Family, Antiques, Sodas, and a taste of Christmas in London

Shameful!

I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged. 

Too busy?  Too boring?  Forgetful?

Maybe when I share things on facebook I think I've shared and that's good enough?

Probably a combination of all plus more.

 

 

Family
 

Twas fun to have nieces Leah and Ashlee here for a few days

 during their whirlwind tour of England.

We enjoyed having front row seats to War Horse together.

Yes, the stage was right there...

dead bodies and debris under it, which others couldn't see until they moved

part of the stage at intermission.  I thought Leah and Ashlee were going to have a horse head in their laps as it fell injured...and the gunshot when the officer put it out of its misery was a bit too close for comfort.  Rick was all but in the trenches with 3 British soldiers....Whew!
 Great production! 

 

...but don't take pictures in the theatre...you get in trouble....

 

Ardingly Antiques Fair

Yes, again.

 

 Came home with things that are quintessentially British...like...

A sugar shaker...

(which now has cinnamon sugar in it)

 

 

A toast holder....

(which is a desk organizer for me)

 

 

And of course, more serving thingys....

(1 and 2 are sugar cube servers, 3 is an egg server,

 4 is a sugar spoon...complete with holes to shake the sugar out)

 

 

I really wanted to get this sign for Rick, but couldn't justify the expense....

(150 pounds or about $225)

 

 

Sad.  It was made for him!

 

And I've now tasted ginger beer....

it's like ginger ale on STEROIDS!  So strong!  But delicious!

No idea what Kaola is...tried googling it but it kept switching to koala bear.

 

And speaking of sodas, (yes it is soda, not alcohol)  here's something else new I tried....

 

 

Dandelion & Burdock.

Almost had a weak black licorice taste....but maybe not.

Googling says it's in the root beer/sassafras family...maybe sort of.

Cannot explain it, except that I really liked it.

 

Christmas in London

 

Since Halloween is only somewhat celebrated here...

 (if we didn't have Institute that night we could have gone trick or treating with friends

 to Paul McCartney's home...maybe next year?)

 

And Thanksgiving is not celebrated....

 

Christmas comes in November and no one gets upset!

 

We went to the lighting of Regent Street on November 9...

complete with fashion show, concerts and fireworks!

Fun!

 

 

 

A few days later was the lighting of Oxford Street, which we didn't make it to,

but finally took the bus down it last night.

Love the big balls across the street, lights and icicles in every tree,

fun window displays....

 

 

And also went to Covent Garden...

didn't realize all the little shops close up at night.

 

 

But let's not forget Harrods at Christmas!

The window displays are SPECTACULAR!

Starting with a train engine, each window afterwards is different train car,

reminiscent of days gone by...

a life of luxury few ever saw...

or see.

Beautiful!

 

......

rats

....

won't upload video

....

will try later.

 

 

 

So, I get the best of both my lives. 

 Get to experience a small part of Christmas in London,

yet get all of Thanksgiving, Nathan and Serita's wedding, Christmas,

and our kids and grandkids at home.

Life is good.

 

Warning to grandchildren....

 

Get ready to be hugged and kissed to pieces!!!!

:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



More Old Churches and Cemeteries

Love doing this!

 

Poor Rick. 

 Married to a woman who loves hanging out in Cemeteries.

 

Cemeteries here are a little tricky.  IF you still find cemeteries that aren't turned into

 parks or parking lots, humidity and moss wreak havoc on headstones. 

If they exist they can be difficult to read.

But I keep trying.

Because I like it.

And Rick indulges me.

 

Hampshire

 

We've gone back to Beaulieu, Boldre (say Bolder), East Boldre,

South Baddesley, and Lymington...

chasing after Gregory ancestors.

(Ann Gregory married John Wilkey.....for those of you a little rusty)

 

We found George Henry Broom and his wife Anne Gregory in the Beaulieu Cemetery.

 

 

Ann holds a special place in my heart, one of those

incredible spiritual experiences that helped me figure out who her

parents were and why she was raised by her grandparents.

