Mules Park at Eastcliffe

Inspired by an article in the local paper about Mules Park we decided to explore. In the time we have lived here we had never heard of it. We had a lovely walk, despite the weather being miserable and Alfie made lots of new friends!

Teignmouth Post Friday 27th May 2011

Living in a church.....

The weekly free paper usually plops through the letterbox on Thursday evenings, we know when it has arrived when Alfie, our Border Terrier, who makes up for his size with personality, barks to advise that something is happening at the front door.

I tend to come home from work on a Friday, collapse in a heap and while waiting for the kettle to boil flick through the paper removing anything that I want to keep for my Teignmouth archive. I was intrigued when I spotted a converted church for sale.

Well, it is out of our price range and we have no plans to move currently, although every now and again we do have a conversation about two of us, opps, no, three of us if we count Alfie rattling around in a house of this size,which we bought for a family we do not actually have!, but I vote we shelf the idea of moving for at least now. The thought of boxing up my study sends me into a panic of gigantic proportions!

From the main road not surprisingly, the spire of the property can be seen and I have often wondered what the property was, but never actually got around to investigating. So, from the confines of my newspaper and study with laptop I nipped onto the selling agents website and viewed the pictures. Picture number 10 of the slideshow reveals the gardens with headstones of those nuns buried within the grounds. There is also a Mausoleum in the grounds with the interred remains of the abbesses.

So, has any of these headstones been transcribed?, or are they, as they now reside in someone's garden, lost to researchers?

Cross posted from Grave Encounters

Disclaimer - I am not in anyway connected to the seller of the property or the selling agent.

Weekend Cooking - Foodie Quotes

This week has been a challenging one. We heard some sad news over last weekend and although I have written a few posts this week and gone to work, I have been rather preoccupied. Then on Tuesday we heard that my relative had passed away, and Australia is long way from England.

Over the last few weeks I have not submitted a Weekend Cooking post and rather missed it. Last weeks post was delayed, but did have a food theme - you can see that post HERE. At the front of that book was this rather super quote, which made me smile.

"My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. 

Unless there are three other people." 

Orson Welles

More great food quotes are available at this SITE.

World Thyroid Day - 25th May 2011

Armchair BEA 2011 - Day Three - Network & Favourite book blogs and bloggers

Design Credit - Sarah of  Puss Reboots

Wednesday, May 25: Work the Network!
This is the day for the ever-popular blogger Interviews! Participants did have to sign up for the interviews in advance, so if you missed the cutoff, our “alternate” topic is an invitation to write a post highlighting some of your favorite book blogs and bloggers - share the love! We’ll have a place to link up your posts here.


There are numerous book blogs out there in the blogging sphere. Several are particular favouites:


Crazy-For-Books
The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader
Beth Fish Reads

The fact of it is that there are SO many GREAT book blogs out there, far too many to mention really.

Armchair BEA 2011 - Day One - Who are you, and how do you Armchair?

Design Credit - Sarah of  Puss Reboots

Monday, May 23: Who are you, and how do you Armchair?
You’ll probably be getting a lot of new visitors to your blog this week, so introduce yourself in a post! And if you specialize in a particular genre, share what it is and why you love it. 
Also, tell us how you’re doing Armchair BEA - where you are, 
what you’re excited about, what you hope will happen this week.


Meet the other participants

Hello! and thanks for stopping by Anglers Rest. I've been blogging for about 9 years. During that time the Anglers Rest blog has evolved as I have become more comfortable with talking on line about the things I care and obsess about.

I live in a seaside town on the South Devon coast of England. This morning it appears to be windy and fairly grey, despite hearing on the news that we are about to have 8 weeks of glorious weather. I really should not believe everything I hear about the weather!

My reading matter is very varied, biographical & autobiographical, cozy mysteries and historical fiction. For me, reading is about not only learning new things, but escapism too and there is nothing more wonderful than sitting and disappearing into a world without leaving my armchair!

Weekend Cooking - Chili Con Corpses by J B Stanley

I have missed the last few weekend cooking posts, just simply due to not being organised and the weekends of late being too short! My late contribution is a book review for Chili Con Corpses by J B Stanley.

