Just before lunch Danni, Andy, Elizabeth and Ella joined us, So that the parents could spend the afternoon alone while the rest of us looked after Ella.
We began with lunch laid out by Grauntie Jackie.
Eventually we got rid of the parents, but they felt the need of clocking in with
first ice cream and later beer bulletins via e-mail, as they wandered round Lymington.
Elizabeth brought me a task in the form of Mum’s old photograph album from which we plan to make a reminiscence album in a form that she can see. Except for the photograph of her father in World War I naval uniform, I was working from tiny 5 x 8 cm prints produced by the man himself. As far as we can tell this photograph of our mother was taken on holiday at Conwy in about 1926.
Here Mum poses with her brothers Ben, Roy, and others;
here with our Uncle Roy;
here with her mother;
and here with her mother and brothers, all, we think, on the same holiday.
Our grandfather was occasionally photographed with his three children.
Here our grandmother poses first with an unknown companion and then alone on a wall.
Grandpa Hunter stands alone on the shingle beach.
We think this was probably taken during, before, or soon after 1919.
This street parade, in which Mum and Uncle Roy both participated with others, probably took place in 1927. At this stage I have not repaired any of the images.
Many other important photographs have already been scanned for other occasions. These three colour prints were from June 1982. Mum and Dad often walked in Nonesuch Park. Here they were joined by Dad’s brother, Uncle Norman, on a visit from Adelaide to which he emigrated soon after World War II.
Danni and Andy returned late in the afternoon and for dinner we all tucked into Jackie’s succulent beef in red wine; crunchy carrots and cauliflower; tender runner beans and mange touts; and creamy mashed potatoes. Various red wines – I don’t remember which – were imbibed while the Culinary Queen and Ian drank Amstel.