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Previous | Contents | Next James Grossart Sharp (1848-1928) and Margaret Linklater (1853-1911) As I worked my way down through the generations I kept wondering what the distaff side brought to the mix. What did Agnes Mitchell and Isabel Dall contribute, back in the first half of the 18th Century? ... Read more
Previous | Contents | Next Family history is easy today compared with even 20 years ago, when Heather got to know the helpful archivist in the Stirling library. People drew family trees by hand that I can barely conceive how to lay out now. But it’s still a tedious business, ... Read more
Contents Names — How do you differentiate between a whole lot of Sharpes named “James”? When Thomas and Mary Sharp’s son was born in 1848 they named him James Grossart, and I’ll stick with that. His son, Heather’s grandfather, gets to be James. James’s son will be Sonny, and his ... Read more
Previous | Contents | Unfortunately I was a young boy, and had to stand on a low box to operate cross-slides etc. However, standing on the box largely prevented me from reaching the treadle, so I had to fasten a big wooden block to the treadle in order to keep the thing going. ... Read more
Previous | Contents | Next I never forgot that particular demonstration and much later in life, when I had acquired a bit of woodworking skill, I tried (just as a personal test) the same joint on a drawer, All I can say is — I was very glad that my mitred dovetails were of ... Read more
Previous | Contents | Next The holiday for me started with trunk packing. I’m quite sure it never struck my mother in the same way, what with all the washing, ironing and, probably, mending clothes — yours truly meanwhile being a thorough nuisance and getting in the way at every turn. Came eventually the ... Read more
Previous | Contents | Next We had books on just about every conceivable subject in addition to a considerable amount of fiction. Every week my father kept us supplied with a good cross-section of magazines and publications — he needed to be kept up to date for his commercial art and we needed to ... Read more
Previous | Contents | Next I have mentioned elsewhere about the workshop and all the engines and tools with which it was equipped, but I also recall a tremendous quantity of model railway material – there was enough track to go twice round the garden path together with lots of points and sidings. Two ... Read more
Previous | Contents | Next I well remember the table-tennis (“ping-pong” we called it) tournaments being played on the big dining-table in a fast and furious fashion. Played with plywood bats covered on each side with glass-paper (sponge rubber covered bats hadn’t arrived yet), and nearly always interrupted by somebody treading on the ball ... Read more
Previous | Contents | Next To be fair, he did show me the value of using tools in the correct manner. He once had me make, with a file and a hacksaw, a 3/4 inch mild steel cube out of 1-1/8 inch round steel, and the sides had to be flat, parallel and square. ... Read more