Also, I had found 5 of their children and thought I was done.

A few years later, I stumbled upon a 6th.  While not even looking.  She wanted to be found.

 

Frank Gregory and Lydia White were found at St Mary the Virgin Church in South Baddesley.

Frank was also raised by these grandparents.

 

 

 

If you want to understand these ancestors better, look them up at

 

whitefamilytrees.org

 

We went to many cemeteries, and took lots of pictures...not all are identified yet, but hopefully sometime.

 

Lunch in East Boldre at the Turfcutters Arms.  Charming place.

 

 

 

Yorkshire

 

Last week we went north to Yorkshire....

Allerton Mauleverer, Green Hammerton, Whixley, Kirk Hammerton.

 

Twas awesome!

 

Ann Hughlings Pitchforth (referred to in other blogs), has a sister,

Sarah Hughings who married Samuel Jackson.

(one of the billion and two Samuel Jacksons in Yorkshire)

 

They lived in this house and brewery, called Providence Green:

 

which he purchased from his brother, who inherited it from their father, Samuel Jackson.

Poor investing in railroads is what appears to have caused it's sale.

 

We were directed to the house by a couple of people, but never found it.

(Personally, I think I talked to the owner in her car and she led us on a wild goose chase.)

 

Oh well, we need to go back because we failed to snap photos of all the headstones

that we found at the Independent Church in Green Hammerton.

 

 

 

This is now St Joseph's Catholic Church.  But until 1961 it was the Independent Church of Green Hammerton, of which James Jackson (Samuel's uncle) was the Reverend.

 

He christened all of Samuel and Sarah's children in this church, and most of his own 13-14.

 (still working on that)

 

If you walk through the door to the left and go straight out the back, you land in a

teeny tiny cemetery that has mostly Jackson headstones.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, we somehow didn't get the photo of Samuel and Sarah's headstone, but there is a piece of it to the left by our new friend Eleanor in the green jacket (she was trying to help me read it).  See the windows in the back?  They are Eleanor's and look directly into this little cemetery.

 

Let me tell you how we miraculously met Eleanor.

 

We couldn't find this little church....only address we had was "on the West side of the Green" in Green Hammerton.  We drove down it and kept going onto a dirt road.  A woman was walking her dog.  We stopped and asked if she knew where the Catholic church was and she started telling us.  Then she said, "My house is actually attached to the church, and my neighbor has the key."

That simply...

We asked the very best person in town.

She met us back there.

 

 

Notice the attached house.  Notice the bricks are the same size as the ones on the church, except the very front redder ones.  My personal feeling is that our new friend Eleanor lives in the house that Uncle/Reverend James Jackson lived in with his wife Mary and many children.

 

Just a word about Samuel and Sarah Jackson's children:

 

1.  Ann....Died 3 days after giving birth to her only child and a year after her marriage.

2.  Samuel....Immigrated to New Zealand, became a successful and well known lawyer in Aukland

3.  William....Immigrated to New Zealand, became known as Major Jackson, head of the Jackson Rangers during the Maori war.

4.  Thomas Jackson...Immigrated to New Zealand, had command of a ship at young age of 21.

5.  John Hughlings Jackson, known throughout the world as "The Father of English Neurology".  Anyone who has studied neurology should know his name. He has been mentioned in another post with a 'blue plaque' showing where he lived in London. 

 



 St Martins Church in Allerton Mauleverer.

Jackson burials are these 5 above-ground monuments and one other.

 

 

Although a cold day, we had sunshine during part of it.

Looking forward to more adventures in the new year!

 

 

 



More Firsts in London

Visiting Teaching in London

 

Rick and I are Home Teaching companions in our Britannia Ward, but I hadn't been assigned as a Visiting Teacher in our Hyde Park 2nd Ward until this month.  Quite a new experience.

