Dover (Sibertswold) to Sutton Coldfield

Wed 16 Apr

Having given up completely on the Alma’s wifi, I found a coffee shop who have it, and for the price of a coke & muffin I sat there for two hours catching up on emails, paying the visa, booking more accommodation, checking train times to Birmingham, etc

                      Shepherdswell Green
 
By 12.45 I was on a bus to Shepherdswell, a small village where Harriet Ann Wise VENNER was born in 1855 – my 2-greats grandmother, who came to NZ and married James WILSON. She was the illegitimate daughter of Ann Judith VENNER. My current thinking is that her father’s surname was possibly WISE, although there are no likely candidates living in the area in the 1851 or 1861 census – but Dover is a port, and there would have been a lot of sailors around …

The old Church

                                                                                                                        

Shepherdswell is a very old village, formerly known as Sibertswold. It boasts one pub, a small shop/post office, and a church. Unfortunately for me the church was pulled down and rebuilt in 1863 – although, having said that, she did not appear to be baptised there anyway - the family at that time were Non-conformists. But it was open (yay), so I had a good wander around, and listened to the organist practising. After he finished, we had a nice chat. 

       Note the different symbols on the candlesticks
 
Harvey worked in London as a Methodist minister, and has retired here. He and his wife love the relaxed lifestyle and village life. Amazingly enough, he has no connection with NZ at all. I have got so used to everyone I meet having relatives there, or have been on a holiday, or have friends who have been over – but nothing! However, he is interested in family history, and was telling me the story of an ancestor who was sent to Botany Bay as a convict after stealing $50. That was a huge sum in those days, so he was lucky to escape hanging. He left a wife and two children in England, although his wife pleaded to be allowed to go with him. He then married again in Australia, and from the sound of it did not even wait the usual seven years. 

Then I wandered the village, before sitting in the sun with my kindle for a relaxing hour while I waited for the next bus back to Dover – they get only about four a day here.

Reading: Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley

Evening: Exploring Churches by Paul & Tessa Clouney

Thursday 17 Apr

Train to Kings Cross – Euston – Birmingham New St – Wylde Green. Offered tea/coffee/orange juice, then the breakfast selection – a roll, with sausage or bacon or vegetarian sausage. Lunch menu is available on trains that left after 11am, and we left at 10.45.Luckily I am not travelling First Class for the food! It works out to $30 extra per trip when buying a Britrail Pass in NZ, and buying it here is a lot more expensive – I have seen a difference of $250 on one journey. It also means that since I am travelling several times on or within a day of public holidays, I am fairly sure of a seat, as First Class is never full. The only downside of the Pass is that I cannot book a seat ahead. Having travelled once sitting on the floor in the corridor because every seat was booked, I decided that once was really enough for that experience.  

Sheila was at Wylde Green to meet me, and we spent the rest of the day catching up with each other. She lives at Sutton Coldfield, just outside Birmingham, in a nice semi-detached house built about 1928. We first met in NZ, (I can’t remember where, was it at Jane’s?) as she tries to come over for two months each year to stay with her daughter Debbie and family. We have a common interest in books, and I have introduced her to genealogy ….

We also have some friends in common, my ex-NZSG teamie Shirley Pedersen, who plays online scrabble with her, and Bruce Cousins, our Cobham friend who allowed us to house-sit for him in Surrey while he was here in Auckland. Bruce and Sheila play bridge together in Auckland, so you can see that she is a lady with a wide diversity of interests. When at home, she also gardens. She is a delight to be with, and has a great sense of humour and quick wit, so we have a lot of laughs. She also – and this is NOT the main attraction – has a house full of books I want to read. I would offer to house-sit while she is in NZ, but then I wouldn’t get to see her – life is such a worry.