Hogan plus Vowles

On this day, 14th September 1898, my Father, John Henry Alfred Hogan, was born in Chatham in Kent to an Irish immigrant family. His Father, William Hogan, is listed on the birth certificate, as a Blacksmith with His Majesty's Gun Wharf, the Admiralty in Chatham and his Mother, Mary Ellen Hogan [formerly Leary] gave birth to him at home in Oliver Street, Chatham. The Family came originally from Cappoquin, Co. Waterford in Ireland, and William was a Blacksmith there and built the gates at the famous monastery at Mount Mellory. He served in British Army as a Farrier and there is a record of him in Cairo [1860's] being recommended for further service so I guess it was natural to take the excellent post on the Medway and there raise a family that included my Father and two brothers and sisters. I am no sure of the exact year of the pictures but it is roughly about the time of my Father's 50th birthday. There's my Mum, Keith, my Dad, and yours truly [with red hair and Brylcre...

Today would have been Keith's Birthday. One does not expect that your younger brother will die before you and that thought makes me sad but only for awhile. His children loved him and they are really nice people. He was happy with June and they had a good life together. I'm sad because we lost contact but that's what happens in families. The B&W photograph is Keith about 10 and myself 12 years of age. The other picture is Keith with Jack, it's one of the last pictures of Jack, he was the one kind of person every family needs, [another was Uncle Fred,] they keep families together by being kind and listening. So today think of June and Keith's children - they must be sad.

There is a saying at sea that the last ship was the best ship. It means that we all the habit of remembering the good things and forgetting the bad incidents. Anyway I was browsing through some old photographs and came across one of my favourite ships of yesteryear the RMS " Winneba", a passenger cargo liner owned by Elder Dempster's of Liverpool. The photo shows her called the "Umgeni" but she was bought by EDs to trade from London [Tilbury] to Madeira, Freetown, Sierra Leone, Takoradi, Ghana, and finally Apapa [Lagos] in Nigeria. The voyage homeward was the reverse and the whole voyage took six weeks with a week in London and then home leave. The ship was like an elegant Edwardian lady - lots of teak, mahogany, brass & bright work - and powered by two steam reciprocating engines with exhaust turbines - it was almost silent as it made 14 knots in great style across the Atlantic Ocean. There were 100 passengers in old fashioned luxury. The Master was Captai...

On this day, 12th July 1914, Grace Elizabeth was born in Nuneaton at No.1 The Bull Ring above the butcher's shop. This was the start of a good life full of love and joy punctuated by two awful wars but completed with the love of children and grandchildren. On a person's birthday the usual wish is "Happy Birthday" and so I thought of days in which she would be very happy. These old photographs highlight some days that must have been very happy for Nan. The first show Nan and Pomp [Grace and Les] on holiday in Blackpool in 1936. They were blissfully happy and planning to get married. War clouds loomed on the horizon but they were lost in being young and happy and like all ordinary people not really aware of the horrors to come. The second photograph is her marriage June 7th. 1937 - happiness does not need explaining here. The third photograph is Grace and Tina holding on with great joy to Les [Tina's Dad]. Think of that happiness. Her man had gone to war as an ordi...

As you are all aware, Velia and the Children had a truly wonderful holiday and in doing that gave us a really super time. You may have gathered that from the photos in my previous blogs. You may also be aware that Velia enjoyed seeing her best friend, Rachel, in Weston-super-Mare and hoped that she would be around for the birth of Rachel's second baby. Well on the penultimate day Madison was born! How about that?! Here's Velia with Madison, Rachel & Jamie with the New Baby, and Georgia with her Sister. Now, I ask you, isn't that just the icing on the cake?

It was Father's Day and what did we do? We all went to Bristol Zoo and so Talan, Grace, and Jack had a wow of day, with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins and lots of animals, ice-creams. laughter, great Keepers and the whole gamut of fun and learning. And then back to a nice hotel in the Somerset countryside. Spoilt Dads!

Longleat was another magical component in the perfect holiday. Imagine seeing a Giraffe just one week old or cruising by hippos, the most dangerous animal of all? Can you conceive the joy of Grandparents given the privelige of seeing the wonderment in Grace and Jack's eyes. It doesn't get much better.

What better fun than to have Granny take you on a donkey ride, pretend you are a cowboy or a princess, and then bury your feet and show you how to make sandcastles?

Here's the Cottage at Doubleton Farm with feeding animals and hens, collecting eggs for breakfast and the usual nice things of a holiday.......

Tina and I have to pinch ourselves to believe that the wonderful visit and holiday with Velia, Grace, and Jack actually happened so that's the "pinch" in the title of this blog. They went back to Canada just 6 days ago. It was magic..... Why do I pick the West Somerset Railway to highlight their visit? Well, the decision to go on this day out really spoilt me because I have a long passion for trains and railways since I was a little boy and to take Tina, Velia, and the Grandchildren out to share this was terrific. Take a look at the map - it's a brilliant journey along the Somerset Coastline, this gives a view of the castle at Dunster, the seaside at Blue Anchor, the medieval port of Watchet, and then past the Quantocks to Bishops Lydeard. Right from the outset the children were introduced to sights, sounds, and smells of yesteryear. Steam trains have a lovely smell of coal, steam, hot oil, and huge energy, the train hisses, and rumbles, clanks, chuffs, and has a very...

As you all know I am a rugby fanatic and I was so chuffed to read the following by John Inverdale who is probably the UK's top sports journalist :- “ Canada stand tall under onslaught Watching the final quarter of the New Zealand v Canada rugby international on Saturday made me wonder what it would have been like to have said a decade or so ago to Mike Tyson in his prime: "Look, I'm going to stand here for the next 20 minutes, and I'd like you to punch me as hard as you possibly can in the midriff, ferociously and unrelentingly, just to see if I'm alive at the end of it." They would probably have been your last words. Well, after just about holding their own for the first hour of the match, the brave Canucks took the battering to end all batterings for 20 minutes as Dan Carter conducted his orchestra and the All Blacks pounded their line unremittingly - and yet, somehow, the Canadians emerged very bloodied but very unbowed. They may have conceded 10 tries but ...

T Today we went to Rand Farm just north of Lincoln. It's a wonderful farm that concentrates on rare breeds such as the Suffolk Punch Horse. It is a terrific opportunity for children to see milking, feed lambs and calves with the bottle, and take a ride on a trailer pulled by a blue tractor. Needless to say Jack was very intrigued and Grace was amused....

Velia's colleagues can feel reassured this Frisian Cow is pregnant and she is feeling for movement of the calf'! We visited a farm today with Grace & Jack, lots of animals and great for the children - could not resist this one for the album.

Yesterday we returned to Meadow Hall to resume shopping and, as you can see, Jack showed that he can shop too. He was promised a motorbike, he really likes his bikes [see earlier blog]. He chose a green Kawasaki that did great sounds - a heavy metal intro and then a proper full gutted roar with wheel spin wheelie - absolutely great in a lift with a frosty faced old biddy in Marks & Spencers. Marks & Spencers? did I mention underwear, ask Velia, she'll fill in the rest of the story. The kids were great again, a good lunch, tea in M&S, and lots of laughter..