What a momentous week this has been for us! We completed our last mission office assignments by completing 4 flat inspections and 3 vehicle inspections, supported our district and our branch leadership in this last week of meetings that we were available to attend, finished our Scotland/Ireland MLS Mission, got released from our mission by our stake president and then, flew off to England to start a long week of being international tourists! It certainly has been a week to remember always!
On Monday, I was able to complete all the flat inspections given to us by the mission office. These inspections, you may remember, are done just before every transfer. This time, all senior missionaries assigned to do flat inspections were asked to do them all virtually. We also were able to do 3 vehicle inspections virtually last week, and, earlier, we were able to personally inspect those 3 cars when the cars came to Limerick for meetings last week. That alone helped me so much! Why, you might ask? Because besides doing those inspections. we needed to finish cleaning out our flat, pack our bags, say good-bye to many dear Limerick friends and spend the last few minutes together with both the Limerick zone leaders and the young sisters, whom we love so dearly!
This is Elders Coffman and Eyre assigned to the Waterford area after we finished their flat and vehicle inspections. These are 2 great young men!! I love them both to death.
On Tuesday, Elder and I finalized cleaning our flat, cleaning our mission car one more time, finished our final packing, made last minute preparations and then all of the Limerick missionaries went out for a gelato. For those of you who have not moved somewhere in quite a while, may I remind you that many of the final cleaning items in a situation like that can only be completed the last day of living there. Some of those last things that needed to be done were like we had to finish eating all the rest of our food in the fridge before we could clean it. Also after we were finished taking our last showers there, we then had to wash and dry the worn clothes to freshen them up again, etc, etc. You get it!The bonus was going out with the younger elders and sisters for an earned gelato. Yum, yum!
I actually started cleaning the fridge on Monday and finished it Tuesday after we finished the last few items inside of it
This funny picture of me was taken as a challenge from Sister Caruss who said that I could not open my mouth wide enough to eat my gelato whole. Yeah, she was right, but I tried!
We also attended by zoom both our last district meeting with our missionaries and, later, our last branch correlation meeting with our branch's leadership members. After all that hard work that day, Elder and I turned in early. I could hardly sleep that night!
Very early Wednesday morning, and I mean early, like 3am, we got up, got dressed, packed a toothbrush or two and then prepared for our last official missionary zoom meeting. That meeting that was scheduled for 4am and involved our good stake president in Provo Utah. After interviewing the two of us, he released us from our mission. I have to admit, that taking off my missionary name tag that time WAS so much easier than when I was asked to remove my name tag the first time several years ago. There is at least one more future mission planned for us and that plan will see me going back out in another year to serve again! I can't wait!!!
By 4:40am, Elder and I walked out of our Limerick flat for the last time, locking the door behind us. It is with great thankfulness that we leave there. That flat provided for us safety from the storm and many pleasant memories. At 5:30am, we took the express bus up to the Dublin airport to begin our week long journey that will take us to Birmingham, England. Both of us feel that in serving for a year, that we certainly earned this reward.
I have always loved to go to England. This time will be no exception. This is the English countryside from 30,000 feet up
Ernie and I after boarding the plane
CadburyWorld! Yes, as in Cadbury Chocolates!! And, yes, its a thing here in Birmingham! Here is a short history. Cadbury is an English born taste phenomenon. Cadbury was founded in1824 in Birmingham by John Cadbury. At that time, John sold tea, coffee and drinking chocolate to the very elite, who wanted better and better products. After John's brother, Benjamin, joined, Cadbury was not only went out to totally capture the top chocolate business in the world, but the brothers also wanted to improve all their worker's living conditions. The company changed the pay rate, along with work hours. They also had a highly skilled medical team to care for anyone working for the company. They presented workers with opportunities to improve their education and provided their workers with on-going training for personal improvement. In 1905, Cadbury Dairy Milk was introduced that used a higher portion of milk in the recipe. From then on, Cadbury has never looked back. Even Queen Victoria and, more recently, Queen Elizabeth II, has presented the company with several high honors. Here are pictures from there.
