Kitten update - 12 days old

All 4 of my gorgeous kittens now have their eyes open for short periods, dont they look even more scrumptious?

They all seem to be doing well, nursing okay and getting plenty of rest which means Meg gets more time between feeds to have a break from them and pester us for food and milk.
It is going to be hard to part with them when the time comes thats for sure.
Which is your favourite?

Postcard No. 3 - View from the marshes, leigh on Sea

This card is postmarked 11.30 am on August 24th 1909.

Its addressed to Miss B Haines

72 Woodhays (Woodheyes) Road,  Neadsen (presumably Neasden?) N.W.

Message reads:

Dear Bertha,

I am very sorry I did not see you Saturday night. I want to tell you something may i write a letter?

Yours loving Joy

In an unusual twist, the sender has also added her address at the top of the card which reads

Emsleigh Villa, Elmesligh Drive, Leigh on Sea.   I have looked on 1911census.com but there is no-one there called Joy or Joyce at the same address just 2 years after this was posted.

Bertha was 17 at the time as i have found her on 1911 census aged 19. She is a dressmakers assistant, born in Hull, Yorkshire and living with her parents Frederick & Emily Haines.

What a mysterious message it is. I wonder what Joy wanted to tell Bertha and how strange that she asks if she can write her a letter to do so.  Just one of the annoying parts of documenting these postcards is that you may never know just what the message meant.

New Facebook group - We Love Postcards

I have begun a Facebook group called We Love Postcards
Its so that we can share our love of them, post pictures of them from our collection and chat to others who do the same.
If you join us then please spread the word around to all Deltiologists and lets see if we can make it a popular and much used Group.

R.I.P Robin Gibb - Thank you for the music

Barry Gibb's moving tribute to his brother.

Meg's kittens 4 days old

Meg becomes a mummy

I haven't had time to research any more postcards because...
On Saturday 19th May at 6.05 am, my darling cat Meg began giving birth to her first litter of kittens. By 7.45am she had brought 4 gorgeous kittens into the world. 
Its the first time i've had a pet like this have young so i didnt know what to expect. I've been pacing up and down as much as Meg the last few days wondering how it would go but, she did brilliantly and i cant believe it was all over in 1 hour, 40 mins.
She is being a very attentive mum and looks after them brilliantly. 

Postcard No. 2 - A Joyous Birthday

This is one of 3 cards i bought from a seller on eBay because of the beautiful photos on the front. I thought they made a nice change from the scenic type too.

A Joyous Birthday

To:

Miss T Maiden

6 Somers Road,

Halesowen

Nr. Birmingham

Card is franked but the year has not come out.

Stamp is a 1 Penny red with George V so date may be between 1911 and 1935.

Also the card is made in Great Britain rather than the more common ones which were printed in Berlin so it could mean its post WW1.

Message reads:

Dear Trissie,

Just a card to wish you a Happy Birthday & I hope you will have lots of good things.  Will you thank Aunty dear for her letter, and tell her I will answer it as soon as ever I get time.

With heaps of love & xxx from Elsie.

Searching in the 1911 census I could not find a T. Maiden so I next went to 1911census site and used their address search.  I found the house and the family were called Maiden but there was no T. Maiden. Looking down the list of children I found a Beatrice Annie Maiden. Trissie must be short for Beatrice. What a lovely name.

Beatrice is 5 in the 1911 census so if we say its after WW1 then she may be 13 perhaps.  Her father John was a jobbing gardener from Kidderminster, Worcs and at the time she had 3 siblings,  Edwin John,  Reginald William & Percy.

In the message, Elsie says to thank Aunty which may mean Beatrice’s mother, so Elsie and Beatrice would be cousins.

It’s a sweet message and a beautiful photo on the front.

If you know anything about this card or if you think I have made a mistake, please let me know via the email address on the right hand side of my blog.