Grandparents Visit – Take 1

We had a great kick-off to our New Year by having my parents arrive from St. Louis on New Year’s Day.

We gave them a little more than 24 hours to regroup and we were off on an English adventure to visit our English relatives in Devon.  This was high on Dad’s priority list so we were so thankful it worked out they were here during a Bank Holiday when all his cousins were available to get together.

Michael, Alan, Dad, Mom, Neil, Helen, and Stephen

Alan’s Family

Stephen’s (soon-to-be) Family

Helen’s Family (minus Graham, who was home sick)

Our lovely hosts Neil & Kym

The Next Generation Times Two (my second cousins with my kids)

It is a bit odd to think that my dad’s cousins have kids the same ages as my own kids.  I guess that is for a number of reasons – Nevins have tended to marry later, my dad is the oldest cousin and I am his oldest child.  It didn’t stop the kids from just jumping into great relationships.  They spent the whole afternoon giggling, talking, and playing games.  We also found that two of the girls are gymnasts as well – there must be a gymnast gene somewhere in the Nevin side!

The Game Group

Neil is head gardener at Dartington Hall so he was able to get us booked into their bed and breakfast accommodations.  The actual hall was originally built in 1388 for King Richard II’s half-brother.  It has been kept up well and even though it is very medieval looking, it has kept ahead of its age.

Neil gave us a grand private tour of the grounds, along with an amazing history lesson of the hall and village.

The grounds were beautiful, even now, so I can imagine in the spring and summer, they are just spectacular!

Jacob’s Pillow Sculpture

Part of the old church & its cemetery

We had a great stay at the hall and it helped my parents feel like they were getting the true British experience.

On our drive back home, we stopped in Dorset to see my Dad’s uncle – Uncle Ron.  He lives in one of the Tolpuddle Memorial Cottages.  Tolpuddle is just a little village that consists of one street, but these cottages stand out as they stand next to a museum called the Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum.  Each of the cottages is named after one of the men whose actions led to the foundation of modern day trade unionism.  Uncle Ron lives in the one named for Thomas Standfield.

I honestly don’t know who was more happy to see each other – Dad or Uncle Ron.

Dad, Uncle Ron, Mom

Uncle Ron had some great stories from his time during World Ward II in the Royal Navy.  He served on submarines and scared me with stories of how he had to climb in the torpedo shafts to clean them out or repair them sometimes.  One time his light went out and another time he was injured while inside.  No thank you!

After our visit with Uncle Ron we drove out to Long Load in Somerset where my grandma was born and raised.  The family lived in the left side of this house, which is called “Maddison Farm”.  When my great-grandmother’s family was grown and gone, she moved into the right side of the house, which is called “Harness’s”, while one of her sons and his family lived in “Maddison Farm.”

Exactly across the street from the house is the Long Load Church, which is an important part of our history as well.  This is where my grandma (a member of the Royal Air Force) and grandpa (a member of the US Army) were married.  This is how our English roots brought us to America shortly after World War II.

The cemetery is all around the church grounds so we made sure to visit our other family members there as well.  One of which is my great-grandmother, Ethel Mary Dyer.  I was named after her – I’ll let you guess which of her names was used for my middle name.

After that brief visit to Long Load, we drove the rest of the way home with just a short stop to gaze at Stonehenge during sunset.

Stonehenge

My parents surprised me during the rest of their visit as they planned their days full of touring in London to the likes of Windsor Castle, the Florence Nightingale Museum, Churchill’s War Rooms, etc.  – all by public transportation!  I did go with them on their last touring day sans kids.  We had two things on the agenda – British Museum and Charles Dickens’ House.

British Museum

Dickens’s House

I rather enjoyed Dickens’s House – to be able to envision how a person lived, to see pictures of their family on the walls, and to read about their lives is amazing.

Some of the Original Dickens’ Novels

On our walk back to the tube station, we came upon this College and had a good laugh.

We were so glad to have my parents visit and spend time with them as we reached out to our British roots as well.  Definitely one of our most memorable visits!