Yay for Cadbury!! Yay for some fun!!
This very tall staff member greeted us at the door. So fun! The kids loved it!
This is Ernie learning how chocolate was made by the Mayans
The famous Cadbury cow
This is the original time clock that Cadbury workers used morning and night
Cadbury had metal moldings made to originally preform their chocolates into different products to sell
What we saw in the first half of our tour was fun and interesting, but I was ready to scream "show me the chocolate please". Well, somebody must of heard me, because around the next corner was the beginning. From that point on, our involvement with real chocolate would increase station by station. Let the fun begin!!!!
We were given a bottle of liquid chocolate to play with. This was my design
We went on an amusement ride through Cadbury World. It was so fun
Then we watched staff make all different kinds of chocolate
We even got a demonstration of what the beginning process looks like
They even had a playground of sorts where the children could play fun games
Here is the Cadbury rendition of the famous British King Edward's Coronation crown. All made out of real chocolate of course!
We watched them prepare and box candies to sell...
in the largest chocolate store that I have ever seen. Wow!!! This really was a fun thing to do. We both agreed that it helped bring out the inner kid inside of us.
Really, that was exactly the fun we both needed. Before we left, we were given several free Cadbury chocolate bars. Ernie and I shared one together. It was so enjoyable! Because we had to wake up so early that morning, we drove right to the flat we rented, had a small dinner and went straight to bed. I think candy bars were dancing in my head all night!
On Thursday, we got up early again for two more amazing plans that we made before coming to England. I LOVED the first place that we went to. It was about a 45 minute drive away, but so, so worth it! As we got closer to our destination, we took a little side trip to stop and view a historical house of a very important historical person named of Anne Hathaway. She eventually became the wife to one of England's most famous Englishmen. After viewing Anne home, we ended up in a small English town called Stratford. Most people know it as Stratford-upon-Avon. That's right! William Shakespeare. I still can't believe that we visited his birthplace. That memory will always be cherished in my heart.
Welcome to Stratford!
Anne Hathaways home from the street view
and her home from the front. It certainly is a very pretty old English house
I won't give a history on William himself, but will give a short history on his birthplace. William's home was owned by his father, John, who was a glove maker and a wool dealer. The original home was simple, yet considered substantial for that time. It had two stories, which was not a common thing in the 1500s. It was constructed in watt and daub around a wooden frame of oak. Oak was the chosen wood used then because it was harder and took longer to catch on fire.
William inherited his father's home after John had died. Because William had already made his fortune before his father's death, William acquired a newer, larger home in Stratford called the New Place, which had 10 hearths and possibly as many as 30 rooms. It was the largest house in the area. So Shakespeare made the birthplace home into a public inn instead. Shakespeare never lived to see the inn completed.
Here is an older drawing of what the house looked like closer to the time of Shakespeare
This is what the birthplace home looks like today. Remember, some of it is almost 500 years old
Here is a picture of Ernie standing next to the statue of William right in the middle of Henley Street, Stratford, England
Here are a couple of fun facts that we found out while visiting Shakespeare's home that a day. The original window in John and Mary's (Shakespeare's mother) bedroom in later years was used sort of as a guest book and is now known as the "birth room window". It was called that because in the 1500s, Mary would have given birth to William in their bedroom on the floor near the fireplace. Many famous people like Sir Walter Scott, Charles Dickens and John Keats have left their autograph in those panes of glass. The window has been moved to another room within the birthplace and is now protected and preserved. Another fun fact is that there were several thicker, fancier dowels attached to several of the beds in the bedrooms. These were dowels used for either holding the bedding in place on a cold winter's night or to even out the straw inside the mattresses. To even out the straw, one would hit the dowel on the lumps of hay inside the mattress fabric until the mattress was smooth. This nightly task received the title to "hit the hay", which is something I modernly do every night as I go to sleep. That made me laugh!