Hmmmm...how to get to an appointment.... The bus will be one hour with one change.  The Tube will be 40 minutes, of which only 6 minutes is on the tube, the rest walking before and after.  Nope...won't drive myself, not sure I ever will here.  So I walked.  It was a lovely 28 minute walk there and a lovely 28 minute walk back, with a delightful 1 1/2 hour visit with my new friend who has been lost for about 26 years, and wants to come back. She just needs a friend and some support. A little sad I will be gone the next 6 weeks....hopefully she'll get brave and venture to the church on her own....

 

Very different from walking down my circle to visit teach, or driving a block away because I'm going to be late if I walk....

 

Another person on my list has moved, one hasn't responded to a message left on the door so don't know if she really lives there, and one is active but busy and may often be a phone call....or a walk similar to the one described above.

 

Remembrance Day in London

 

I'm used to standing and singing "The Star Spangled Banner" a time or two in July at church in the US.  It was interesting on November 10 to stand at the beginning of church and observe two minutes of silence for "Remembrance Day" and then to stand and sing "God Save the Queen" for the closing hymn.  Loved sharing in the pride of their country...and my motherland....I am, after all, half British!

 

Missionaries

 

Rick and I had left the ipad turned on in between General Conference sessions, not sitting by it, when all of the sudden I heard some familiar voices.  There were some of our awesome London missionaries being interviewed (followed around for a whole day actually) on the program between sessions.  So fun to know and love them!

 

Missionary Lessons

 

Being a Utah Mormon certainly has its disadvantages....meaning little contact with the missionaries and even less of a chance to teach with them.  One evening while manning an empty Family History Centre, I listened in to my first ever Missionary discussion in the room outside.  I sat at my computer with tears streaming down my cheeks at being allowed to eavesdrop.  It was beautiful.  The questions the investigator asked were so thoughtful, seeking, full of desire to know and understand.  The missionaries were so in tune and shared their knowledge, feelings and testimonies beautifully. 

 

A short time later two missionaries serving in our ward asked if I'd sit in on a lesson with them.  I must admit I was a bit nervous...I don't always express the things I know and feel very eloquently.  This young girl was from China, doing schooling in Spain, but was visiting in London for a week.  She was drawn to the missionaries on the street.  It was amazing to sit in on the lesson, share my thoughts and feelings, and see her trying to understand the feelings of the Spirit she was having.  She believed in "destiny", and was trying to understand and comprehend how a living God explained her feelings of destiny.  So sad she was heading back to Spain the next morning.  The missionaries got her contact info to pass her on to the missionaries there.  I'd love to know if she continued.

 

We have baptisms almost weekly just in our Britannina YSA Ward.  And the majority of them have been Chinese.  Most of them come here as students, and are taking the gospel back with them.  Who said missionary work wasn't spreading to China?   A few weeks ago a Chinese man who was baptized only 2 months ago baptized two Chinese girls.  Another touching moment.  One of my Family History Consultants who is Chinese and has only been a member 4-5 months was so excited to hug me and tell me her father and sent her a list of ancestors and permission to do their temple work.  AND her parents are reading the Book of Mormon.  A Japanese girl who has a Harvard MBA has finally gotten permission to take some ancestor names to the temple, and her parents are also reading the Book of Mormon. The work is moving forward in an amazing way....

 

which brings me to another first for me....

 

 

The London Hyde Park Stake is Represented

by 110 different Nationalities!

 

As I told our new Relief Society President, I'd come here expecting to hear everyone speak the perfect English accent as she does.  Boy was I wrong.  Really, 110 different nationalities speaking more than 110 different versions of English.  Why speaking more than 110?  Because even if  you're from East London you speak differently than someone from West London, or Portsmouth, or Liverpool.....

 

I wonder if there is any other place on earth where one stake is so multi-cultural.

 

Last week we had a stake multi-cultural event.  Over 400 people attended to try foods, see performances and native costumes, etc.  All this in a cultural hall probably a third the size of a Stake Center cultural hall in Utah.  Awesome and amazing!  And very crowded.

 

 

Whew, that's all the new first I can think of today.   Life is amazing!

