Idea for a story

Jenny

Jenny

I've just heard about a man who taught at a local school in the 1930s. His name was D'Arcy Beazer, he always wore a bow tie, never married and lived with a maiden aunt in Ealing.

Now if that isn't an absolute gift of an idea for a story ........... one which treated Mr Beazer kindly, of course.

Howard

What a great name! Get writing Jenny....

Jenny

I'm probably too lazy to research teaching methods in the 1930s or what it was like living in Ealing at that time!

Jenny

I think I've found Darcy Beazer (without the apostrophe) on the 1901 census! He was three years old and the son of a shoemaker with the same name in Gloucestershire.

Howard

Now this is sounding more like research for a novel ...

Betsie

Or some research for an articel about Darcy Beazer in a local county mag - anyone with a name like Darcy Beazer deserves a bit of fame. 

Jenny

I just put "Hunnybun family" into a google search and discovered - according to one site - that they were mostly solicitors from Godmanchester!!

It only takes an unusual surname to distract me from doing the housework and taking off into the realms of genealogy!!!

Jenny

Janet - In the circumstances that's quite understandable - your OU assignment probably won't mind waiting another day!

What are you studying (with apologies for being nosey!)

Jenny

What a wonderful name! She sounds like a fairy!!

Carol

Family history is a great source of ideas. I had a temporary diversion up a family tree that wasn't mine, although at the start it did appear to be mine.
In this village was a woman who had numerous children by different men, in the 1860's I think, one pair were a father and son, (one took her on after the others death) and a later man was the village bobby.
Every time one of her children was baptised by the local vicar the writing became heavier, his exasperation at this woman was reflected in his writing.It looked like the nib was going to go through the paper at some points.
He could have made comments, some vicars did, but his feelings were reflected by how he wrote. A story in itself.

Jenny

I wonder if her life was like that through choice or necessity.

Carol

Probably through neccesity, I would think.

Hush Puppy

Hi Janet and Jenny.

I used to work with a Pat Hunnybun.  She was the housekeeper at a prep boarding school and I was assistant to her (my first job).  At the time there was a puppet rabbit character on local BBC TV called Gus Hunnybun  The newsreaders used to read out children's birthday cards that had been sent in and Gus would hop, wink etc - once for each year of age.  Pat's real-life son was called Gus, too and when we had new 6-year olds coming to boarding school for the first time she used to cheer them up by telling them that she was Gus Hunnybun's Mummmy.  She didn't let on that it wasn't the rabbit of course and they all thought she was great! 

salwrite

I went to school with a Paul Newman and Dean Martin. I am only 33! Paul is now a secondhand car salesman

Jenny

Hush Puppy - Do you think someone knew of the real Gus Hunnybun and called the rabbit after him?!!

Just imagine how anyone would feel if there was a famous/infamous character with the same name. How awful for anyone with the surname Crippen who had a medical degree! And as for having the name John Prescott .......... !

Evaine

One of the people my boyfriend works with is called James Kirk.  He regularly gets people making 'communicator' noises at him, or wooshing noises as he goes through doors.

Jenny

Looking at this topic in a somewhat skewed way, what if famous people had never become famous - what would they be doing now?

Elvis Presley would probably be a retired lorry driver living in a poor part of town, with a large family who get fed up because he keeps singing country and western songs!