The following family photo fun fact is in memory of my grandfather, Charles Manclark who would have been 116 years old today (August 10, 2019). Between June 9 to November 11, 1961, my grandparents, Charles and Mary Manclark took a European vacation. On this trip they visited 10 countries including Canada, France, Spain, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, England and Scotland. While driving north on Britain’s A1 road, they stopped to take a couple photos at the border of Scotland and England. As was usual, Charles posed while Mary took a photo of him standing in front of both sides of the "Welcome to Scotland" sign. Fun fact: If you Google for images of the sign "Haste Ye Back to Scotland", you'll get a number of photos that include the photo that Mary took of Charles. In my opinion, this photo is by far the best of the lot including one of the early Beatles who also posed in front of the sign.
If you look closely at the "Haste Ye Back" photo of Charles, you’ll notice him demonstrating one of his very unique skills of being able to touch his nose with his tongue. I’ve always admired this skill but no matter how hard I try, I’ve never been able to master it. I had hoped to take a photo of Carol and myself posing in front of the sign when we visited Scotland in 2012 but, unfortunately, the "Haste Ye Back" sign no longer exists and has been replaced by a more modern "Welcome to Scotland" sign.
The following family photo fun fact is in memory of my grandmother, Mary Manclark who would have been 114 years old today (June 10, 2019). This is one of my favorite photos of my grandmother. The photo was taken on the SS Laurentia on September 14, 1961 during Mary's and Charles' (my grandfather) return trip from their 1961 European vacation. They boarded the SS Laurentia in Glasgow, Scotland on September 12, 1961 and arrived in Montreal, Canada on September 21, 1961. Since Mary was the main photographer on their vacation, this is one of maybe three photos taken of her during their trip. In the photo, Mary is looking out from the port window of the cabin where they stayed on the ship. Mary complained of rough seas during the trip which is not surprising since they were sailing close to the edge of Hurricane Carla, which according to Wikipedia, was “the first Category 5 hurricane of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season”.