I spotted this in the library a few weeks ago and was immediately tempted. I had not come across this series, A supper club mystery, and rather hoped that it was the first in the series, alas no, this is the third book. Thankfully I was more than half way through when I realised or I would have probably not read it until I sourced books one and two!

The central character of this, third book are James, a rather over weight divorced librarian who lives with his widowed father. When a group of friends join a supper club to learn various culinary delights, they find more than inspiration for recipes....

It all starts when Lindy, the friend who suggested the Supper Club and a local teacher takes a group of students on a field trip to some local caves. Meeting at a local restaurant the teachers, adult helpers and students mingle and then head off to the field trip. Once in the cave one of the newcomers to the area is discovered murdered.....

A nice book and I look forward to seeing if I can locate others in the series. As usual with the cozy mysteries the story is accompanied by a smattering of recipes, and even the chapters are titled by various food dishes. Here is an example of one of the recipes.

Milla's Vegetable Paella Page 88

Inspector Singh investigates:A Most Perculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint

I was intrigued when I spotted what appeared to be a new mystery series in the library recently. A quick look on Amazon revealed that this was indeed a new series and I was lucky enough on another visit to the library to pick up the second book too!

Singh is a detective from Singapore. Sent to Malaysia to ensure that a Singaporean subject, Chelsea receives a fair investigation and trial after being accused of murdering her abusive husband.

Something doesn't ring true and Singh sets upon the trail to discover if Chelsea is in fact innocent. Gradually the story unfolds that Chelsea has been in an abusive relationship, her deceased often having affairs and had recently told the divorce courts that he had converted religions and that provides extra complications to the case.

This was an unusual book, selected as potential a Cozy Mystery, this was anything but. The storyline was complex and just as you thought perhaps you had established who done it, there was a change in the storyline.

A great book, and now onto book two in the series.

Armchair BEA 2011 - Introduction

Design Credit - Sarah of  Puss Reboots

New York is about to be overrun with book lovers at the Book Blogger Convention this week. I felt a little envious at not being able to attend, and was delighted to read that there is a virtual convention - how wonderful is that? All the details and an agenda are available on the website. Stay tuned, as I shall attempt to blog on the days of the convention.

Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear

Just before Christmas Maisie and her employee, Billie see a man commit suicide in the street. The man was clearly a War Veteran and events very quickly turn Maisie back to her nursing days during the Great War. Soon after an anonymous letter is received by the police threatening violence if the comments in the letter are not adhered to.

Soon, Maisie is seconded to the Police as she and the police try and unravel the circumstances of the two issues. Is that deceased man part of the conspiracy to cause chaos in London? Next some animals in an animal shelter are found dead, the potential result of inhaling a poisonous gas, and then on the back of another letter some birds are found dead.

Maisie springs into action as she and Billy try to discover the truth whilst confronting their own fears. Billy meanwhile, is still struggling with his wife Doreen who can not move past her grief following the death of their little girl and soon Doreen is admitted to hospital to receive treatment.

In this book, which I think is the best, the author has tackled some real issues for the early 1930s. There has clearly been research done into early offerings by the War Office and poisonous gases and the 1930s treatment of those who were suffering from some kind of mental illness.

Ancestor of the week - George Ellis - Part Two - Military Life

It seems fitting today to post the second part of Ancestor of the week in relation to George Ellis.

194 years ago today, my Great, Great Great Grandfather, George Ellis left the employ of the 10th Hussars having served 20 years and 48 days and was discharged at Brighton Sussex.

Statement of Service  - 10th Royal Hussars,  March 1797 - May 1817
The National Archives WO97/45/38

Discharged in 1817 after serving 20 years and three months, injuries of
Stricture of Urethra, subject to fits and severe injury of the shoulder
The National Archives WO97/45/38

George is named on the Peninsular Medal Roll as receiving 4 clasps with the following particulars:

S & B = Sahagan & Benevente

V = Vittoria

O = Orthes

T= Toulouse
This looks like where George sustained the injuries that lead to his discharge three years later.

In the early part of 2010 I was searching The National Archives site and came across a reference to George Ellis, late of the 10th Light Dragoons in relation to a pension. When the document arrived I looked and for whatever reason didn't spot that although this document relates to someone else there is an insert in relation to George. Here is the full document.

