Thursday 21 February 2013

Nostalgic Valentine

This week the Lucky Snapping theme returns to nostalgia and Kathi has asked us to consider 'Affairs of the Heart'.

So, we are back at my Week 3 challenge and I am using 'nostalgia' as the theme, it doesn't have to be a long lost memory, it may just be from last year...or last week.
 My theme this month is going to be 'Affairs of the Heart.'

Feel free to take the prompt wherever it suits..
  • maybe it will be a vintage Valentine's card in a shop or a little gift you have saved in a drawer somewhere.
  • or a special little thing you do in your house that might become a traditon for your children in their future...
  • it might be just your news this week which fits the theme and you can put it down for posterity..  
To start the week we must all have a little story to share about Valentine's Cards or Valentine's Day..or a romantic gesture which was a great success .. or a huge failure even!

 This vintage valentine card is framed and hangs in my hall.  It came from a 'scrapbook' which belonged to my husband's grandmother. She was a great hoarder and I am eternally grateful for some of the beautiful and interesting things that she kept.

Her story is an interesting one, her name was Elizabeth and  she was engaged to a man who went out to South Africa to farm, but in the end she did not want to leave Scotland and broke off her engagement.  It's not clear whether this Valentine card was from her sweetheart over the seas or another!

She later married a man nearly 40 years older than her and moved to the farm and house that we now live in.  They had a son and two daughters, one of whom died falling off a gate.  When her husband died, her eldest son inherited in his early twenties, whether it was that he was not a good business man or just inherited too young, he got into a lot of debt and Elizabeth took out a mortgage to buy the house and farm from her son.  By this time Elizabeth had had another child (out of wedlock) then met the man who would be my husband's grandfather.  He had already been married and had a large family in Lancashire,  he married Elizabeth and she had another three children including my late father-in-law.

I hope you enjoyed seeing the Valentine card and hearing a little of Elizabeth's story.

8 comments:

  1. Goodness that is quite a life she had, I have a lot of cards which my Grandmother saved in an album, the ones from her husband were always so polite.. saying things like 'fond regards' , not quite hugs and kisses like today x

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  2. She sounds an interesting lady and so lovely to have some of her treasures :)

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  3. Wow Janice that is quite a story and interesting how the farm came to your husband that way!!

    I love the sentimental value of these Victorian heirlooms and it is a beautiful card xxx

    Have altered my blog to blog authors only to try and get rid of Anon. let me know if you are blocked please xx

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  4. A beautiful card and lovely story

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  5. That card is beautiful. It is a really lovely story about Elizabeth. She must have had a hard life.

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  6. The card is beautiful and the story so interesting. I am afraid I don't know a whole lot about my past family history except for what my mother had told me. All of my relatives passed away before I was old enough to have conversations with them.

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  7. Beautiful card and a wonderful story to go with it. xx

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  8. Beautiful Valentine card and really interesting story!
    I agree with Viv - Elizabeth must have had a hard life.
    Congratulations for the great post!

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