I have been trying to reduce the amount of paper we have in and around the house. Most of the paper is in the big grey filing cabinet in my office. Some of it dates back to last century. Back from when we first arrived in the UK.
In order to get rid of it, I first scan then shred each thing. I then file it away on a hard drive that is backed up. Because I use Notion, I can access the documents anywhere, even on my phone. Not that there’s much reason for viewing them on my phone.
I really like Notion. It’s so much better than an old, grey filing cabinet that just takes up room and is a mess because I’m rubbish at filing.
Anyway, I spent a lot of time today scanning and shredding in between researching a couple of dead soldiers.
One of the soldiers was adopted, which led me to discover that adoption wasn’t a thing before 1926. People would foster children as a way of avoiding them going to a workhouse or littering the street, joining up with Fagan and the Dodger. There’s an excellent article about it here.
The chap I was researching was born in St John’s Wood and adopted by the Brier family in Alton. I couldn’t find any record of his birth or biological parents. Of course, he would have been given the Brier surname and, who knows, maybe his first names as well. It made it impossible to sniff out the complete history of Victor William Brier.
Or, maybe it’s more important to know about the family who brought him up, nurtured him and loved him. I’d like to think that foster parents do it because they are philanthropic and love kids. Mind you, that is not always the case.
I remember my dad telling me that when he was evacuated during the war, he was stuck on a farm in Potterne, Wiltshire and was, basically, a slave for the farmer. He slept in a barn, was punished for not eating gruel and had to work very long days. That was in complete contrast to mum’s evacuation to Berkshire where she bought sweets in the same shop as the Queen and Princess Margaret.
But my day wasn’t just about scanning, shredding and fostering children. Possibly the most important thing I did was preparing for tomorrow’s arrival.
The Christmas tree is due to arrive, and I had to prepare the holder. This entailed evicting about 73 albino slugs and a very big black spider before removing a foot of sludge. Then I had to steam it as clean as I could get it.
The holder always sits up the back in all weather, waiting for the only time it’s used. It wasn’t used last year, or the year before, so it was pretty rank. Not now though. By the end of the day it was ready and waiting.
The other thing I did was make my fruit mince in preparation for some pies on Saturday. The house smelled divine during the three hours it took to melt the suet around the fruit.
A rather constructive day, I thought.
