My Earliest, Scariest Television Moment

I found this meme over at Terry Snyder's, Desktop Genealogist blog, but it was started by Cherry Kinnick at Nordic Blue. My earliest, scariest television moment is without doubt the advert shown in the accompanying video. This ad was aired in the early 70s as part of a series of public information films and was … Continue reading My Earliest, Scariest Television Moment →

Resources for finding your witches

In my post yesterday, I included a reference to a trial for witchcraft. Of course, the people who were executed on that occasion were not the only ones who were accused of such a crime and many people living today are descended from those who came to the attention of witch hunters. I have an … Continue reading Resources for finding your witches →

That Was A Year That Was

The online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, receives a lot of criticism for inaccuracy. To an extent this criticism is warranted, there are some bogus entries. However, Wikipedia is a good starting point for further research. It is particularly useful for adding background to your research because of it's pages devoted to the events of specific years, or … Continue reading That Was A Year That Was →

Some Weekend Muzak

This song will be familiar to anyone who was around during World War 2. It was a favourite of my maternal grandmother and she played it so often my younger brother became quite taken with it. As soon as he heard the opening bars he would jig about in time (or so he thought) to … Continue reading Some Weekend Muzak →

Isles of Scilly – a place my ancestors called home

My great, great, great, great grandfather, James Thomas Shipley was born on the island of St Marys in the Isles of Scilly in 1805. Like his father John Shipley, James worked as a gig pilot, a perilous job which involved rowing out to sea to meet incoming ships, climbing aboard - often using nothing more … Continue reading Isles of Scilly – a place my ancestors called home →