Nice people thread part 4 - sugar and spice and all things

lostinrates

The hedgehog slipped his hutch and followed us up to bed last night...we found him rustling a plastic bag and trying to make a bed or something under the bedside table. We thought he was a second one and brought him down, weighed him and prepared a box with paper and food, THEN saw that Spinathon had simply slipped the net.

Davesnave

I was brought up in within the CofE with a heavy dose of Presbyterianism thrown in. My Mum thought English churches and services far too fancy. Dad was not really interested, although he tried to be. Like me, he found it hard to sign-up to anything; the fine print always getting in the way.

I consider my religous knowledge helpful, and sometimes even useful, but I'm not a churchgoer. Those early days of RE at school and confirmation classes saddled me with feelings of guilt which took years to throw off. Now, I carry on a dialogue with Him inside my head. Sometimes, I'm still none too pleased with the answers I get!

It's no surprise then that I'm half Scottish, and a quarter each of Welsh and English.

Generali

I can say that if I was going to start following a religion it would be one that didn't involve circumcision. A joke, shamelessly stolen from The Fool.

2 kids are in hospital. The first says, "What are you in here for?"
"I'm having my tonsils out"
"Oh, I had that done a couple of years back. You spend a couple of days eating jelly and ice cream and then you're fine. Too easy. I'm here for circumcision".
The second child replies, "Oooh that's a nasty one. I had it the day I was born and couldn't walk for a year!"

vivatifosi wrote: »

That's my thought too. Have only ever met one, once, but linked to charity and I agree that they take their responsibilities very seriously. Seemed very personable too. I did have to take a potted history course first though, as to the differences between the de Rs and the just Rs and their past problems. It's quite an interesting study of power in families I think.

This picture tells you all you need to know about the Rothschilds:

lemonjelly

LydiaJ wrote: »

I'm Christian, since we're listing our beliefs. I've always had some kind of vague prejudice mildly in favour of Jews, though.

That's kinda funny, in a wrong sort of a way.:)

lemonjelly

GDB2222 wrote: »

It partially depended what skills you had. My father was 30 when he received a letter saying that he was dismissed from his post as a dermatologist in 1933, purely on account of his racial background. He was not particularly wealthy but he had his in-demand skill set, so the decision to emigrate was a no-brainer for him, as he had no job prospects in Germany. It would have been harder for a factory owner simply to abandon all that.

He was intending to emigrate to the USA, but he was terribly prone to seasickness and he became so ill crossing the channel that he couldn't face the Atlantic, and he settled here instead. He became a naturalised citizen and served in the army during the war.

His sister, my aunt who lived to 100, came here too and settled in Sheffield. In those days you had to be sponsored in order to be allowed to enter the country, ie people guaranteed that they would support you if necessary, and she was sponsored by Quakers, so there's another family connection there.

This is a fascinating post. Tells me so much about the history of the time. So full of meaning for a relatively short paragraph. Really highlights the human aspects of the 1930's. Bet your dad could tell some stories!

neverdespairgirl

My OH's grandfather's life is surreal, too. He was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before the First World War, and his father died when he was a child. He somehow went from a rural peasant family in what is now the Ukraine to Germany, joined the Communist Party, and became a dentist. He went back to his home town, married and had sons.

He joined the Polish army in 1939, and was captured by the Nazis in September 1939. Deciding that his future as a Nazi-held Polish Jew would be short and not sweet, he strangled a guard and escaped.

When he got home, he found the entire town, including his wife and sons, dead. He walked east, into Russia, and ended up on the Black Sea. He was at one point tried and sentenced to death for robbery, and only got off that sentence when the stolen papers were found elsewhere.

He later joined the Free Poles section of the British Army, fought in Palestine and Italy, and was demobbed in London after the war. Having nothing to return to Poland / Ukraine for, he stayed, met and married his second wife, and OH's father was born.

At the age of 75 or so, he upped sticks again and emigrated to Israel.

lemonjelly

30 years ago we had Steve Jobs, Johnny Cash and Bob Hope. Now we have no jobs, no cash and no hope.

LydiaJ

lemonjelly wrote: »

That's kinda funny, in a wrong sort of a way.:)

Why funny? I rather suspect it comes from a childhood of Bible stories, in which all the good guys are always Jews. It sort of seeps into the subconscious.

lostinrates

I find the personal stories of Jewish migration fascinating, thanks for sharing them. IIRC DH's paternal grandfather had been here for generations and generations: no personal suffering in the war, just extended family members. Grandmother got out in the ''badness'' with stuff sewn into her clothes and some luggage...so luckier than most. I understand she came from one of those really wealthy families that propganda was about. Certainly dh remembers her complaining about what was a superb quality of life here (they had, for example, two chauffeurs) his maternal side is very interesting but also very mysterious. For example...we're not sure his maternal grandfather was really who he said he was. He was however a man who worked hard, brought up his children to be successful and I think in the main happy people. So....doesn't really matter what his name was.

lostinrates

LydiaJ wrote: »

Why funny? I rather suspect it comes from a childhood of Bible stories, in which all the good guys are always Jews. It sort of seeps into the subconscious.

I'm struggling here...but wasn't there some early discussion a bout whether Christians had to be Jews first? The original Jews for Jesus? Its seems logical through the OT especially we should feel allied.