Day 42 - Linslade

I had a slow start to the day with a lazy morning reading the papers. Today both Doreen and I were to go to another of my Father’s cousin’s home for lunch. Claude and Diane live in the next village to Doreen which is called Wing. This will be the fourth time I have been to their home as I visited them on each of my previous trips to England.

We left for their home at 11.30 am and it only takes fifteen minutes to get there. It was good to see them both again, Claude has retired since I had been there last and we talked about the holidays they had been on this year. They book a home in the country for a week and travel with their two daughters and their husbands and grand children. We looked at some photos and the area they stayed in looked very picturesque with a lovely stream and some fields nearby.

On my last visit three years ago Claude showed me his tractor which he has rebuilt and used to display at fairs and village shows. Well this year he won the best tractor in the show and was presented with a large trophy that he keeps for the year and also a trophy that he gets to keep.

Diane then presented us with a baked dinner of chicken and vegetables that was delicious. We also had some desert and then sat back in the lounge and talked about our families and also about a letter we both received from a firm called Frazer & Frazer who look for people who are descendants of people who have passed away and not left a will.

It seems one of my Grandmother’s cousins in England, Ivy Piper died in 2007 and she left an estate but did not have any direct descendants. Frazer & Frazer are looking for all descendants of her by going back up to her parent’s brothers and sisters and then coming back down the line to find their next generation of living descendants.

In Claude’s case it is the generation before mine but from my Grandmother’s family all her children have passed away and the grandchildren are the descendants. So both Claude, myself and my siblings as well as a lot of other cousins are in for a windfall. We do not know much about Ivy and it will be interesting in the near future how much money might be coming although we expect it will not be a great amount cause there will be quite a few people involved.

We had to leave Claude and Diane just on four o’clock to return to Doreen’s as her other son Paul was coming to visit to see me whilst I was staying there. We had met on my previous trip and Paul had given me a tour of some of the surrounding area back then and was keen to catch up on my travels and we talked for quite awhile until he had to leave to travel home.

Afterwards we had a light supper after the big lunch we had been given and then watched some more television before bedtime and I also had to pack my bag ready to leave for London tomorrow.