A Belgian Beau

 A year ago, we put up our Family Photo Gallery in the Hall

I said at the time I wanted to add in pictures of the guys and the grandchildren, in the space to the right. Since then, Bob collected free Ribba frames being discarded by someone else, and also a large multi-frame in a yardsale for £5

When Gill died, and I had a trawl through the old family photos, I found others I wanted to display. Bob has been scanning them into his computer - but it is a time consuming process. The one of Mum in 1951 had faded to a nasty green, and he reprinted that in fresh black and white. He also took some colour pictures and made them b&w too. We have re-arranged the frames slightly, and put them all on the wall, even the empty frames [a bit like the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square, awaiting appropriate artwork]

The big frame has 15 pictures - us two as children, Bob's parents, cousins, siblings and niblings. [I love that term for nephews and nieces!]

Top centre are the ten cousins in Oz, and below them my maternal grandmother [she died before I was born] Bottom right are my two nieces with Bob's Dad - they are grown up now, and the youngest will finally be getting married at the end of May [after a pandemic postponement]

One picture which has not yet gone into it's frame is this urbane looking chap. We think it was taken just after WW2. It is Bob's Uncle Henri from Brussels. He's looking suave and sophisticated with his pipe and trilby.

When Bob removed it from the original frame to scan it and resize it, we had quite a surprise. Like many photos taken back then, it was printed as a postcard so that it could be sent to someone special. 

There was no greeting, or address on the back. But the recipient was obviously very fond of Henri Van der Zanden, Man About Town! [we are not quite sure who she was though]

I am going to make careful notes to put on the back of the frames, so that future generations can work out just who is who. When Jess is older, I want her to know which one is her great-great-great Aunt Jess, and I want George to spot his gran on the front of that motorbike.

But I am not sure we will ever know just who wore the cherry red lipstick, and left loving kisses on the reverse of Uncle Henri's picture!