Our Trip To Eldon House

   I have lived in London for fifty years now. For most of that time I have been aware of the existence of Eldon House here in the city but had never visited it.

The rear of Eldon House.

   Eldon House is the oldest residence still in existence in the City of London. It was the home of the Harris family and has been around since the 1830's. The family donated the house and almost all of its belongings to the city in the early sixties. It is now a museum and, obviously, open for tours.
   Doralyn and I had been talking about heading downtown this aft, just to look around and spend some time together and we ended up at Eldon House.

Beautiful, quaint gazebo. It stands
at the back of the grounds, near
the edge sloping down to the river.
Branches rise up out of the forest
in behind, providing all the greenery
you see here, likely many decades'
worth.

   We decided to wait until one of the tours started so we walked the grounds for a little bit and took some pics. While we were doing this, a tour actually started but we were able to catch up to it.
   Ninety per cent of what we saw today was all original Harris family belongings. Any time that the museum has found it necessary to make alterations, they have obtained the family's permission first.
   It was hard to walk through the many rooms and not feel as though you were absorbing history.

World travels.

   The Harris' were a family of great wealth and also were the social hub of London back in the day. The opulence is everywhere. Fine dining and big-game hunting. Artifacts from foreign countries. Silver- and ivory-inlaid furniture pieces. Servants' quarters. You name it, really.
   Our tour grind, Brenda, did a wonderful job of taking us around and giving us a history and an account of each room ( there were many), nook and cranny.
   

The main dining room. The table
setting are changed regularly, to
reflect the different seasons.

An elderly woman was there as part of our small tour group and at one point she declared that her aunt had once been a servant there. Brenda was then able to sit down, go through an old photo album and find a picture of the aunt from the 1930's! Awesome stuff!
   It was difficult to imagine life back in the mid-nineteenth century, Certainly there was more attention to class and manners than these days. The servants' quarters were minuscule compared to the size of the family rooms. Brenda told us a tale of one overnight guest who had the audacity to appear for breakfast in his slippers and then dinner later on in a narrow tie, as opposed to a bow tie. Apparently the gentleman was never asked back!

   We know of tales like this because the Harris women kept almost daily diaries. Brenda explained to us that she is able to take any date on the calendar and find a corresponding diary entry from a variety of different years. So complete were the Harris diaries that they have been published and can be found in the local library! What a window to the past!
   As I mentioned before, Doralyn and I both remarked how easy it was to feel as though you were actually soaking in the history of the place---you could almost sense the spirits at play there. I have also heard that there are "real" spirits which inhabit the building---the ghost of an ancient suitor of one of the Harris girls, a suitor who mysteriously drowned in the Thames below the house has occasionally been spotted by the museum staff. Not that I believe in that kind of thing...
   

The library room.

At the end of our visit there, we discovered that the museum has plans to run a special tour of both the attic and the basement of the old house. Apparently both areas are crammed with artifacts and Doralyn and I have made plans to return for that!
   Also at the end of the visit, we ended up talking to Brenda about how the museum was staffed, how long she'd been there and that kind of thing. At that point, she mentioned that they were shortly going to be hiring three more tour guides. At this point, Doralyn did everything but put in an application for me! For some reason she seems to think I would be perfect for this kind of job and I can only surmise that she's aware of my love for history. Well....I guess we'll see!
       

Changes?

   Welcome to the new "Neanderings"!
   Well...it  might only be new for a short time, depending on the reaction I get from people. Or don't get.
   The change is a pretty striking one---readers are suddenly faced with a page full of a rather mind-boggling display of pics from past posts which, when clicked on, will take you to that post. A quick and easy scroll down gets you right back to the very beginning of things.
   So let me know what you think! Is it too distracting? Does anyone miss me standing on a rock by the ocean??
   Let me know!

"What, Me Worry?" My Surprise Encounter With Alfred E. Neuman

   If you're anything like me and are of a certain vintage then you undoubtedly at some point in your life have either read MAD Magazine or at the very least would recognize the iconic image of  the "What, Me Worry" kid, Alfred E. Neuman, which graces the cover of the magazine.

   I was introduced to MAD magazine before I was even a teenager and then read it faithfully throughout my adolescence. I particularly enjoyed the parodies of all the popular movies of the day and, in some way, am only familiar with many of those famous movies through their MAD take-offs! I also enjoyed Antonio Prohias' "Spy v. Spy". and Dave Berg's "The Lighter Side".
   So why am I bringing up MAD Magazine today?
   Well, quite a few months ago, I found myself going through one of the old family photo albums which had come into my possession when my Dad passed away, back in 2012. This particular album I was looking at had originally been my Mum's and was filled with all manner of memorabilia from her youth. As I turned the pages, suddenly I was confronted with an image I was all too familiar with. It was a birthday greeting card which bore the gap-toothed visage of Alfred E. Neuman! What struck me was that there was no mention whatsoever of MAD Magazine and no mention of his name either. In fact, underneath his picture it said "OH JOHNNY!" The inside of the card had the message "It's a honey, hope the birthday is too!" The card was signed by someone who I

The front of the card

assume was my Aunt Eileen and, as near as I can tell, dated back to 1944, long before the inception of MAD Magazine.
   Of course, I immediately headed to Google to see what I could find out about Oh Johnny and his connection with Alfred E.

The inside, with my Aunt's signature.

   It appears as though the image we are now familiar with was actually derived from images decades older, images which evolved over time but are very clearly all connected. Essentially, they are images used to denote a simpleton and appeared whenever its publisher was interested in drawing a comparison, favourable or not. If you're interested, here is the Wikipedia link or you simply do what I did and Google it.
   All in all, things like this almost seem like archaeological finds when you come across them---ancient forms which have been preserved and enable you to compare them with their modern counterparts. These old photo albums have been a treasure trove and it seems as though I discover something different with each journey through them!