Uncle Hector

We were invited out to Sunday Lunch today with friends at their house in the South Hams. The plan had been to walk down to the Marsh in the morning, but as it was flooded, and it was raining, the plan was soon abandoned. 
This portrait on their wall looks over all who pass up and down the stairs and has come to be known as Uncle Hector. I learnt that he is a distant relative with a distinguished military career who saw service in many parts of the world during the time of the British Empire. I have been fascinated for some time about how men of all ranks were affected by their postings to far flung places during this period of history. Today we see other lands and cultures all the time via various media, and wars as they happen. How strange it must have all seemed to people whose knowledge and life experience of other lands was far more limited. I am sure Uncle Hector would have many tales to tell if he could only speak.