Tuesday, February 09, 2016

Gallivanting again…

...or another Big Birthday trip.

Almost five years ago, when my blog was still new and shiny, I wrote a post about a holiday I’d just had with DD.  2011 was the year I turned 65 and she turned 40 and to mark these momentous occurrences  we decided to go to Assisi together on a Pax Travel pilgrimage. I had been several times before and loved it, but for DD it was her first visit. On our return I shared some impressions of our experience in a post called The Big Birthday trip.

This wasn’t the first time in recent years that I’d headed off on holiday with a member of the family other than DH. The previous year, my next-to-youngest sister, PolkaDot, and I had visited Madeira only weeks after the catastrophic floods of February 2010 and, once I had a blog, of course I had to write about it. We both enjoyed our shared holiday so much that afterwards we talked several times about the possibility of repeating the experience.

In November 2011, to mark Armistice Day, I had written a post about my Great-Uncle Walter who died in the Ypres Salient in World War 1.  That sowed the seed in my mind of one day doing what PolkaDot had already done and visiting Ypres in Belgium to see his name on the Menin Gate memorial. Time went on and a couple of years later she suggested that we might like to go on holiday together in 2016 to mark two more Big Birthdays - her 65th and my 70th - and also the centenary of Great-Uncle Walter’s death on February 16th.

Now February isn’t normally the time of year one would choose to holiday in Western Europe, but some things are more important that the weather. When we discovered that a holiday company had scheduled a battlefields tour that would take us to the very area where Great-Uncle Walter had been killed, on the exact anniversary of his death a century ago, the die was cast.

We booked and now I’m busy with my final preparations before DH drops me at my sister’s house on Sunday, ready for a very early start next morning on our journey to Belgium. Fortunately the local weather forecast for next week is very much better than what we’ve been enduring this week - cold and sunny, rather than wet and windy - and we’re both starting to feel very excited about Big Birthday Trip Mark 2. My camera and notebook are already packed. Less important things like clothes will come later...


47 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    OH this sounds wonderful... such history to follow up on and so many anniversaries in sync....am sure it will have its trying moments, physically and probably emotionally too, but am sure it will be super-rewarding. Have a safe and warm trip and looking forward to the shared results! YAM xx

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    1. Thanks, Yam. I'm looking forward to it tremendously, both for personal and family reasons and because I've always been interested in the history of the First World War. When we're in Normandy we're surrounded by visible reminders of WW2, but I've never visited any of the monuments or battlefields of its predecessor.

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  2. Sounds like a wonderful trip - and congratulations on the Big Birthday

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    1. My big birthday isn't until April, but my sister's was in January, so the trip falls nicely between the two. It should be very special.

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  3. I'm sure it will be both an enjoyable, but also very moving trip, Perpetua. I look forward to the blog post. My Great-Uncle Harold Yates is also commemorated on the Menin Gate.

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    1. I'm sure you're right, Ricky, and I'm looking forward to it immensely. I've just checked the Commonwealth War Graves records and located the position of your great-uncle's name on the Menin Gate, so I shall make a point of searching it out.

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    2. And if you can get a photo of it, Perpetua, that would be wonderful! I only know about Great-Uncle Harold through my eldest sister's family history research. My grandfather John Yates, Harold's younger brother, was involved in the retreat from Mons, but survived.

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    3. Will do, if I possibly can, Ricky. It depends just where on the panel a name appears as to how good a photo one can get. My little camera isn't the most uptodate, but I'll do my best. I see your great-uncle must have been in the original Expeditionary Force given the date of his death so early in the war.

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    4. According to my eldest sister, Harold was already a serving soldier in the British Army when WW1 began.

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    5. That makes sense, Ricky. Conscription didn't start until the regular army had suffered terrible losses in the early months of the war. Of course there were volunteers from the very beginning, but I doubt they reached the front much before the end of 1914 as they would have had to be trained.

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  4. I look forward to reading about your travels.

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    1. Thanks, BtoB. I shall enjoy writing about them, I'm sure.

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  5. What, off again Mrs Gadabout? I dread to think where you may end up in 30 years time on your very big birthday. Have a memorable trip and take some good photos please.
    Hope it stays fine for you:-)

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    1. I know, Ray. I'm incorrigible, aren't I? This is the unbreakable and longstanding commitment I mentioned in my last post and of course our recent dash up to Scotland was unscheduled, so doesn't really count! I'm sure the experience will be unforgettable and if the forecast holds the weather will be good for all the photos I plan to take.