The last fun fact had to do with the fires typically found in every fireplace during that time to heat the houses. At 10 minutes to 8pm, the church bells would ring, alerting all citizens that they needed to quickly put out all fires. This would happen even on the coldest nights of the winters. Then a warden would walk the street of the town and if he found any smoke still rising from someone's home, he could fine them a large fine, if the homeowner could not show reason why his fire was still needed. The name related to the bell ringing was to "cut the fire". Using a little French and an awful Old English accent, "cut the fire" would be said in quick, slurring sounds together. The slurring of that phrase eventually became to be known as "curfew"! Very interesting, huh? Here are some more photos from William's home.
A possible real life painting of William Shakespeare
This is a photo of the "birth room window" which is now being better protected and preserved
Here I am trying on a replica hat from Shakespeare's era
Several more replica's of clothing worn in those days
This is the Shakespeare's kitchen area
Original windows looking out on the garden area below
John and Mary's bedroom with an aged baby cradle
This was known then as a "wall hanging" and was commonly hung on the walls of rich people's homes who could afford to purchase them. It is a piece of canvas, which was hand painted. The brighter the colors, the more status was given to the home owner. These "wall hangings" also provided needed insulation
This is an original floor in a room on the main floor
The middle piece of wood with the round wooden peg plug IS the original master support beam of the Shakespeare second story in the home. This beam IS 500 years old!
A picture of me standing in the back garden area of the home.
Shakespeare is buried inside the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. This is what you would see while visiting there. They say that this is the second most visited church in England, the first one being Westminster Abbey
Did you know that Shakespeare had a curse written on his head stone to keep others from disturbing his "bones". Because of that written curse, no one has disturbed his bones, even though the church has had several restorations that literally were completed with our touching this area. Westminster Abbey also feels that Shakespeare should be moved to the Abbey and take his rightful place. No one is willing to help make the move!
If you will remember, several blogs back, I showed a photo of Elder Muirhead standing next to an original old Irish phone booth. Here is one other cute picture of Ernie, now standing inside an old English phone booth
Such a cutie!!!
After we completed our Shakespeare experience, we drove over to Warwick Castle on the outskirts of Warwick. The Warwick castle that stands today came from a wooden castle that William the Conqueror built in 1068. William the Conqueror was able to defend his lands in Midlands because of the strength of this fort. In the 1100's the castle was made even stronger with a stone exterior and then, again in 1330, the castle was expanding and strengthened even more. Though the castle has had many owners and has received many changes, the castle today stands receiving visitors from all over as it has for the last 300 years. While we were there, we toured the castle where they told how several men were crowned kings. We also went to see a joisting contest. That was great entertainment and very colorful. Going to that castle certainly ended our day in a great way. Here are some pictures of our visit there.
Here is a photo of the giant Warwick castle. This has been the largest castle we have been in yet.
Ernie getting eaten up by the castle's dragon named "
Zog". The grandkids loved this photo
It seems like Ernie gets locked up in every punishing pillory that he walks by. Does that mean something??
This castle had a large, deep mote that surrounded the entire castle
The main entrance with its strong, metal closing gate
Another photo of the front main gate. This castle was very tall
These are waxed figures to help show scenes of how several men were made kings
A knight's suit of armor
There was a beautiful river on the back side of the castle where a swan was swimming by
This is the Queen of the Red Rose joisting team. In this picture she is wearing the crown. About half-way through the show, the crown was stolen, but was recaptured in the end.
Two knights joisting in front of hundreds of patrons watching from the stands
By the time we got back near our rented flat, we elected to go and get Chinese dinners. Yum, yum!! After a long day of walking, walking and walking some more, with a full tummy, we were both ready for bed. Lights out or as they say here, "hit the hay" time (Ha, ha)! The next day, our last full day in Birmingham, we drove about 10 miles out of Birmingham to the places where my father's English family came from. I was so excited to do this. I had often dreamt of the possibility of going to this area sometime during my lifetime, but never thought that it would really happen. Well, it happened!
