For the most part, this post will be about our times. But first...
from Betty Jane, who attended the 2008 gathering of Punnetts in Punnett's Town...
I came across my little booklet with the story of Punnetts Town and it says “The first people to obtain land ….. belonged to three families: the Lucks, the Kemps and the Punnetts”
“A James Punnett had married Ann Cooper in Heathfield in 1738 and it was probably his grandson Samuel who in 1783, was granted the copyhold …..” “Luck and Punnett were both carpenters ….”
Until recently, I accepted as fact that we came from France to the Kent/Sussex area, but if that's true, we certainly became Anglicised quickly ~ no French names in our Caribbean tribe or in the Punnett's Town folks... the earliest on record there being James. I wonder if Betty Jane and Patricia heard any speculation among the gathered Punnetts about a French past?
How I wish we had letters or diaries from our forebears! I hope our descendants will fare rather better... undoubtedly, we will leave behind more personal records of our time.
However, to the present...
It recently struck me how many artists of different stripes we have in our family. Betty Jane's Amanda is making extraordinary blankets; Malcolm's Zen's paintings are being exhibited and collected; and together the two cousins created a delightful book, Benny's New Friend. Cousin Mary (daughter of Desmond and Helen) in Toronto is painting again after a pandemic and health-related hiatus. Among Denise's daughter Lynn's paintings is one that Nan Peacocke declared "would make Rembrandt gasp". My sister Lynn's daughter, Laura Waldron, makes beautiful copper pieces. Malcolm's Rachael and her daughter India make art a way of life. And, I'd wager that much art of which I am unaware is being made by family members around the globe. And there's Dermot, son of John D. and Heather, who is a highly regarded and well established artist in the UK.
So, a plea to family artists, in any medium, do send me some work to show on this blog. Please.
But, hey, for great art, look no further than our magnificent Valley...
Happy family news... Colin's first born, Daniel (the handsome guy below is my nephew!), and his partner Adora got married on April 16. Welcome to the family Mrs. Daniel Punnett!
I also have some great Vinci news to share...
Chanel M. Sutherland has won the 2022 CBC Short Story Prize for Beneath the Softness of Snow. In 2021 she won the CBC Nonfiction prize for her story Umbrella, and she is the recipient of the 2022 Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship, a component of the Quebec Writers' Federation Fresh Pages initiative. Born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Chanel moved to Montreal when she was 10 years old. She holds a BA in English literature from Concordia University and is currently writing her first book, a collection of short stories that explore the Black Caribbean immigrant experience.
There are links to both stories here
and Betty Jane's friend, Cecil Browne, has been shortlisted for the 2022 Commonwealth Short Story Prize
and
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