 

 



 



The Ponczoch Family!

We had a FABULOUS with

Kim, Dave and the kids here.

So nice to share some of our love for London with them.

 

Because Kim did such a GREAT job doing a daily Facebook post, I'm just using much of her stuff for my record.  Thanks Kim!  (Sorry if you're bored because you've seen most of it.)

 

Day one: Big Ben, double decker bus, Trafalgar Square, ice cream, Buckingham Palace, St. James's Park, Westminster Abbey & fish & chips. #lovelondon #lovefamily #lovesleep

 

 

 

 Day 2:  Afternoon tea and front row seats to see Wicked, where Elphaba said hello and waved to the girls during curtain call. #lovelondon #lovewicked #love scones #couldgetusedtothis #thanksdadforwatchingzack

Day 3:  Went to Warwick Castle and watched jousting, met princesses and climbed lots of towers.  Also saw Shakespeare's home.  #lovingengland #lovecastles #could get used to this

 

                        

 

 

Day 4: Sneaking off to Hogwarts, Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans, National Gallery, English Monopoly, and scones with clotted cream and lemon curd. #loveengland #zackdoesntfeelreadytoleavemefortheschoolyear #englishladythoughtiwasfromireland #couldgetusedtothis #mydadowesmecandy.

 

Day 5: Day of rest... Church, puzzles, play dough, Cluedo (English version of Clue), Sunday dinner. #loveengland#lovefamily #zackneedshisownbedroom#couldgetusedtothis

 

 

 

 

Day 6:  Kensington Palace, Hyde Park, Princess Diana Memorial Playground, and Dave finally joined us#loveengland #lovefamily #loveroyalclothing#tookthebuswithoutmyparents #imgrowingup #couldgetusedtothis

 

 

Day 7: Changing of the guards (kind of...  Tried not to get trampled by the rest of the tourists), Royal Mews, Churchill War Rooms, St James Park, Big Ben, breakdancers, fish & chips, tradional British breakfast.  #loveengland #lovefamily #hatecrowds #lovehavingdavehere #couldgetusedtothis

 

 

 

 

Day 8:  Boat tour on the canal, afternoon with Dave (Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, Supreme Court and Speakers Corner in Hyde Park) while my mom and the kids prepared a proper afternoon tea for us.  #loveengland #lovefamily #homemadesconesarethebest #couldgetusedtothis

 

 

 

 

Day 9:  Windsor Castle by train and souvenir shopping #bestcastleyet #loveengland #lovefamily #daughterslovetoshop #husbandanddaddont #couldgetusedtothis

 

 

 

 

Day 10:  Royal Albert Hall and train to Hampton Court Palace. #loveengland #lovefamily #neededawholedayatthepalace #historybookscomingtolife #couldgetusedtothis

 

 

 

 

 

Day 11:  St Paul's Cathedral, Tower ofLondon, Tower Bridge, boat ride on the Thames River, and LOTS of London rain. #loveengland #mayhavesetarecordformoststairsclimbedinaday #windbroketwoumbrellas #gladimnotafraidofheights #couldgetusedtothis

 

 

 

 

 



Day 12:  Early church, bus to the South of England, crossed the English Channel via ferry.  Viva France!  #goodbyeengland #myfrenchisveryrusty #idbebetteroffinspain #goodthingmydadspeaksfrench #couldgetusedtothis

 

 

 

 

Day 13:  Drove to Paris, walked down the Champs-Elysees, saw Arc de Triomphe, ate escargot, duck liver and pain au chocolat, and went to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  #lovefamily #jinniesnewfavoritefoodisescargot #eiffeltowerisbestatnight ##lasttimeiwashereiwas15 #couldgetusedtothis

 

 

 

 

Day 14:  Notre Dame, Conciergerie, lots of yummy pastries for lunch (eclairs, mille-feuilles, pistachio almond raspberry macroon, croque-monsieurs, & quiche), the Louvre, boat tour on the Sein, and dad was pic pocked on the metro.  #lovefamily #lovefrenchfood #everyoneissafe #dontmesswithmydad #theguyisinjail #davedoesjustfinewithhislimitedfrench #ispoketotheconductorinspanish #couldgetusedtomostofthis

