This week won’t go down in history as the best one in 2012: I am very preoccupied by a spot of trouble in the Motherland, and the running could be faster and should be easier.
There is also stuff to smile about though. Because there should always be.
I am planning a sewing marathon at the weekend using my amazing vintage machine, my friends are awesome, evenings are longer and I have a holiday coming soon that requires some actual Summer garments. Real ones, not British Summer ones.
But the biggest smile is about some other kind of vintage machinery. Take a look at this:
It’s a manual for aspiring conductors of steam engines and related machinery made by Ruston, Proctor and Companyof Lincoln.
It was written by an Italian gentleman who left the Motherland to work for Ruston Proctor.
They sent him all over the world, including (wait for this) a trip to Alexandria, in Egypt, where the king’s palace had a lift which was powered by a steam engine. Call me a nerd, but that completely blows my mind.
It might well be that nerd-dom is in my blood anyway, since the author of the book was my great-grandfather.
I had heard “The Story Of Your Ancestor Who Worked With Steam In Lincoln” before, but I never really listened.
Last time I decided to take notes, and turned to the power of The Googler for a bit of fact-checking.
It’s not that I don’t trust tales of family history, it’s just that sometimes you need to take them with a pinch of salt. Like you will do when I tell you that I descend from this guy who fought in this battle.
But back to steam engines: a copy of the book surfaced thanks to The Googler and a very kind (but not cheap) eBay vendor sent it straight to my parents’ house, putting a much-needed smile on Dad’s face.
Hoorray for Cross-European Steam-Engine Super-Nerdiness!
