Christmas, Camera's and family tree's.

Dear family, friends and followers.

Here we are creeping ever close to Christmas, yes I said Christmas and to be honest I am finding it hard to get excited about the whole thing. I think because of Covid-19, Christmas is just going be another day for us. I will put the decorations up, but we are not having a Turkey meal this year, we are going down the nibble all day route. We will be nibbling on Chinese and Indian Nibbles, Mince Pies and what ever else take our fancy. 

I am well aware that people love to celebrate Christmas and I love it as well, but it is going to be so different for many this year and so it should be, because getting together in large family groups will end is disaster for some as they spread the virus between them. To many will be spending this Christmas without a loved one, because Covid-19 took them too soon. I honestly think for one year Christmas should be a quiet affair, just to make sure we all stay safe. Sacrificing a big Christmas for one year, is something we should all think about. So many people have already had to make sacrifices for our benefit. Muslims have not been able to celebrate Ramadan, Hindus and Sikhs had to forgo Diwali, Jews could not celebrate Yom Kippur and many other religions gave up their festivals and celebrations to keep everyone safe. I have American friends who have just celebrated Thanksgiving and they kept it small and quiet this year. It is a small gesture, which I think could make a huge difference, if we all stayed in our own homes and helped to save lives. I personally want to see my children and grand-children next year and I want to keep them safe.

Changing the subject.

Today I received an early Christmas present to me. As many of you know, I love taking photographs and have had a couple of Canon cameras, the 350D and the 1100D, well I have upgraded to the 2000D. It is still a beginner camera, and that is fine by me, because it is nice and simple to use. My 1100D was 12 mega pixels whereas the 2000D is 24 mega pixels, so a huge difference. Everything else is pretty much the same, so I will not have to learn how to use it, I can just snap away to my hearts content. 

No sooner it arrived, I took this photograph looking down the Arm from our mooring. I got it off of Ebay. It was a little used camera, at an excellent price and came with a lens, which Keith has been making good use off on his camera, so he can take close up shots of his railway. 

Life on the mooring has been quiet, as the arm is still in lockdown. With the hedge and garden tidy for the Winter, I have been helping out with some of the other gardens in the Arm. I go out for a walk once a day and not to far away. I usually go before everyone is out of bed.

By walking early, I then have the rest of the day to do what I want. A lot of time is being spent working on family trees, because I invested in a subscription to Ancestry. It has gotten me hooked. I have already found out that we have family which goes back to William the Conqueror and the Queen is in our line as well. I knew my Birthday was on a special day. It is wonderful to discover what my ancestors did for a living and I have a lot of journeymen, farmers, burnishers, glove makers and much more. Now that I am getting some real characters coming to light, I may well write about them and what they did from time to time. If you have ever been interested in your family history, do think about using Ancestry or one of the other family tree providers. Family Search got me started and this year I started with Ancestry to find out more. 

On that note, I am off to make a coffee and put my feet up. Stay safe and well please.

Pop back soon xxx