 

 

 

 

 

Day 15:  Drove to Normandy, visited Utah Beach, Pont du Hoc, and the American Cemetery; ate crepes, croque madame, snails, frog legs & stinky cheese. Slept in a chateau that was occupied by Germans during WWII.  #betterthanparis #historycomingtolife #loveourmilitary #nowifiatthechateau #couldgetusedtothis #cantbelievethisisendingsosoon

 

 



Yup, frog legs at Chateau Baffy
 





Day 16:  Left the Chateau at 5:30 am.  Rental car, taxi, bus, ferry, bus and tube.  Walked into mom & Dads flat at 7:30 pm.  #worstdayofthevacation #buswastwohourslate #iwantachateau #lovelondon #cantbelievethisisendingsosoon

 



 

 

 

Day 17:  Making of Harry Potter Studio, shopping, Jinnie played Bells of Great Britain on a piano in the middle of a train station, last afternoon tea, Harry Potter board game, Picadilly Circus with Dave, and ate treacle tart, sausage & mash and drank elderberry juice.  #lovelondon #lovefamily #needtofindabutterbeerrecipe #couldgetused tothis #cantbelievethisisendingsosoon

 

Practicing spells.
 

Butter beer is delish!

 

 

 Day 18: Packed, pictures at Abbey Road, shopped, kids returned library books & played in the gardens, played dthe London version of Monopoly, and said goodbye. #wenttoofast #lovelondon #lovefamily #missmyparentsalready #heathrowhasthebestkidsareaever #toomuchturbulance #letthejetlagbegin

 

You can see we did a TON and this is just a condensed version. Twas so much fun!

 

I must explain Day 14 a little.

 

As we were hopping on the metro, it appeared a man was sort of helping Rick with the stroller but he was really helping himself with the contents of Rick's pockets. He passed the wallet (which was in his front pocket) off to another man who hopped off the train as the doors were closing. When he took Rick's phone from his little change pocket, Rick felt it and confronted him. Soon we had him emptying his bag onto the floor looking for the wallet too. A woman standing back further said she'd seen him pass it off. Rick grabbed him as the door opened, but he broke away and took off running....never dreaming a gray-haired man could run so fast. A man from our train tripped him up a bit on the stairs and Rick was able to grab him again. Three gendarmes were waiting at the top of the stairs for them. Several people who saw the whole thing stopped and gave statements. The thief, Rick and 4 policemen had the ride of their lives getting to the police station as if it were an emergency. Glad they're still alive. We're told the thief would be before the judge in the morning and straight to jail. Apparently he'd given a false name too and must have had a record cuz they figured it out.

 

A week later a letter was sent to our home address saying the wallet was found. Rick will be back in Paris in a few weeks and will pick it up then.

 

Blah. I used to love Paris.





 



 

 





 

My Heart is Full

I thought I was a grownup.

I thought I was a semi-decent mom.

I thought I was a semi-decent grandma.

But I was wrong.

 

Apparently,

It's all about me!

 

This little miracle is how I figured this out.

 

Lena Patricia White was born on  September 20, 2013.

7 lbs 13 oz, 20 1/2 inches

 

Because of being home in April for Kelsi's wedding and coming home in December for Nathan's wedding, I didn't arrange to come for this new baby.  Rosa Lee's mom lives close enough, plus I'd thought they'd be spending the whole month of September in Cannonville whilst he worked on a project there.  Rosa Lee would have plenty of help, and this far-away mother-in-law wouldn't be

needed.

 

How could I be so stupid?

 

Going when a new baby comes is not about my being helpful for the mom.

It's about me.

 

Me holding the baby.  Me kissing her.  Me smelling her newness.  Me feeling of  her spirit.  Me whispering in her ear.  Me staring into her eyes.  Me.  Me.  Me.

