Just a short post so that you know I am still here. It has been all go lately, although not in the sense of the moving house type of going. I don’t want to say too much on that front but things are looking positive. I am at least on the hunt for packing boxes and realising that I do seem to have an awful lot of stuff. In case anyone needs to know this, bedding is surprisingly ‘big’ and tricky to stuff into bags or boxes. I just discovered a box that I don’t believe had been opened since I moved in 17 years ago. Its contents can best be described as ‘eclectic’. A pile of family history notes, a set of scales dating from the 1940s, a pair of bookends, a pair of compasses (the sort that tell you which way is north), a pair of compasses (the sort you draw circles with) and some random ornaments, some of which will not make the cut to be moved on again.

Mostly life has been about giving and preparing various talks and leading back to back courses for Pharos Tutors. We are currently in the midst of Sickness and Death but will be moving on to look at Agricultural Labourers after Christmas. If you have ag labs on the family tree you’d be welcome to join in. Today is about the Really Useful Show, when I shall be listening to the presentations of colleagues and friends and chatting about Misfortunate Women. In between, I have a talk to host for Devon Family History Society. Coming up, amongst other things, I have a short presentation about websites for London research to record for Rootstech 2024. That will have to wait until my voice sounds less croaky. If you haven’t registered for the free online event that is Rootstech, you can do so now. I also have a workshop on researching the maternal line to give for The Society of Genealogists, which I hope will be fun. Another red letter day in the diary is the next collaborative research event with A Few Forgotten Women, this time we are investigating students who attended a Somerset school of housewifery. I’ve also been looking at the alleged trip that my great grandfather made to the far east, or did he? You can read about that over on Granny’s Tales under ‘Eastern Artefacts’

This month, two organisations that I have been involved in celebrate their tenth birthdays, our local history group and the Society for One-Place Studies. Where has that ten years gone? It is good to reflect on the fun we’ve had, what we’ve learned and what those organisations have achieved, as well as looking forward to future plans.

Having not been up to speed on where to visit in Ireland that might link with my grandchildren’s Irish ancestry, I am getting in ahead with their Scottish ancestors, as I plan next year’s trip to Scotland. I even managed to add a couple more generations to that tree and have discovered that my daughter and my son in law’s ancestors were both in the same tiny Scottish parish at the same time. In fact, if you believe 300 online trees, they share common ancestors but sadly 300 people can be badly wrong.

I leave you with an elephant, which fortunately I don’t have to pack, as I am no longer its custodian.

An elephant acquired during ancestral travels to the East

‘Tis the season of mists and not so mellow busyness. With the Irish holiday now a dim and distant memory, what have I been up to over the past month? The problem with extended holidays is that the work gets squeezed into the days when I am home. This means that I have been giving talks almost daily since arriving home. This included a plagues and epidemics session for the Society of Genealogists’ ‘Sick London’ course. Having spent a few days with the descendants, I was generously given some real germs, so was able to add verisimilitude by coughing and spluttering my way through this one. For those wanting more germs, my Sickness and Death online course for Pharos Tutors starts soon and there room for more to join in the fun. Next year is already looking ridiculously busy, with forty five talk bookings and I have even taken a booking for 2025. It is all a bit ‘stop the world, I want to get off’.

It has also been Christmas cake and pudding making time. I will draw a veil over why we ended up with industrial amounts of ground almond, which I don’t even like but we did. I offered to donate some of the excess to the descendants. This meant travelling with small bags of white powder and hoping the car wouldn’t need to be searched for any reason.

Now this year’s holiday is past, it is time to look to next year, when we hope to plan to return to Northumberland and Scotland. Cue revisiting my children’s Scottish ancestry and managing to add a couple of new generations. If I were to believe umpteen online family trees, I too have Scottish ancestry but I don’t feel I have enough evidence to make that link. Right (fairly unusual) name, rightish date, no other candidates, seventy miles away – could be him give me something linking these two men somewhere please and as for the longstanding ‘almost crumbling’ Northumbrian brick wall…….. I may never know if my John Hogg is the John Hogg I am almost certain he must be. Still, it wouldn’t do if it was all to easy would it.