05 September 2011

99 Things

The 99 Things Meme is a list of 99 things you can do, or have happen to you, during your lifetime. I am putting my list here so you can get to know me better. If you would like to do something similar, just copy the text below and paste it into your blog or into a note on Facebook. Substitute your annotations for mine, and change the font to show your answers, as follows:

Things you have already done or found - bold type
Things you would like to do or find - italics
Things you have not done or found and don't care to - plain type

Here is my contribution:
  1. Started your own blog. (Seven of them.)
  2. Slept under the stars.
  3. Played in a band.
  4. Visited Hawaii.
  5. Watched a meteor shower.
  6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
  7. Been to Disneyland/world. (Both.)
  8. Climbed a mountain.
  9. Held a praying mantis.
  10. Sang a solo. (Only to keep myself alert while driving long distances.)
  11. Bungee jumped.
  12. Visited Paris.
  13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. (Yes, and once was from a plane at 35,000 ft - spectacular!)
  14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. (Creating Web pages by writing HTML code in a text editor.)
  15. Adopted a child.
  16. Had food poisoning.
  17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
  18. Grown your own vegetables.
  19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
  20. Slept on an overnight train. (In Norway, and on trips from Brisbane to outback Queensland and North Queensland.)
  21. Had a pillow fight.
  22. Hitch hiked.
  23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill.
  24. Built a snow fort. (I've only even seen fresh snow once.)
  25. Held a lamb. (Hundreds! I grew up on a sheep grazing property.)
  26. Gone skinny dipping.
  27. Run a marathon.
  28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
  29. Seen a total eclipse.
  30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. (Thousands, and it is always a joy.)
  31. Hit a home run. (No, but I've served an ace.)
  32. Been on a cruise. (A genealogy cruise.)
  33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
  34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
  35. Seen an Amish community.
  36. Taught yourself a new language. (Not unless you count HTML as a language.)
  37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. (People are more important than possessions.)
  38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
  39. Gone rock climbing.
  40. Seen Michelangelo's David in person.
  41. Sung Karaoke. (Pigs might fly...)
  42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
  43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
  44. Visited Africa.
  45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
  46. Been transported in an ambulance.
  47. Had your portrait painted.
  48. Gone deep sea fishing.
  49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
  50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
  51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling. (Snorkeling only.)
  52. Kissed in the rain.
  53. Played in the mud.
  54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
  55. Been in a movie.
  56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
  57. Started a business. (A genealogy business.)
  58. Taken a martial arts class.
  59. Visited Russia.
  60. Served at a soup kitchen.
  61. Sold Girl Guide biscuits.
  62. Gone whale watching.
  63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
  64. Donated blood.
  65. Gone sky diving.
  66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
  67. Bounced a check.
  68. Flown in a helicopter.
  69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
  70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
  71. Eaten Caviar.
  72. Pieced a quilt.
  73. Stood in Times Square.
  74. Toured the Everglades.
  75. Been fired from a job.
  76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
  77. Broken a bone.
  78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. (On a motorcycle as a passenger, but it was not speeding.)
  79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
  80. Published a book. (A family history book plus genealogy indexes and guides.)
  81. Visited the Vatican.
  82. Bought a brand new car.
  83. Walked in Jerusalem.
  84. Had your picture in the newspaper. (Publicity for my genealogy seminars.)
  85. Read the entire Bible.
  86. Visited the White House.
  87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. (Not me personally, but I saw my father do it when we lived in the country and ate our own mutton.)
  88. Had chickenpox. (As an adult. Horrible.)
  89. Saved someone's life. (So I'm told. My job involved crossmatching and issuing blood for transfusion in life-threatening situations.)
  90. Sat on a jury.
  91. Met someone famous.
  92. Joined a book club.
  93. Lost a loved one.
  94. Had a baby.
  95. Seen the Alamo in person.
  96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
  97. Been involved in a law suit. (Not unless you count the time I was to be called as a witness, but they settled out of court.)
  98. Owned a cell phone.
  99. Been stung by a bee.
Now that you know me better you may also want to see my genealogy-themed '99 things' list.

