Monday 17 January 2022

Happy Birthdays

Hello, and thank you for being here, I wasn't sure whether anyone would have stuck around and the fact that you have done has cheered me right up.  As promised, I am back for a witter.

Today is 17th January and I cannot let this date pass unmarked.  To begin with, Anne Bronte was born on this day in 1820.  I have read both of her novels, Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and if you haven't read them, I wholeheartedly recommend Agnes Grey which, in my opinion, is the better novel.  Anne's work seems to be less well-known than that of her sisters, Charlotte and Emily, and I think she deserves better.

In 2010 I visited Scarborough with the Best Beloved and The Teacher.  We parked the car at St Mary's Church and as we were walking through the churchyard we came across Anne's grave.  I had no idea that she was buried there so it was a surprise and it felt very odd to just come across her in such a casual way.  Obviously I asked the Best Beloved to take a photograph.



I was pleased to see that somebody still cared enough about Anne to have laid flowers but saddened by the dilapidated state of her headstone.  I know that coastal weather can treat stone harshly but I felt that the grave of such an important writer should receive some special care.  Well, it seems that little can be done to conserve the headstone itself but in 2013 The Bronte Society had some work done which included the laying of a new plaque - if you are interested, you can read about it here.  

17th January is a rather special day in our family for other reasons.  My great grandmother, Martha Jane Stevens, was born on this day in 1871.  She died more than twenty years before I was born but I have known this photograph for almost as long as I can remember and I have a tablecloth which she worked with knitted lace around its edge; we use it at Christmas and as I unfold it and lay it on the table I think of her hands doing the same decades earlier.  Martha is pictured here in 1900 with my grandmother on her lap.


We have another family birthday today, too: The Mathematician has been celebrating in Guernsey while I have been wistfully remembering earlier birthdays: little girls in princess outfits, sausages on sticks and jelly, wintry weekends spent in cosy cottages, Saturday sleepovers with a houseful of excited teenagers.  Here she is on her fourteenth birthday which we spent in a cottage in North Wales at her request.


Happy Birthday to Anne, to Martha and to The Mathematician!

See you soon.

Love, Mrs Tiggywinkle x

16 comments:

  1. I love celebrating birthdays. I always celebrate my own! And as many of my friends as I can.

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    1. I think that everyone deserves one day of the year when they are made to feel special. x

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  2. Lots to be thankful for then...nothing like an excuse for meat paste sandwiches, and some jelly! x

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    1. TToday's children don't know what they are missing! My grandson's favourite sandwich filling is...smoked salmon! x

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  3. Lovely post and family photos. We were taken to see Anne Bronte's grave for the first time when we went to a wedding in Scarborough in the early 1980s. We saw it again a few years ago when we visited the nearby castle and it had weathered quite a lot over the years:)

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    1. It's such a shame, isn't it? The churchyard is in a wonderful spot but it must take such a battering from the salty wind and rain. x

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  4. A lovely post, and it's good to read a post from you. I have not read Agnes Grey, and think I will look it up. How great to find Anne's grave by chance. Happy Birthday to all.

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    1. Thank you Lorrie. Agnes Grey is definitely worth reading, and it's not very long. x

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  5. It is my birthday too! Great to read your post and see you around blogging. Jo x

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    1. Fancy that! I hope that you were properly spoiled and I wish you many more birthdays. x

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  6. Good to see you are back and with a very interesting post.I am quite surprised that I haven't read Anne Bronte's novel Agnes Grey! I always thought she had only written The Tenant of Wildfell Hall,which I have read.I have read all the novels from the other sisters though.Such a sad family yet so gifted ... so many members dying so young! Of course Tuberculosis was rife in those times and so little being done to be able to cure it. Like yourself I am rather glad to see that fresh flowers have been left on her grave after all to be remembered is the best tribute to those who have passed on. I must say I do like browsing through our old family photos as there is so much to see and many details in those photos stir my curiosity. Keep well. Amanda x

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    1. Thanks Amanda. I love looking through old family photos, they tell such stories and I'm always looking for family resemblances. I share Martha's middle name so I've always felt connected to her. I'm reading Jane Eyre at the moment for the first time in more that forty years and enjoying it, but I haven't read any of Charlotte's other works. Take care. x

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  7. Nice to see you blogging again, I'm sorry you succumbed to the dreaded Covid and I hope you're now fully recovered. Fancy coming across Anne Bronte's grave by chance like that, it must have been a surprise. There were flowers there when we visited too so perhaps someone cares enough to make sure she's often remembered in this way. How lovely that you have such a special photo of your great grandmother, and also a special tablecloth too. I love how these things get passed down through families. I hope you daughter enjoyed her birthday.

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    1. Thanks Jo, she had a lovely time which included a sea swim and a dinner party - she's braver than I am. I wonder if it's the Bronte Society who ensure that there are always flowers on Anne's grave? x

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