The Olde Days

Another showery day, not very warm either. I seem to spend a lot of time on my photographs - but I like it!  How we used to identify places and buildings or find out about their history before the Internet I can't imagine. Trawling through books in the library, I suppose!

Went down town for a few things after lunch, though in the car this time. Couldn't really find much for a Blip, so when I came home I photographed this Philadelphus. It has quite a history as far as our family is concerned. 

Back in the very early fifties we lived with my maternal grandparents in a large house in Teddington. It had a long garden, going down to the railway. In the garden were several shrubs which in those days we called 'Syringa', presumably because our grandparents didn't realise that that was the proper name for lilac! Apparently my Dad used to cut the tall stems - I think it might have been P. coronarius, but time will tell - to use as bean sticks. I certainly remember cutting them to make bows and arrows and later I would cut thick stems, slice them lengthways, take out the pith and make channels to direct water down. Just boyish games! 

When we moved out to a house of our own it seems that Dad brought some cuttings of the 'Syringa' and grew the shrub in our new garden. My brother must have taken cuttings from that one and grown a shrub of his own in his garden. From his plant I now have a small one which has just begun to flower, even though it's still very small. I wonder if the originals are still there!