#52ancestors (Wk6): Social Media – Alfred Vickery

Surnames provide those instinctive foundation ‘props’ when first getting stuck into drawing up a family tree. Over time, stories become the driving interest, but when I began, it was always those names. When it comes to this week’s #52ancestors theme of ‘Social Media,’ surnames provide an easy ‘hashtagable’ way of sharing my interest areas, not …

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#52ancestors (Wk5): Oops – Thomas Backhouse

When I first started doing my family tree as a teenager in the 1980s, I thought my first mistake was pretty justified. Unilaterally, I decided that when it came to research, I was only interested in my Mum Mary’s side of the family. It was because my Dad’s Dad, Spencer Simpson (1914-1982) was such a …

#52ancestors (Wk4): Education – Rhoda Phillips

While the theme for this week’s chosen ancestor is ‘Education,’ the inspiration for the choice is related to a simple link, more to do with the home address for the last few decades of her life – School Hill, Little Sandhurst, Berkshire. My 2x great grandmother, Rhoda Phillips. Rhoda Phillips [7 February, 1876 (Dipley, Hampshire) …

#52ancestors (Wk3): Out of Place – Sarah Halfacre

The Basingstoke Canal navigates its way through the area of Surrey and Hampshire that I call home. Never a real commercial success after its completion in 1794, it was brought back to life in the last forty years through volunteer restoration. The waterway does however provide the picturesque backdrop to the early life of my …

#52ancestors (Wk2): Favourite Photo – Ellen Eliza Sawyer (or ‘Nana Coombes’)

Casting a spell for many a year, this photo of my great-grandmother Ellen Eliza Sawyer [b. 30 March, 1898 (Dogmersfield, Hants) – d. 1 March, 1953 (Guildford, Surrey)] has entranced three generations of my family – her son (my grandfather, Frank); her grand-daughter (my Mum, Mary) and yours truly. 'That' photo of Ellen Eliza, As …

Going Back

Family history research has become a bit of an addiction over the years, taking hold with varying intensities since I was a teenager. In recent years, that interest has become a bit of a comfort blanket, taking up ever increasing amounts of my time, with more of a passion for the human stories, and the …

Sounds of 2022

Selecting my favourite tunes of 2022 has not come so easy this year, but listening back to releases and discoveries from during the past twelve months is always a useful process in itself. Updating a playlist regularly called 'Now Playing: in my Embassy Ballroom' keeps me on top of things to an extent. That names …

Celebrating Janice Long

Yesterday (13th January, 2022) was the funeral and celebration of the life of Janice Long. The news of her death on Christmas Day as 2021 came to a close, hit me like a kick in the gut. I was simply devastated, and my heart went out to her family – husband Paul, children Blue and …

Sounds of 2021

With more time to spend listening this year, I have made twenty selections for my 'Sounds of 2021' playlist. 'Unwrapping' my musical tastes thanks to a music algorithm is not really my way. Last year I was told that the genre that best typified me was 'Seattle Indie'? This year, I'm told that 'Chamber Psyche' …

“Sorrow and Bliss” by Meg Mason – but especially bliss!

After a run of pretty heavy going yet still inspiring non-fiction reads, I was determined to plump for a novel that would be easier on the eye for the next book I was to open for the late summer of 2021. I first heard Meg Mason (2021), "Sorrow and Bliss", London: Weidenfield and Nicolson enthusiastically …