“Whatever happens I shall never be anything but glad that I did get my chance to go to the War – it robbed me of my good prospects in life, but I am still alive : where so many gave up their lives in all the splendid promise of their youth.
And it might be that in the after time, by reason of my thus having simply done my duty (and God knows that it was also my pleasure!) some one who loves me may say, in charity, that ‘His life had some smatch of honour in it’.”
So ‘Jottings from my Autobigraphy’ ends. I believe I have come as near to loving someone I’ve never met as may be possible, and now it is “the after time”, and I say – in truth, not in charity – that my grandfather’s life had an abundance of honour in it, and I give thanks for him with all my heart.
*
Can’t help wondering what on earth ‘smatch’ means. It has to be a typo, surely – but no, apparently it’s simply another word for ‘smack’!
There has been a long delay since I was last able to actually work on the essays, but during that time I was aware of a strange mixture of feelings: I’d nearly finished reading them and was keen to complete the circle, but I didn’t want to get to that apparently final point. I was also getting really frustrated that there has been no opportunity recently to get on with it!
Glimpsing my grandfather’s “richly stored and variegated rag-bag” of a mind through his essays has been a hugely rewarding and at times deeply moving experience which I started very reluctantly – and rather erratically – when I brought home several carrier bags crammed with filthy, dusty old papers, sometime in 2010, I think. There are still a few papers to sort, but I believe all the complete essays are now read, scanned, logged, labelled and filed in date order.
So now it is done.
Or is it? I need to start sorting the photos! But that’s not the last of the essays – in fact, I now feel as though I’m starting a different phase. I shall be re-reading some of them, researching further, and continuing the blog. I wonder where the search will this lead me now? To Wikipedia – and beyond!
Fantastic. Definitely beyond.
Love the photo. You are so lucky to have the papers/photos etc.
You could get them made into a book – look at Blurb on the net
Or how about made into a dvd? Please don’t think I’m looking for business but you can see what I mean on http://www.gossamerimages.com and click on `DVD` The site is mine but it will give you an idea of what I mean.
Wonderful memories.
been thinking about a book, funnily enough. Rather daunting, though! Thank you for the info and the links – your wbsite’s lovely
Why not try to get a publisher. Your material deserves an audience.
Worth a try – any ideas?!
Sorry, no contacts in that area but I do think it would be of interest to the general public.
Definitely onwards – such a wealth of material – it’s of historic interest as much as anything else – write a book! Good luck.
I am glad that you will keep blogging! As for publishers, you might try to self-publish with a website like Blurb. I haven’t tried it but I have started thinking about it too.
Its almost like there are too many options! Thanks for the info – Blurb looks useful. I think you should – you seem to have a really rich archive
My father did point out to me the other day that when you do self publish, you do need to have a copy- editor or you run the risk of looking amateurish.
good point!
And it’s all been worth it, hasn’t it?!
Yep! And there’s more to come!