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  6. That sounds like a very special trip, and will be very moving, I'm sure. I hope you also manage to fit in some scrumptious Belgian waffles and/ or chocolate by way of contrast - Lenten observances permitting, of course!

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    1. I'm sure it will be, DB. The itinerary is excellent and even the weather looks as though it will co-operate. Knowing that I would be visiting Belgium, I chose my Lenten observances with care this year. :)

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  7. There are some trips in life that are truly important, and this is one. Sharing with your sister will add to the flavour:) I am sure the experience will heighten your awareness of the hardships experienced by Great Uncle ... to actually be there on the day; serendipitous!
    Happy birthday to you both.

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    1. You're absolutely right, Shirley. We've been anticipating this trip for years and I know it will be unforgettable. My sister was there in a very cold November the first time and it made her acutely aware of how the troops must have suffered from the weather and the conditions in the trenches.
      Thanks for the birthday greetings.

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  8. You and your sister will have a wonderful time together! It should be a fascinating experience. Back in 1996, long before I had a blog, my husband and I traveled to Belgium and France on a tour sponsored by Veteran's Affairs Canada. The purpose of the trip was to attend the funeral for the crew of the Halifax bomber that had gone down during WW2, and had recently been recovered (my husband's uncle had been the pilot). We toured Vimy Ridge and a few other sites from WW1 and I will never forget the experience. Take lots of tissues. Even after 100 years have passed, it is still incredibly moving.

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    1. What a significant trip that must have been for you, Kristie, both the close family connection and the wider experience of this terribly fought-over region. We've visited several WW2 war cemeteries in Normandy and have always been deeply moved, but it's the sheer scale of the slaughter in WW1 and the consequent scale of the cemeteries and memorials which is overwhelming. Extra tissues have been added to the pile.

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  9. How exciting. You will have such a marvelous time with your sister soaking up family history and seeing a place where history was made by contemporaries of your great uncle. Being there on the one hundredth anniversary of his death is something you just can't miss. I think he would be so honored to know that his nieces remembered and that they paid him homage.

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    1. Yes, I'm very excited that such a long-planned trip is finally happening, Sally. The fact that we can be there on the very anniversary of his death is so very special. He looks so young and innocent in the photo and was only 21 when he died, and I can't help thinking of the life he didn't get chance to live and what that might have been. I know my grandfather would be pleased we are doing this for his brother.

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  10. I am sure you will have a wonderful time and look forward to seeing the photos in due course.

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    1. I'm sure too, Susan, and am pleased that forecast is for some bright, sunny weather, rather than rain. So much better for photos.

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  11. How good is this? My sister and I had intended following our father's desert war on a special tour, and we were in the preliminary stages when ... The Arab Spring started. I'll never see Lybia now .

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    1. Extremely good, Christine. What a pity you and your sister have been deprived of your own special tour by such circumstances. If further bombing happens, as seems possible, there won't be much left of Libya to visit. :(

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  12. How neat. I loved the pics of Assisi in your 2011 post. Coincidentally I am now reading a novel in which, as part of the story line, a tour group goes to Assisi. Their talks about what a beautiful town it is and the lasting impressions they took home with them made me wonder how it actually compared with reality . So nice to see pics that capture the beauty and serenity that it conveys and match up to the books descriptions.

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    1. It was meant, Vic. :) I'm glad you enjoyed the photos of Assisi, one of my most favourite places on earth. I fell in love with it the first time I visited and have been back several times. The medieval centre is so well preserved and history is almost visible and tangible there. I'd be interested to know the title of the novel you're reading.

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    2. It called Dear James and is written by Jon Hassler. It's a continuation of an earlier novel, A Green Journey, but can be read separately. Much of it is set in a small Minnesota town and revolves around a 60-something spinster schoolteacher who comes to know through correspondence an Irish priest who lives in a small town in Ireland. Because of their positions of authority in both spheres neither have anyone that they can really speak to frankly and openly and so they become great friends and confidants. It's a very touching story and I think accurately gives a fairly realistic view of small town life.

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    3. Thanks for that, Vic. I'll have to see if it's available over here.

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  13. Don't forget Great Uncle Walter was always known familiarly as Jack when you think of him at the place he died so young. 21 April 2016 sees the centenary of our mother's birth, the same weekend that saw the Easter Rising in Dublin, and a birthday she shares (exactly one decade ahead) with the Queen.

    History and family history intermingles so closely at times.

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    1. Thanks for the reminder, Marion. I do try to think of him as Jack and know of course that our uncle was named after him. Yes, 2016 is a year of anniversaries and special birthdays in our family and you make such a good point about the intermingling of history and family history for our particular family this year.

