Michael J Kerwood

Doris and the possing-tub Michael J Kerwood

Followers of this chronicle may remember how Joseph's story, Polly on the Mopstick, concluded at 6.10pm on Monday, April 4th. 1881 with the three Kerwood brothers, Thomas, John and William finalising their first day of toil at their new callings at Olde New Farm in Noake village, Oxfordshire. And readers may also recall, Thomas, in his new-found role of Estate Manager, on vacating his office, had taken off his baggy ratting cap and tousled his greying hair in the warm spring breeze then wiped his moist forehead with his grubby jacket sleeve. He had heaved a thankful sigh that the day would be heralded as a great success. All had gone well and a suitable amount of progress had been made. The three brothers had to agree that if things carried on as they had begun then there was definitely a future for them working for Isaac Jakeman and his innovative project. Even so, Thomas accepted that all the unprecedented fortitude that was dropping at his immediate family's feet, as it was similarly at John's and William's, may at some stage come to an abrupt and crashing finality. 'When, and more importantly, at what cost?' he reflected. Nothing was ever etched in marble. Heartache he could handle... heartbreak was a totally different matter altogether. He couldn't help but fret that it might not be too long before he found himself falling foul of one or the other... if not both simultaneously. Polly on the Mopstick had revolved around John Kerwood's son, Joseph, who was eight years old in 1881. In 1951, at the age of 78, when the paperback cover photos were taken, he may possibly have been the last remaining member of the Oxfordshire branch of the Kerwood family who were alive in 1881. He is pictured on the front cover of the paperback edition with his wife Eliza. His attire speaks volumes apropos his arduous lifestyle. On the reverse cover joining them in a family group is their youngest son, William, along with their eldest, John, standing behind their youngest daughter, Doris. Front and centre is Michael, William's only son and Joseph & Eliza's only grandson. Doris and the possing-tub, is Eliza's recollection of events and it reflects her life from a young rag-a-muffin right up until she is a beautiful woman of twenty.