 

Now I know.

 

Now you know.

 

Sorry to my daughters and daughters-in-law...

It's all about me.

 

Four new granddaughters in 51 weeks!

Of course my heart is full.

Life is good.

 

 



Downton Abbey-ish Family History, and Little Miracles

So, a lot of months ago I stumbled upon this teaser in
"The Hertford Mercury & Reformer" dated 24 Oct 1846:

"Mr John Hughlings, Chemist, of Hertford, said the deceased came to his house and asked for two penney worth of arsenic to poison rats.  Witness refused to let..."

That was it.  The teaser.
  I would have to pay to get the rest of the story.

 A death?  Arsenic?  John Hughlings involved?
(An earlier post shows a picture of his possible Chemist shoppe in Hertford.) 

This felt a little like Mr Bates being accused of poisoning his wife with arsenic.
(A reference to Downton Abbey for those of you who are confused.)

It carried on for months, with me unable to figure out getting a copy without paying....
until I asked a friend who happened to have a subscription to the site I needed.

And the answer is.....

He was found innocent!!!!
  Thank heavens he covered his bases and made her bring in a witness saying she was using the arsenic to poison rats.  I feel sad for her friend who vouched for her.
She was wrong.  She must have felt terrible.
The verdict was "suicide while in a state of temporary insanity".

One day I will ask him if this influenced his leaving his occupation
as a Chemist to become a Scripture Reader.

This John Powell Hughlings is the brother to our Ann Hughlings Pitchforth.

If you can't read this and want to, go to:

http://whitefamilytrees.org/showmedia.php?mediaID=806&medialinkID=1343

Yup, that's my Family History website.
You ought to check it out.
whitefamilytrees.org

Have I ever said that I love Family History?
  Well, I do.

 

And I love miracles.

 

One evening while serving at the Hyde Park Stake Family History Centre, I was searching on a 19th Century British Newspaper site that I can access there.  Suddenly I stumbled upon this:

 

Under Marriages it says:

 

BOWES-HUGHLINGS--Dec. 18, at Holy Trinity Church, Southport, by the Rev. O.S. Hope, Councillor I Bowes, of Pendleton, Manchester, to Harriet, widow of Professor Hughlings, of Elphinstone College, Bombay.

 

WHAT?

 

Professor John Powell Hughlings had been married?

(He is the son of the above storied John Powell Hughlings.)

 

I'd finally found an obituary which extolled all his wonderful virtues,

and not one word about a spouse.

 

And why in the world would his widow's re-marriage say so much about him?

 

Just a week or two before I had thought I was finished with JPH and filed all his paperwork.

He had taught many years in India, gotten sick,

and died in Australia where he went to recuperate.

After all my searching, I had determined he never married.

 

But he had.

This record needed to be found.

So Harriet could be found.

And their marriage record found.

And their sealing reserved.

Now I think I can file away John Powell Hughlings.

 

 

 I love this quote by Melvin J Ballard:

 

    "You may be confident that your deceased people know where their records are, and you can obtain help through inspiration from them in locating these records...  And there are thousands of them, hundreds of thousands and millions of them in the spirit world who long to receive this gospel and have been waiting hundreds of years for their deliverance....  They know where their records are, and I testify to you that the spirit and influence of your dead will guide those who are interested in finding those records...  If there is anywhere on earth anything concerning your kindred dead, you will find it."  

                                                      Sermons & Missionary Services of Melvin Joseph Ballard, p 230

 

 

 



More Fun in England

First, I want to show off my flowers again. 

 I know you can't tell from the picture, but these are the colors going on....

dark red, red/orange, hot pink, white with pink highlights, and white.

Quite a lovely welcome to our flat, I must say.

 

Last Tuesday I went with my friends Kim, Janet and her daughter Rebecca, to...

Clarence House.

The home of Prince Charles and Camilla.

Yeah, we're that special over here.  :)

We were taken through 5-6 rooms, and not allowed to take pictures.