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  14. What a special trip and timely opportunity for you and your sister and a meaningful way to commemorate your and your sister's birthdays and to honor your Great Uncle Walter. I will remain eager to hear about this trip, and perhaps see some photos. Safe travel.

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    1. It has all come together so very well, Penny. The fact of the tour happening this particular week was a wonderful stroke of serendipity and it should be a very memorable experience. There will definitely be posts and photos to follow.

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  15. It will be an emotional trip...not just for the big sites,but for the tiny groups of headstones in copses and tucked into valleys.
    But whatever you do take shoes with sturdy soles...the Belgian winter chill strikes up from the ground with an unbelievable intensity.
    And I trust that frites with mayonnaise didn't figure in your Lenten list....or grey shrimp fritters...or cheese...not to mention the beers...

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    1. I know it will, Helen. I can remember how moved I was when I visited a war cemetery for the first time - not a big one, but a very small WW2 one in Normandy, in which there were also a few graves of extremely young German soldiers in one corner.
      As for the stout-soled shoes, I'm ahead of you there. I went into town yesterday and found a great pair with excellent grip in case it's muddy. Hand-knitted socks are also good at helping the chill out. :-)
      I think Lent will be on hold where food is concerned. Part of the joy of travel is sampling the local delicacies.

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    2. Attagirl!

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  16. How wonderful and exciting to be going on this very special trip to Belgium. The timing of the tour is so perfect. I know you will cope with the weather - we went there to see Great-Uncle's name on the Menin Gate and tour the fields and graves, and it was January. Snow on the ground made it look even more beautiful as well as tragic. PS the croque-monsieur and hot chocolate in Ypres were dtf!!

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    1. The timing is amazing, Patricia, and we're both looking forward to it enormously. My sister's first visit was in a very cold November and it made her very aware if what the troops must have endured in the trenches in such bitter weather. The forecast is for cold but clear weather, so I hope that proves accurate. Whatever the weather I know we will enjoy the food. :)

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  17. I'm late reading this but I do hope you have a wonderful time and that the weather co-operates. Some things are meant to be, and your trip sounds like one of them. Enjoy.

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    1. Not late at all, Bonnie. I don't leave until Sunday. :) Thanks for the good wishes and I'm pleased to say the weather forecast for next week is looking rather promising. This trip has been a long time in the planning and I'm really looking forward to it.

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  18. You DO get around!
    I like the idea of a trip to celebrate a special birthday - I went to the UK and Belgium for my 60th. I have to observe out loud that it is much easier to take a trip in UK/Europe than it is here, where distances are huge. I have a twinge of envy! When we lived near the German/Belgian border we explored many of the battlefields and cemeteries from the Great War and the WW11. I can well imagine what it will be like when you find your uncle's name on the Gate.

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    1. Not usually quite so much quite so quickly. :)
      We don't go much for birthday presents, preferring to put money towards making memories. As you so rightly point out, taking birthday trips is very much easier and cheaper over here, with so many different countries so close together. I'm glad you had that time living in Europe and were able to visit places of significance without difficulty.

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  19. We were born in the same year, I celebrate - if that is the right word - in September, my offspring started last year to enquire how I wished to mark the occasion! Not sure I do really, as long as I can be with Ian, my DH, all will be well. If the weather is good as it usually is on my birthday I would love to go to the South Coast by train for the day, have lunch, walk along the promenade and maybe break the rules by eating ice cream in the street.

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    1. Oh, this isn't my birthday proper, that comes in April and I'm not sure yet how we'll celebrate the day itself - probably very quietly. This is using the coincidence of our two big birthdays in the same year as the centenary of our great-uncle's death to spur my sister and myself to taking another trip together. Otherwise we would always have talked about doing it one day and never got round to it. I hope your plans for your own birthday work out as you would wish.

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  20. It will be an emotional trip, Perpetua, but memorable. One of the best trips I've ever had was when I went with my mother and visited Ypres. It meant a lot to me and even more to my mother. Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog today. The new type I'm now using is Josefin Sans. I quite like it because of its vintage look and I think it's easy to read, for me anyway and I hope for the reader.

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    1. So i understand from you and many others who have been there, Linda. I think my grandfather, who served near Ypres and told me about it when I was young, would have been pleased we are going.
      Thanks for letting me know about the type you've changed to. It's new to me and I really like it. I've been happy for a long time with the Georgia I'm using, but may decide on a change one day. :)

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