Full document from the National Archives with the insert relating to George Ellis 1819
The National Archives WO121/182/42

Insert relating to George Ellis. Who still had not received monies from
the war pension in 1819.
The National Archives WO121/182/42

A further search at the National Archives revealed another reference

1. WO121/182/42 (see film 134) - Records of Royal Hospital Chelsea - Certificates of service and related correspondence - with a mention of 11th Royal Veteran Battalion (see above)
2. WO97/1184B/320 - Records of Royal Hospital Chelsea  - Miscellaneous - Served 11th Royal Veteran Battalion

An example of the dress worn by those in the 10th Royal Hussars

1911 Advert - Bowring Red Cross Line Cruise

1911 Advert for Bowring Red Cross Line Cruise Watercraft Ship

Ancestor of the week - George Ellis - Part One - Domestic Life

This is the belated Ancestor the week post from 12th March 2011 and is about my 4th times Great Grandfather George Ellis. He has lead me on quite a journey, which is why the post is so late in being cast out to the ether.

About two months ago I received via Genes Reunited a message from a fellow researcher. We corresponded and confirmed that we were indeed connected to the same family. It then became clear to both of us that some of the data, collated 20 years ago was incorrect. My whole world stopped. How incorrect? I was right, I had the correct individual, and the details of his marriages, well two of them anyway, and of this son, my direct line of descent. What was incorrect was the birth place of his other children. I revisited my original notes and for reasons which are unclear, I have indeed made a mistake, thankfully, it can be rectified and hasn't caused too much disruption. 

George Ellis was baptised on 12 June 1774 at Holy Trinity Church in Guildford Surrey, the son of James Ellis and Elizabeth Bridger.

George is located as an apprentice, which confirms that George at the age of 17 years, was apprenticed to Richard Fludder, a blacksmith of Puttenham for a period of 4 years, to learn the trade for his keep and a wage of 2/- weekly for the first year, 2/6 for second year, 3/- for third year and 3/6 for the remainder, but he was turned away without notice after 3 and a half years. 

We can therefore estimate the time he was apprenticed was from 1791 - 1794 or 1795. We know he joined the military in 1797, and that he was married to an unknown wife pre 1805 because when he marries Sarah Beagel in 1805, he is classed as a widower. 

Marriage to George's second wife - Sarah Beagel 1805. St Mary's Guildford

Marriage to George's third wife  - Sarah Virgo in 1824 at Holy Trinity Guildford,
who signed her name as Mary Virgo!

Death Certificate for George Ellis 1850.

There is still much to discover about George, and as I uncover further details I suspect that another Ancestor of the week post will be waiting in the wings........

Holocaust Remembrance Week 1-8 May 2011

Posting inspired by The Introverted Reader

To my knowledge there is no link to Jewish ancestry in my family, but that does not not stop me from feeling a whole host of emotions when discussing or reading about the Holocaust. When I first saw Remembrance Week mentioned I knew that I would take part in some way, making a contribution to that Remembrance.

Over the last few years I have read various books written by survivors or research that has been undertaken by a family member of someone who perished. I remember reading the Diary of Anne Frank when I was about 14 or so and feeling completely overwhelmed with the book and the life cut short by the author. I read a few years ago the book, The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas by John Boyne. I would urge readers to purchase a copy and read it; it is a very difficult book to describe, and is both terrifying and gentle at the same time. 

We are more than 60 years from the end of the Second World War and the atrocities that took place. Yet, every now and again, we see in the papers or hear on the news that those who are still alive and have been located are being held to account for their involvement. 

Just recently, in the local regional newspaper to the South West of England, The Western Morning News dated 16th April 2011, I read of an article titled "Film reveals hidden truths about Nazi War Criminal". 

It transpired the a local man had been an avid film fan and whose haulage business was involved with the rebuilding of Germany after the war. Either that gentleman or an employee bought the films back to England where they have recently been discovered. Had the details of the films been available in 1964 when the individual was tried for War Crimes there would well have been a very different verdict from the one that was handed down at the time.

Fingle Bridge

On the edge of Dartmoor is a favourite spot for walkers, fisherman and dog walkers. We fell into all three of the categories as we did a trip out today, in the words of my hubby prospecting a new fishing adventure!