10 August 2011

London riots

I am having a very busy time in the UK, attending seminars and other genealogy events, doing some research, and visiting relatives and friends. Right now I am staying with a friend in Charlton, London. We expected our area to be safe, but on Monday night we had a police helicopter overhead until about 2am, spotlighting rioters and looters at our local shopping centre (four blocks away). We could smell burning rubber and hear shouting in the main road that runs parallel to our street.

Overall, though, it is much safer here than in many other areas. Last night there were no helicopters here, but police cars with sirens blaring were zooming past on the main road at about one minute intervals from 8pm until I fell asleep around 10:30pm. (Postscript: see Monday 8th August in Timeline of the 2011 England Riots.)

01 May 2011

Personal news (cruise, Robyn etc)

As you can see from the description above, this page will be used for personal news and personal genealogy. One of my goals for the coming year is to spend more time researching (and writing about) my own family. I will be visiting Yorkshire and London later this year, so I will start by writing about ancestors from those areas (Webster and Hudson).

On March 19th, when P & O's Pacific Dawn sailed out of Brisbane on a 7-night cruise to Noumea, Lifou and Vanuatu, I was one of the 2,000 passengers. This was my first cruise, and I loved it. A description of the experience is on Genealogy Leftovers (with a few photos).

Robyn is busily packing up and preparing to leave her flat and move up north to the new house. I will be visiting her there for a week in June. I've seen the block of land, but not the house.

It's time to cook dinner, so that's all for now, folks!

Freedom certificate, James WEBSTER

James Webster's freedom certificate (left side)

One of my family treasures is the original Certificate of Freedom issued to my great-great-great-grandfather, James WEBSTER, on 1 July 1823. James had been apprenticed to John PORTER, a stationer of Pall Mall, London, whom we believe was his uncle. (Thanks to Michael FLYNN for his help with the PORTER research.)

This certificate was entrusted to me by Rodney CARR. It was handed down through his branch of the family (descendants of James WEBSTER's eldest daughter, Sarah). The authenticity of this large document, only a portion of which is shown above, was confirmed by the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers.

For information about this family (including James's parents, William WEBSTER and Elizabeth Harley PORTER), see the Webster family tree on my Web site.

WEBSTER and HUDSON graves, Helidon

I have two sets of great-grandparents buried in the General Cemetery, Helidon, Queensland -
James Campbell WEBSTER and Ellen WEBSTER nee BUTLER

George HUDSON and Mary HUDSON nee PEACOCK

(Photos © Judy WEBSTER, 2003)

George HUDSON (son of William HUDSON and Christiana MATTHEW of Barton-le-Willows, North Yorkshire, England) married Mary PEACOCK (daughter of John PEACOCK and Mary HUGILL) at Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, England in 1863. George and Mary HUDSON emigrated to Queensland in the 1880s.

James Campbell WEBSTER and Ellen BUTLER were married at Coonamble NSW and later moved to Queensland.

Welcome and Explanation

Hello folks! I know that some of my family and friends are not familiar with this type of Web page (called a 'blog', short for 'Web log') so here is a brief explanation.

When I write something new, that article ('post') appears at the top of the page, with older posts below it. When the page fills up, you can click a link at the bottom to see older posts.

The right column includes a list of Keywords. Click a keyword to gather together one or more articles on that topic. (This will be very useful later, when there are many surnames, places and other keywords.) To go back to the main page, click the 'Home' tab.

At the end of each post there is either a link to Comments or a Comment Form. I sincerely hope that you will use 'Comments' to add extra details, or suggest a source or Web site, or correct my mistakes, or ask me a question. Your comment will be emailed directly to me, and I will reply as soon as possible.

Please bookmark the Home Page https://judy-webster.blogspot.com.au and visit it whenever you wish.

One of my goals for the coming year is to spend more time researching (and writing about) my own family. I will be visiting Yorkshire and London later this year, so I will start by writing about ancestors from those areas. Stay tuned!