Just seeing the word ‘litmus’ takes me right back to my earliest memories. An odd thing you might think, except my dad was a scientist and I’d visit him in his lab at the Low Temperature Research Station in Cambridge, from being a very small child. This was a long time after the ‘Low Temp’ had been established:
By 1922… the Low Temperature Research Station (LTRS) opened with William Hardy (Director of Food Investigation at the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research) as its Superintendent. This came about because of a recommendation by the Food Investigation Board to set up a ‘cold storage laboratory’ and, given a research environment that owed much to Hopkins, Cambridge was the obvious place for it.
https://www.bioc.cam.ac.uk/about-us/history/establishing-the-department/low-temperature-research-station
Who was ‘Hopkins’ to whom much was owed?
Frederick Gowland Hopkins was born on the 20th June 1861 in Eastbourne. His father died when he was very young, and in 1871 he moved with his mother to Enfield and attended the City of London School. Having published his first paper at the age of seventeen, Hopkins studied chemistry at the Royal School of Mines and at University College, London. After his B.Sc. he read medicine at Guy’s Hospital, graduating in 1894. Hopkins worked for a period as a Home Office analyst and taught physiology and toxicology at Guy’s for four years. It was at a Physiological Society meeting that Foster suggested Hopkins came to Cambridge.
https://www.bioc.cam.ac.uk/about-us/history/establishing-the-department/the-coming-of-hopkins
I can’t tell you what the smell in Dad’s lab was, the various chemicals he used I guess, but I was fascinated by the glass equipment, custom-made for his experiments (some made by him) and he would give me a little book of litmus strips which I could dip in various liquids at home to test for acidity. However interested I was, and however desperate to follow in dad’s footsteps, and those of his brother Sid (Professor Sidney Reuben Elsden – you can google him to find out more!) I was not mathematically or scientifically inclined, and after doing an arts degree, and working briefly in the Civil Service, a pickle onion factory, and Manchester Airport, I became a teacher.
As a teacher in secondary schools, every time I had to venture to the science department, I was taken right back. The wooden benches, the Bunsen burners, the racks of test-tubes, the strange and familiar smells, and the little books of litmus paper. I am now fascinated to discover that litmus is derived from lichens, and the word comes from the Old Norse for ‘moss used for dying‘. My dad always thought we had Norse ancestry – he would have been delighted at the connection!
Lois Elsden 
Thank you, remember visits to The Lab . all those wooden work benches, and high stools.
Sent from my Moto 9 5G Plus
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It absolutely fascinated me, but as I mentioned, sadly no ability or inclination to follow! All well with you and the family? I don’t think I have your current address, we are still where we were. You can find me on facebook, Insta, Threads etc.! xx
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Lois, it’s good to hear from you again and talking about your father. Any news of Allan Bailey who would be a little older than me…and I am now 90!
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Good heavens, Don! Unbelievable! No, sadly I haven’t been able to find any news of Alan, but now you’ve reminded me I will try again. I am still in occasional touch with Sam Partridge’s daughter, and I’ll get in touch with her too.
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Hi, I was looking at the Land Registry for the property next door, and found it was owned at one time by Sidney Reuben Elsden and Erica Barbara Scott Elsden. The Street, Costessey, Norfolk. I guess they were your parents? Built in 1966. Just curious. Best, Neil
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Hi, you’re nearly right, they were my uncle and aunty – my dad’s brother and his wife. My uncle was quite an eminent scientist, a FRS (Fellow of the Royal Society) and Director of the Food Research Institute in Norwich. You can find pictures of him on Google! He had the property next to yours designed and built, in the 1960’s. Costessy is a lovely village, isn’t it!
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Duh! If I’d read the article properly I’d have seen that ! I didn’t really get beyond the lab/science at the start. Anyway, if you are interested, here’s the property in question – it’s rather nice, exceptional garden https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/161608424#/?channel=RES_BUY
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Thank you!
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And no idea why I am now shywonderlandac6d4a2da0 instead of Neil H ??????
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A complete mystery!!! Things move in mysterious ways these days! The property details and photos are amazing – what a lovely place, as it ever was. Sidney died in 2006 but had been in a care home for a few years before. Though physically frail, his mind was undiminished (unlike his wife) and I think he remained alert and “with-it” until the end.
Thanks for getting in touch – it’s brought back many happy memories!
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