My grandfather, Ernest Wills (1886-1972), became very interested in family history after his wife died. The main goal that my grandfather wanted to prove in genealogy was to connect his side of the family to the Mayflower people. When my grandfather was younger, he either read personal accounts or heard stories told by older relatives about a possible family connection. Through many years of searching through hundreds of documented records, my grandfather found the missing link that connected his family to the Mayflower descendants. From that moment on, my grandfather was always so proud to say that his line was from Sir Issac Allerton, the fifth signer of the Mayflower compact, and an important leader of the early colonists.
When my grandfather was writing his memoirs, he spent a lot of time trying to find more information on his father's line. He personally told me about one year before his death that he met his grandfather only once in Braddock, Pennsylvania when he was a young boy. He said that he drove from New York State down to Braddock with his father and that his father and his grandfather only spent a few minutes talking together, then his father and Ernest, drove back to New York State. My grandfather never asked why the visit was so short, but speculated that possible his father and his grandfather had some kind of a falling away. My grandfather also told me that trying to find his father's genealogical line was made difficult because of that poor relationship. Apparently, my great grandfather was also very private about his past life. Bless my grandfather's heart, for he personally did find some very important family names, dates and places in his searching, that would aid me in mine. I do remember one puzzle he had while doing his father's genealogy and that was that he didn't know if his father was born in Tipton, Staffordshire or in Oldbury, Staffordshire. Well, I was able to figure that one out about 25 years ago, after my grandfather had died. His father, Joseph Wills (1854-1907) was born in Tipton and had his birth registered in the nearest large city, Dudley. Now that I have been to this area, I see where the confusion is. Look at the map below and see how close all of my ancestor's lands are to each other.
Most of my father's family living at that time, were living in or around the 4 small towns or rural areas namely West Bromwich, Oldbury, Dudley or Tipton. As you can see, all of these areas are basically just a stone's throw away from each other.
We spent almost 8 hours driving through these areas, visiting the churches that supplied my father's family religious training and walking some more through several graveyards. IT WAS AWESOME!!!! I still can't believe that I was able to be in those places in person. I know that my grandfather walked beside me every step. He, too, was so thrilled!
I never knew that my husband was so famous in this part of England!
Here is a photo of what this area's small town housing looks like. All of them have the same design with slight changes in the front to help designate which house is which
As I started to do genealogy years ago, I could only take my father's family back 2 solid generations, namely my dad, my grandfather. I had a little information about his father and then, of course, my grandfather's mentioning of meeting his grandfather that one and only time in Pennsylvania. I had more current information on my father and grandfather and very, very little about the next generations back. To tell you seriously how bad my dad's family information was, my grandfather (my dad's own father) never even knew his grandfather's first name. Thank goodness for FamilySearch, Ancestry.com and indexing!
Since my beginnings of researching family names, I now have taken my father's family direct line back 5 solid generations! What a blessing this has been for me. Like any of you who have researched and found missing family names, I feel so very close to them. I love them with all my heart. There has been many times when family has finally been found that I have wept like a baby.
On that Friday, we drove to Aston Chapel, which is in the center of old Birmingham. The chapel is now named the St. Peter and St. Paul Church. In this church on 30 March 1818, my grandfather Richard Dutton married his first wife Hannah Deeley. Hannah gave birth to 10 children, who were all brought up exposed to religion. More on that in the next paragraph. What a thrill to step on the piece of land with both Richard and Hannah in my heart. It certainly gave me great unexpressive joy. I loved the feelings I was experiencing, because it made me feel even closer to both of them.
Aston Chapel were Richard and Hannah were marries 200 years ago.
