Newsletter No. 2: August 2000

The first" WOODCHIP" newsletter was well received but to keep it going interesting articles and news is required and don't forget our web site where you can have web sites linked and photos shown .At this stage the web site consists mainly of articles and links relating to my family so lets have more input from all the families.

Joke of the Month

Late one night, a burglar broke into a house that he thought was empty. He tiptoed through the living room but froze in his tracks when he heard a loud voice say, "Jesus is watching you"
Frantically, he looked all round. In a dark corner , he spotted a bird cage and in the cage was a parrot. "Was that you who said Jesus is watching me"
"Yes ", said the parrot
The burglar breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "Whats your name?"
"Clarence," said the parrot
"That's a dumb name for a parrot," sneered the burglar. "What idiot named you Clarence?"
"The same person who named the rottweiler Jesus " said the parrot. Quote of the month What you keep for yourself you lose
What you give away you keep forever Family Research

Hilda Wood's father (Edward Alexander Daire) is a bit of a mystery as is his father Edward Daire, so I am listing the following information which has been stated about him so that anyone else in the family who has heard these statements can confirm, deny or supply any other items that they have come across to enable us to find more about him.

It is possible that the spelling was "Dayer" as this spelling has been used on some certificates, or even other spelling variances may be possible.
Born Bishopsgate London either 1861 or 1863 (not confirmed)
Born between 1858-1864 (not know when or where)
Married Hannah Maria Thornton 2/1/1892 (confirmed)
Died in Bradford 20/1/1936 (confirmed)
Was an alcoholic (probably true)
Served in the army in India (not confirmed)
Received a head injury in India (not confirmed)
Served in the British Army (not confirmed)
His ancestors were French possible noblemen (not confirmed)
Regularly picked up an allowance for an unknown reason from a solicitor (not confirmed)

Family Profile Name: Maureen Robb
D.O.B. 27th December 1951
Resides in Wangaratta Victoria
Married to Christopher Robb who is a Pharmacist in Wangaratta
Occupation: Pharmacy assistant, Health Care Consultant, Mother & Wife
Interests: Reading, Gardening, Sewing, Hiking, Camping & Fishing
Children:

Anthony (25) presently in London but has been travelling & working overseas in many jobs for 2 years
Gerard (23) is a personal trainer employed at Crown Towers in Melbourne
Anna (21) Doing 4th year honours Bachelor of Arts /Stage Design Stage & TV at Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga
Beth (16) Student at Galen College Wangarata, plays the flute and competes in middle distance running

Favourite Food: Tripe & Onions (must be kidding)
Favourite CD: Celine Dion/Andrea Bocelli/Whitlams
Favourite Movie: Life is Beautiful
Favourite TV show: 3rd Rock from the Sun/Good News Week
Favourite Holiday: Near the Beach
Favourite Footy Team; Collingwood
Car Driven; Hyundai Sonata
Person you would like to dine with: Cathy Freeman
If Competing in Olympic Games what event would you compete in: Mexican Wave
Best books recently read: Jacksons Track/Memoirs of a Geisha/Angela's Ashes/Jessica
Pets: Winnie the cat( named after Winnie Mandela) and Wally the dog (breed heinze)

Jim Lyell is in the hot spot next issue so articles true or not about him required. Overseas Travellers

Anthony Robb (mentioned above)
Allison & husband Reg Regalado have now sold most of their possessions and have set off to travel around America
Amanda White after travelling many countries should now be in London, Amanda had her backpack stolen in Turkey, it was returned less her camera & sleeping bag
Renae Turner is still in England and hopes to do film /TV work at the Edinburgh Festival

News of the month

Barbara White had her gallstones removed and is fighting fit, a recent trip to the pokies helped her recovery many times over
Robert Wood has been in Tasmania for 2 weeks with the Northern Territory women's under 21 hockey team (lucky him) doing experiments on the effects of competing in cold weather as against competing in hot weather
Terry Lyell has recently taken up a new job at Bank West in Perth
Gerard Robb had excellent results competing in Scotland in the World Corporate Games. He finished 4th in his category and 8th overall in a field of 120. His time for the 750m swim, 20 km cycle leg and 5 km run was 59 min 17 sec which was a PB for him, the winner's time was just over 55mins. Congratulations to Gerard.
Brian Turner's celtic band Ardmore plays every sunday at Kate Kelly's restaurant Olinda, 4.30 to 7.30pm so if you are in the area call in.

The following essay about George & Hilda was written by Anne Couch some years ago and I think worth including in our newsletter.

"Reminiscing-" by Anne Couch 1 July, 1985.

As we are sitting together over a cup of tea in the bright, sunny lounge of her unit, Hilda, my grandmother, begins to recall her past. She is enjoying the reminiscing, seemingly oblivious of my presence. Hilda's voice, with its strong Yorkshire accent, can be difficult to understand despite the fact she left Yorkshire 65 years ago and it takes my full concentration to absorb all the details.

Hilda Daire began her life in Yorkshire, England, in a village known as Shipley, on December 13, 1899. She was born to Hannah Maria Thornton and Edward Alexander Daire, the third youngest of eight children, three boys and five girls. Her mother was the daughter of a well known family in Shipley and while details of her father's background are sketchy, he was known to have been born in London in the Sound of Bowbells to an Irish mother and possibly a French father.

The first part of 20th century in England saw difficult times and it was quite commonplace for children to be working at an early age. This was true for Hilda, who, from the age of 12, was employed as a spinner and later as a weaver, at a mill down at Baildon Bridge. Her hours were from 6am - 12noon, six days a week followed in the afternoon by classes at the local Valley Road school. This work was important to the family income. Edward had spent some time in the army in India and grew accustomed to the weekly rations of rum; on his return to England and subsequent marriage to his beloved, Hannah Maria, fell victim to the perils of alcohol and was unable to carry out his duties as breadwinner of the family. Eventually, Hilda's mother made the decision to close the door on her husband and devote herself to the care of her children. This period must have been especially difficult for the family as Hannah Maria became crippled with rheumatoid arthritis and confined to a wheelchair

Hilda devoted her young life not to the carefree and idle time of youth but of a dedication to her mother. When Hilda was 14 her schooling was over altogether and she spent nearly 12 hour days at the mill. Her lunch break was not spent enjoying the local gossip with the other girls at the mill but rather rushing home to tend to her poorly mother then returning back to the mill for her afternoon shift.

(CONTINUED NEXT NEWSLETTER)