FORTE-ROUSE-MORRINEAU FAMILIES.

This page is dedicated to My Aunty Rosie and her husband Uncle Ernie (ROUSE) and my cousin Anne (Anna) Morrineau.

They had one child, our cousin Anne.  We have always had a close relationship with Anne.

Here is a photo of Aunty Rosie & Aunty Mina sat on the bishops statue in the Cathedral Close Exeter.  The MOCHA Cafe` was in the Cathedral Close.
The statue is of Exeter's Richard Hooker

At other times, we would go to see our Aunty Rosie at the “Mocha Café.” in Exeter beside the cathedral green.  They were always busy cooking and serving people.  I loved to see my Uncle Ernie; he was a very kind man, especially to us children as was uncle Jack, his friend and assistant.

Teresa and I would also look forward to seeing our favourite cousin Anne, who had an infectious laugh and a delightful sense of humour.
Aunty Rosie would greet us like a busy bird gathering up worms, busily fussing us she would sit us down and put a big plate of lovely cream cakes or a gateaux on the table and make us promise to eat them all up. Of course, this was no good if Aunty Mina was there, She would not let us scoff the lot. We had to be satisfied with just one cake. (Stop making a pig of yourself Edmund, mind your manners, use the serviette etc). Therefore choosing the right cake was vitally important. If someone else rejoiced in having a `better cake`, the occasion could easily be marred.

These beautiful cakes were hand made by Uncle Ernie and as you can see were totally scrumptious.

During the War when the Blitz was at it’s height, we went to stay with Uncle Ernie  and Aunty Rosie and Ann in a farmhouse in the country near Cowley Bridge on the Crediton road.

This farm was a safe haven from the Nightly air raids that were taking place at the time.

Early in the morning, Uncle Ernie would sometimes set out with his shotgun to bag some rabbits for the pot. He must have been a good shot because we never went hungry, and I grew to like rabbit stew.

Uncle Ernie used to keep his gun and cartridges in his bureau in a little office in the front of the farmhouse overlooking the fields.
I remember playing with the cartridges and emptying some.  When later when he loaded his gun, it did not go `BANG`. He said it just went POP!   He guessed that I had been messing about in the office,  but he was all right about it really.
I had a deep affection for Uncle Ernie, who was a kind and a very robust and humorous man.  He had lots of patience with us children, he was gifted with a wonderfully perceptive and dry sense of humour. 
He used to smoke these enormous `Havana` Cigars, so he always had this lovely tobacco smell about  him. When he could he would smoke Romeo et Juiettes cigars, otherwise he made do with King Edwards, either way the smell was gorgeous.

Uncle Ernie used to tell me a story about “Princess Elizabeth's birthday cake”
Uncle Ernie was a Master Baker of some repute and one year he was very privileged to be asked to make The Princess Elizabeths Birthday Cake.  This coincided with the day that she was opening "The Princess Elizabeths Royal Orthopaedic Hospital" In Exeter.
He set about his task with diligence and skill. The resultant cake was a wonder to behold. He was instructed to deliver the cake to the new hospital. He was given a password to get him past the gates. Uncle Ernie eventually arrived at the Hospital. As he drew up at the gates, he realised that he had forgotten the password. The sentry at the gate came over to his van and challenged him. `WHO GOES THERE`?  Uncle said the first thing that came into his head. ”Princess Elizabeth's  Birthday Cake”.........and they let him in. They said that “Princess Elizabeths Birthday Cake” was indeed the Password for the day.
Occasionally Aunty Mina would decide that she had trained us for long enough, and would take us out to eat and put us to the test.
There would be a preamble to this blessed event. She would let us know that where we were going to go, we were to be seen in public, and judged by everybody she knew in the world. All these people were going to be there staring at us, just to see if we did anything wrong. If we did, and let her down, she promised us she would give us “what for” when we got home.
Aunty Mina was a stickler for good table manners. One could say she had a fixation with good table manners. Most meals were to be enjoyed in deadly silence,  `use the napkin` `no talking at the table` `sit up straight`.  Her domineering presence was very threatening to Teresa and I,  it was just sheer torture. `Hold your knife and fork properly`. `Sit up straight`  `Take your elbows off the table`. `Do not put too much on your fork at once`.  `Chew your food properly`. Use your serviette etc.

Aunty Mina’s test of manners usually led us to dine at the best hotel in Exeter where we would go for lunch. We often went to the `Royal Clarance hotel`. And of course despite her long and tortuous training everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
I dropped the napkin, spilt the water, shot my peas across the table into her lap. Spilt the gravy on the tablecloth, In addition, I had to go to the toilet constantly.
Well It was her own silly fault, she had me so terrified of the consequences if anything went wrong. And things were always going wrong, and I was showing her up. I became so nervous, I went to pieces. I could not eat the horrid carrots, and then I wet myself because she kept complaining about me going to the toilet all the time  The whole thing was doomed from the start.
Of course I never heard the end of it, for the next twenty years all I heard at any opportune moment would be  “You can’t take those kids anywhere”.

Here are some photographs of the Rouse Family.  Anna married Brian Morrineau  (RIP).

Rosina with Alfonso Taddei at their first Holy Communion.

As children we used to go to the Mocha Cafe' in the Cathedral Close for special treats or birthdays.

Rosie sat with Mina on the steps of the Bishops statue in the Cathedral Green Exeter.

Rosie with Anne and her husband Brian Morrineau.        Teresa with Aunty Rosie at Mardon House near the end of her days.              Mina, Henry, Rosie, Tony toogether at a wedding.

Rosie and Ernie during their courting days.         Below shows them with Anne aged Five.

Family Group.          with Jack relaxing at sandy Bay Exmouth.

We were privileged to be able to have regular summer holidays during and after the War at Aunty Rosies Chalet at Sandy Bay Exmouth.  every day when the weather was fine we would go down the cliff steps to the beach with a picnic.

At the end of the holiday we had to present ourselves to Uncle Ernie at the Mocha Cafe' to be judged as to who was the brownest.  the winner got to choose the first of his special fancy cakes to eat.

A more comprehensive collection of photographs will be seen on my website www.edmundspictures.co.uk in the near future