No pictures was very sad, because I'd love to have shown Kelsi the harp.

(Yup, they have a royal harpist.)

It was very hard not to break all the rules...I so wanted to play it and get a picture by it

and touch it in all its elegance!

We could only take pictures outside the wall...

 

If you're out with friends, you really should go to lunch.

The plan was a restaurant in St James Park, but it didn't look very appetizing

so we headed through the park, seeing baby swans....

(ugly ducklings next to the mom)....

 

 

and this view from a bridge. 

It'smuch more beautiful in person,

with the London Eye and lovely buildings.

The moss or algae or whatever it is is not normal....

it's because of the extremely hot summer we've had here.

 

Deciding to get out of the heat (mid-90s that day) we headed through Trafalgar Square

to a restaurant underground.

So...we got to see the new Fourth Plinth Art commission.

 

What?

 

Apparently, the statue for the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square was never completed

 and it sat empty for over 150 years.  In 1999 it was finally decided to

commission works of art to be changed about every two years.

It had been a boy on a rocking horse.

 

Now it's......

 

 an electric blue chicken!!! 

 Or "cockerel in intense ultramarine blue".

Hahaha.  Makes me laugh.  Little weird.

 

Or a lot weird.

 

Apparently it has "ruffled a few feathers with the irony of having a cockerel,

the national symbol of France, in a square which commemorates

a British naval victory over the French."

 

We crossed the square and went to eat at

St Martins in the Field Crypt.

 

Yes. That says Crypt.

S E R I O U S L Y ?

 

You sit at tables and eat with headstones under your feet.

and your chair....

and your table.....

 

Sorry.  Didn't get pictures.

 

Since few places here have air conditioning, and it has been hotter than normal,

it was packed....people seeking relief from the heat I guess.

Or they just like to eat amongst the dead.

 

Funny story. 

 I was on the phone with Kimberly last night and sitting at the computer.  One screen had

some family history pulled up (surprise!) and I looked over at it.

Rick's great-great-great grandparents on is dad's side,

Arthur Murch and Mary Howell,

were married at the Parish Church of St Martin in the Fields,

Middlesex, England.  In 1825.

 

Where I had just eaten lunch days before...

 in the crypt.

 

Pretty sure they aren't buried there because they moved to Marylebone...

Which happens to be walking distance from our flat....

still looking for death or burial records on them.

 

But the highlight of the week was going to

the first ever British Pageant

"Truth Will Prevail"

at the Preston Temple.

 

The drive should have been 3 1/2 - 4 hours, but took 6 because of traffic...good thing

we left plenty early.

 

We had originally thought it would be an outdoor venue like most other church pageants,

but then were told it would be in a tent....but it was much nicer.

The great venue protected us from the rain and made the sound fabulous.

Here we are with Natasha Curtis from Canada and our YSA Ward.

 

Choir....fabulous!

Actors.....fabulous!

Set....fabulous!

Spirit.....undeniable!!!!

The best church pageant I've EVER been to.

 

The pageant told the story of the early saints in Great Britain.

The spirit was so strong as we understood better how the people in this land were

prepared for the restored gospel...because of people like William Tyndale and John Wycliffe, who

fought so hard to get the Bible translated into English,

and died as martyrs doing so.

 

It was amazing to be able to envision all 12 Apostles being called to serve missions

here in 1839, and the many, many numbers of people

who felt and believed truth,

were baptized,

and followed the call to gather to Zion.

 

Thinking of my 8 great-great grandparents on my father's side who experienced this

conversion with one of the 12 or later with other missionaries, caused my heart to be very full.

So full, that it leaked through my eyes througout the entire performance.

 

The spirit was very strong.

 

Profound re-confirmation of things I know to be true.

 

All 8 of these great-great grandparents were born in England,

joined the church,

 joined the saints,

and settled and died in Nephi, Utah.

 

Thus I am an American,

  a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

and I'm a Mormon.

 

So grateful for these ancestors who sacrificed so much.