was my paternal grandmother).
So - more family history to keep me occupied over the winter...
The actual event was good - I spent much of my time talking to people - it's one of the things I do best! I made sure that no-one was sitting alone, by moving around having coffee with one person, my soup lunch with another, my piece of 'birthday cake' with yet another, and so on! And took a few pictures, too...
This is my sister reading.
All through the day, at 15 minute intervals, various volunteers got up and read a favourite passage at the lectern. Which is a fascinating thing in its own right, as it was once used by John Wesley and is usually in Peel Methodist chapel - but they lent it to us for the day.
Here is a longer shot showing the balloons and some of the hundred plus people who passed through during the day.
Here is Alan, who served soup much of the day and, like me, made sure no-one looked lonely. My sister said he would look good in a kilt when she saw him in this pinny!
We had a display of things from the shop for sale -
Somehow I seemed to have not taken a picture of the display of bibles - and yet I was sure I did!
I did take one of the 'joint birthday' cake made by a friend of one of the bookshop helpers;
And this final picture is of Daniel.
Daniel is a local guy who did the Pilgrimage Walk to Santiago di Compostella last year - and then wrote a book about it. He came with a few copies, happy to sign them, and chat about his experiences. I bought one - it is fascinating with some great pictures, all of which were taken by people he met along the way and gave his e-mail address to, as he didn't take a camera.
As well as chatting about his book, he brought his fiddle, and played folk tunes and hymn tunes between the readings. He finally read himself - a beautiful rendition of the creation story.
I read most of Luke Chapter Two - the well know telling of the birth of Christ. Just before I was due to read, the religious correspondent of our local radio station came along - and I realised, as I read, that she was recording me! The recording was played this morning - several people in church came up to me this morning to say that they'd heard it.
Also there to talk to anyone who was interested about his books was Dr Tim Grass who is a historian who researches and writes, particularly, about the history of the Brethren. I stopped by to chat with him and he was explaining that he now lives on the island as his wife is Manx, we chatted about the way Manx families are like the hobbits - we know most of our relatives and how we are related for six or seven generations.
When he showed a degree of excitement when I mentioned my mother's family name I though it must be because his wife must be a relative, but no - it was a surname he was interested in from the point of his current research! When looking at the work of Brethren Missionaries in Spain he had found a lot of letters and post-cards from the Isle of Man - and now that he had moved here he wanted to look at the history of the Brethren here. And someone had told him that a Mr H had run a house group in Kirk Michael.
"Aha!" I said, "that would be my great uncle Wilfred - my grandfather's younger brother."
And so I have been able to put him in touch with my mother, who knows more about her uncle than I do - and who can then put him in touch with Uncle Wilfred's daughter who is also still alive. He was so pleased - and so was I as Mum will love to have a visit from a personable gentleman to chat about her family!
My goodness this has turned out to be a very long post! I think that might be enough for now.
Both seemed reason to celebrate - and so we had a party. A party to which everyone was invited. In fact we had an 'all-day coffee morning' on Saturday in The Promenade Methodist Church.
For my part this meant baking cookies and flapjack (British stuff, not American which is a form of pancake, I have discovered), donating some family Bibles to the display of KJVs (King James Versions), and being one of the 24 people who read from the Bible during the day.
Along the way I made some fascinating discoveries and links - and took a few pictures... oh, and ended up on local radio.
I knew that, in the family deed-box which my mother has passed to me, there is an old Bible belonging to my paternal grandmother - so S2C helped me get the box down from the wardrobe and I delved inside - to find there were more old Bibles that I hadn't ever noticed before.
The one I was looking for fascinates me - it was given to my grandmother's great-great aunt in 1849 and passed from female to female as far as we can tell. And every one of them kept all sorts of 'important' things in it as bookmarks; marriage certificates, newspaper cuttings, death announcements, letters announcing births... and less important things like notes about trousers cut down to fit Granny's brother, and stained ribbon bookmarks. Oh - and letters from the Session Clerks of different Church of Scotland parishes which told of the right to be buried in churchyards, and that various women of the family were of good character - all both interesting and helpful in tracing the family.
But the unexpected Bibles had fewer, but different, things used as bookmarks - one had flowers and ferns; the other, dated 1843,had belonged to one of the Moncrieff family members whose letters home from Australia are in the first. And he had stored his certificate of the right to dig for gold in Victoria in 1853 between the pages. So somewhere, in my family tree, is someone who was a gold-miner in Australia and, presumably, returned to Britain later for his Bible to have joined the others in 'Maggie's box'. (Maggie was my paternal grandmother).
So - more family history to keep me occupied over the winter...
The actual event was good - I spent much of my time talking to people - it's one of the things I do best! I made sure that no-one was sitting alone, by moving around having coffee with one person, my soup lunch with another, my piece of 'birthday cake' with yet another, and so on! And took a few pictures, too...
This is my sister reading.
All through the day, at 15 minute intervals, various volunteers got up and read a favourite passage at the lectern. Which is a fascinating thing in its own right, as it was once used by John Wesley and is usually in Peel Methodist chapel - but they lent it to us for the day.
Here is a longer shot showing the balloons and some of the hundred plus people who passed through during the day.
Here is Alan, who served soup much of the day and, like me, made sure no-one looked lonely. My sister said he would look good in a kilt when she saw him in this pinny!
We had a display of things from the shop for sale -
Somehow I seemed to have not taken a picture of the display of bibles - and yet I was sure I did!
I did take one of the 'joint birthday' cake made by a friend of one of the bookshop helpers;
And this final picture is of Daniel.
Daniel is a local guy who did the Pilgrimage Walk to Santiago di Compostella last year - and then wrote a book about it. He came with a few copies, happy to sign them, and chat about his experiences. I bought one - it is fascinating with some great pictures, all of which were taken by people he met along the way and gave his e-mail address to, as he didn't take a camera.
As well as chatting about his book, he brought his fiddle, and played folk tunes and hymn tunes between the readings. He finally read himself - a beautiful rendition of the creation story.
I read most of Luke Chapter Two - the well know telling of the birth of Christ. Just before I was due to read, the religious correspondent of our local radio station came along - and I realised, as I read, that she was recording me! The recording was played this morning - several people in church came up to me this morning to say that they'd heard it.
Also there to talk to anyone who was interested about his books was Dr Tim Grass who is a historian who researches and writes, particularly, about the history of the Brethren. I stopped by to chat with him and he was explaining that he now lives on the island as his wife is Manx, we chatted about the way Manx families are like the hobbits - we know most of our relatives and how we are related for six or seven generations.
When he showed a degree of excitement when I mentioned my mother's family name I though it must be because his wife must be a relative, but no - it was a surname he was interested in from the point of his current research! When looking at the work of Brethren Missionaries in Spain he had found a lot of letters and post-cards from the Isle of Man - and now that he had moved here he wanted to look at the history of the Brethren here. And someone had told him that a Mr H had run a house group in Kirk Michael.
"Aha!" I said, "that would be my great uncle Wilfred - my grandfather's younger brother."
And so I have been able to put him in touch with my mother, who knows more about her uncle than I do - and who can then put him in touch with Uncle Wilfred's daughter who is also still alive. He was so pleased - and so was I as Mum will love to have a visit from a personable gentleman to chat about her family!
My goodness this has turned out to be a very long post! I think that might be enough for now.
