Ancestral hide and go seek...

Hi All

Firstly, thank you for the comments you have been posting, it is good to know that people are actually reading this, as I cannot tell otherwise. I am glad that you are enjoying my journey, it is helpful for me to write this blog as it will remind me in the future of everything I am doing now. You know, when my memory goes, which may be getting closer than I would like to think..

Well the day before yesterday Ali drove Sheonagh and I to follow the ancestral trail, that man has the patience of a saint, just a paper to keep him entertained and he was happy to wait for us for hours, and I do mean hours.

My Dad's maternal side came from Dunfermline, Torryburn and Culross in the 1600 & 1700's. I have had real trouble trying to find anything on them, so was hoping the local cemeteries might shed some light, yeah that was a forlorn hope. Never mind, we arrived in Torryburn, the most beautiful coastal village and set off for the local cemetery. It was raining and cold, but we were not deterred, just between you and me, I think there might be something mentally unhinged with avid genealogists.. Anyway we found lots of graves, but no Penman ones, many of them had no writing, only symbols, really weird symbols of skulls and dark objects, it was really quite freaky. Sheonagh suggested it was before education and writing came to the area. Anyway we had no success at Torryburn, but did learn that there are still Penmans living in the area. Undeterred we carried on to Culross. We found no trace of Penmans there either but did learn several things. The guide at the local palace told us that in the early 1700's all the church records from north of the Forth river were being transferred by boat from Culross to Edinburgh and the boat sank, so no church records are available, hence my not being able to find much on them. A video we watched on the palace also informed us that the miners were not allowed to be buried in the cemetery... That really shocked and upset me. I do not know if my Penmans were miners, as I cannot find anything on them this far back, but when I thought of all those men and women and small children who worked like beasts in the mines and were not considered human enough for a church burial, it made me sad and angry too. The awful lives they had led and not even a decent funeral to have at the end of their lifetime, that sucks!!

We also learned that if you were sick in the early days you were better off just popping your clogs than trying to be cured by the means available at the time....
We took a tour of the local palace, it was not a flash palace, but would have been in it's time. On the top floor there is a room, that tells you all of the cures that were used at the time and like I say you would be better of just curling up your toes, but if you did survive the cure, nothing and I mean nothing would have killed you ever again!! One cure was grinding mouse droppings into powder and adding water and having the patient drink it!! OMG, what?? I did wonder at the time if the patient was told what they were drinking, or just left in ignorant bliss. Another, for deep wounds involved hot steel and dog poo.. One lady of the time had written how she was very disappointed in the cure she had been purchasing off a merchant, as she had been buying it for a long time and it did not seem to be working, so take note, ground unicorn horn does not work... I kid you not, the lady believed she was buying ground unicorn horn!!! Apparently stupidity is not a new thing!!

We did have a wonderful day and I want to thank both Sheonagh and Ali for taking the time and trouble of taking me to such wonderful villages.

Yesterday we went to Balmoral Castle, it was several hours drive away, but the scenery both there and back was unbelievable. I loved it. We stopped to visit the Crathie Church, where Princess Anne was married (the second time) and then we went on to Balmoral Castle. They only let you into one room in the castle, the ball room, but it was very interesting and the items on display were excellent. We wandered in the grounds and we had our lunch there as well. It is very impressive, it really is a lovely castle, built by Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert.

On the way home we stopped and had dinner at a mill restaurant that is a favourite of Ali's, the food was delicious, and the restaurant was really cute, very warm and quite quaint.

Internet access here is a nightmare, I have two options, either live in McDonalds the entire time and have them roll me out the door when I leave, or sling the laptop around my neck and climb the highest tree I can find. I have decided on neither and so can only post occasionally, when the damn thing decides to work!!.

I hope you enjoy the following pics.

Cheers

Lones

Torryburn on the east coast

The town of Torryburn

The Culross palace and walled garden beyond

Crathie Church, set is the most wonderful countryside

Balmoral Castle