I had never seen this before, but as I approached the front gate, the sidewalks everywhere were lined with fallen headstones. It actually presented a greater peace of heart as I walked the several paths.
This is the main front door. The church was locked that morning, but I still loved every minute of being there in person
This is a view from the back of the church showing a few of the many headstones in the graveyard
The next place we drove to was just outside the boundaries of the modern West Bromwich. I have always loved that name. West Bromwich! I remember the first time I read that name, I felt as though I had already knew that name from somewhere before. So just the name of the place is tender to me. Richard and Hannah Dutton raised their family in this parish. I imagined that they might have possibly lived somewhere close-by. The scenery was gorgeous, rolling hills with lots of green all over. The name of the church today is "All Saints Parish"on All Saints Way. Each of Richard and Hannah's children has been recorded to have been christened there. As I walked around taking pictures, a woman stuck her head out of a side door of the church where I was standing near. I think I surprised her.
As I got closer to her, I told her that she was standing in the church where some of my ancestor's were christened. She invited me to come inside for just a few minutes and, oh boy, I sure did! The inside was lovely. Just the knowledge that I was actually standing inside of that church brought tears to my eyes. She told me that she had something that I needed to see. She walked me over to a large carved stone that looked like a christening font. That is exactly what that was AND it was the same christening font used over hundreds of years. My jaw fell! She looked at me and humbly, quietly stated that my ancestors were christened using that very font. Ok! Now I couldn't hold back the tears. I not only cried because of the moment, but I cried sweet tears of joy passed down through heavenly clouds from loved ones to make a closer covenant relationship between me and them. I wish you were standing next to me to have watched me so carefully and lovingly rub the edge of that massive stone. This, too, was NOT coincidental! It was another tender mercy sent from my Heavenly Father just for me. Super Wow!!!!
Here is a very memorable photo that I can never forget!
This is the front of All Saints Parish
This is the main entrance door for its patron's to enter in weekly
These two patrons were found under the floor when the church was remodeled during the Victorian age. These tombs now stand by the side entrance
The front of the church
The medieval tiled floors
A beautiful organ which still plays weekly
The front stained glass window
This was cool! It was an extra bonus surprise. This is a portion of the original church wall built in the 12th century. This small section, still attached to the wall has been encased for preservation. I love seeing stuff like this!
Here is the huge carved original stone christening font used to bless my family. It has to be the best of all fonts that I have ever seen. I still can't believe that I got to see and feel this font. This loving kindness from my Heavenly Father was truly unexpected
My heart still swells with joy at the very thought that I got to see that amazing font. Its amazing that it is still in existence and is still being used today! We stopped to have lunch in West Bromwich after and when we were finished, we drove to Oldbury. Oldbury is a little town just outside of West Bromwich. Genealogical records stated that both Richard and Hannah Dutton were buried in Oldbury cemetery. Several years ago, the original Oldbury church was demolished because it had become dangerously unstable. Ernie and I walked at least 3/4 of that large cemetery, but never found any headstones with the name Dutton on them. Many headstones were totally unreadable or had tumbled over to the ground. As I walked away, my heart became very full and right then, I realized that though hard facts will never be found, I'm sure now that they were laid to rest there. We ended that afternoon driving through Dudley and Tipton. What a wonderful experience. I was truly blessed.
In closing tonight, I want to again thank my Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, for the many, many blessing we literally saw daily while we traveling this week through England. We were so blessed with health, comfort, heavenly impressions and especially safety as we drove many, many miles on unknown roads. It is such a great blessing to be a covenant child of God and receive the blessings of heaven on a daily, if not hourly basis. May we all remember the mercies that God had extended to each of us over and over again and give Him honor and praise for His goodness. May we also, as covenant children of God, continue to do our very best in helping to gather Israel in preparation of the Second Coming of our Savior. We have never been needed more to help fulfill God's plan. We will be blessed for our efforts!
As we leave England and those memorable beloved areas connected to eternal families, we now will slowly make our way to.............
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