Wet weekend in Wales

I spent May bank holiday weekend in southern Wales. We spent the night in Cardiff, dodging stag parties, hoards of Englishmen in silly outfits, I was so proud.

We collected our car in the morning. A visit to Cardiff Bay was literally a wash out, but by the time we got to Swansea the rain had stopped and it was clear when we got to the Gower Peninsula. We nearly got blown off the cliffs by the gusts of wind. We had dinner in Tenby and spent the night in a place called Manorbier.

In the morning we went exploring the beach below the hotel. I love climbing over rocks and dodging the tide.
We drove along the Pembrokeshire coast and stopped at St Govan's Chapel. The we headed north through Pembroke and on to St. David's. The catherdral is purple. Seriously, it's built of purple stone, I've never seen anything like it.

After two days on the coast we turned inland to head to the Brecon Becons. We stayed the last night in a hostel in the middle of nowhere, on top of a Welsh mountain. In the morning, we had breakfast at a Welsh farmhouse and I chatted to the farmer about the age of the various parts of the house. I'm never off duty!

Later, we trekked for what seemed like hours to see a series of waterfalls. It was a wet day to begin with. We tried to dodge the mud and puddles, but nearly came home with a case of fin rot. It was worth the effort though.

After three days of driving, it felt strange to be back on foot on Tuesday. And I miss eating Welsh lamb burgers.

The holidays are comin', the holidays are comin'.....

I'm heading back to Wales, but this time on my 'olidays. Haven't these past two weekends been holidays??? Well, um, no, actually. Although I did take much of Friday off to check out a couple of real beauties, no not the Middleton sisters but some old WWII clunkers, see below. Yeah, I'm now completely obsessed with WWII aircraft and planning to attend the airshow at Biggleswade August Bank Holiday. But back to this month. So we made all our arrangements yesterday. We are off to Wales, collecting a car in Cardiff and heading north to take in the Western coast and the national park at Snowdownia. My friend wants to climb Mount Snowdon. Yep, good luck, I'll be doing a drop off and heading somewhere a little flatter that day. Mountains are ok, but rugged coastline is more my thing and if I'm going to plunge to my death, I at least want to hear a terrific splashing sound before I meet my maker. Not that I have the nuts to go that close to the edge. But anyway, am looking forward to some time by the sea and my ever beach-ready bod is dying to dive into the freezing waves. Woooooo-hoooooooooo

Royal Wedding Day

I wasn't looking forward to the royal wedding this past weekend. I didn't mind it in theory, but having it rammed down your throat by our imagination-free media has been something of a problem the past six months. I had planned to give the whole thing a skip and bury myself in work. No chance.
A persuasive friend hauled me into London for the day. So if you can't beat them, join them, but then beat them all to a good spot! Once there, I was determined we were going to have a decent view of something. I elbowed my way through the crowds and found us a high wall on Whitehall with a great view of the action. See the X on the map below, above the label Number 5.

This is the point all the cars en route to the Abbey turned on to Whitehall, and we had a nice glimpse of the bride on her way. On the return journey we could see the carriage with the couple coming all the way up Whitehall and then turn back into Horseguards. Again, the bride was on our side, I gotta say it was pretty cool. We also had a laugh as we were some of the first to see the escaped horse!

However, definitely the highlight of the day was the flypast. We had gone back up to Trafalgar Sq to see the whole gang do the balcony appearance. They announced there would be a fly past by a Lancaster WWII bomber. They showed footage from the cockpit but I didn't realise the route would pass over us. Then we heard the most wonderful chuddering mechanical whirr, looked back over our shoulders to the skies over St Martins in the Fields, and suddenly the aircraft appeared, a Lancaster flanked by the lithe forms of a Spitfire and a Hurricane. They passed immediately over our heads and were so close, not more than 200-300 feet above us.

I have to admit for the first time all day, I felt a bit emotional. Show me a happy, beautiful young couple in love and I'm like yeah, whatever. Show me something old and I'm all a-titter.

Anouncing my radio debut...

Well, my research's radio debut that is. BBC Radio 4's family history programme (which ran for several episodes last fall... perhaps you caught some of them) did a special on-off on the census on Saturday. 2011 is census year here in Britain and TYR wanted to research the history of a street (Fox Lane in Leyland, Lancashire) using the old census records that are now available to the public and share that information with current residents of the same properties. This is where I came in, digging through the old census returns, trying to piece together the stories of some of these families. I even found the descendants of one family of occupants from 1901 and they were brought along to meet the current residents, who were floored. Having researched the families, and found the living relatives through records, it was fun to then hear their voices, especially as they talked about and described their ancestor who they remembered from childhood. Have a listen: Tracing Your Roots

I've just been doing some editing on a piece for the magazine. Sort of like those script doctors they bring in to help fix a movie script that's not really ready to shoot. This was a story from a reader about Irish family that emigrated to the United States and fought in the Civil War and also the Spanish American War. At WHO live last weekend we talked about it and I said I'd see if I could do something with it. It then dawned on me that this April is the 150th anniversary of the siege of Fort Sumter and the beginning of the war. What a great coincidence! So with that in mind I've been researching the Civil War and associated records for the last week. I don't usually get too sentimental about the States, but reading the other day about the secession of South Carolina literally sent chills down my spine. We have at least four Union soldiers in our own family: Silas Brown (Maine 8th Infantry), Charles Henry Patterson (Wisconsin 30th Infantry), Cornelius Bovee (Wisconsin 1st Infantry) and Michael Joseph O'Brien (prob. one of the Mass infantry regiments). I know one deserted and nother came home half starved. No "rebs" in our family, as far as I know, although that would certainly make things a lot more colourful! Anway, it's been nice to focus on a bit of American history for a change.

Also did some research that may be used for a radio programme. If it comes off, I'll post a link so everyone have a listen.

WHO live

A year ago I endured the scariest plane ride I've ever had to get to London for the Who Do You Think You Are Live show. It may sound a bit corny, but it changed my life. I met Nick Barratt, went back to NYC, quit my job and turned my life upside down. It was a good move.

A year later I was back, working the other side of the tables. For those of us in the genealogy world, this show is like the mothership. And as a freelance researcher and writer, I work independently and this was a chance to see people I know, meet others and just spend some time chatting and sharing ideas. I spent three days at the stand for Your Family History, the magazine I contribute to, and two days I did some one to one "Ask the Expert" advise sessions. I had resisted volunteering for these - I was intimidated by the "expert" label, and last year had actually signed up for one as the person who needed advise - which is how I met my friend Matt. But some persistent encouragement from friends made me cave. It went really well and I sent several people away with ideas to follow up.

I finally got to meet several other genealogists I knew by name and their work - shared several laughs and a bit of gossip with William Bortrick, went for a drink with Sara Khan (she researches the UK WDYTYA show), and finally had the chance to get to know our editor Laura Berry quite well over the three days. They're all really cool. We talked ideas and future plans for the magazine and websites, and even managed to find time to sell a whole pile of back issues and sign up a bunch of new readers.

So the show marked a milestone for me, and I guess this past twelve months has been about launching my career in genealogy and research. This is the beginning of phase two. Whatever that turns out to be.

Just arrived home from my first ever trade show. I spent the weekend at the Listed Property Owners Club show. The punters come to peruse the various craftsman, architects, surveyors that offer their services to owners of historic properties, along with various oganisations that promote conservation. I was there with my boss Nick Barratt to promote the house history research that we offer.

I was quite shy at first, but after I'd listened to Nick talk to some people I jumped in and had a go. Like the familysearch booth at Woking last November, once I got going I actually really enjoyed myself. The first day was relatively slow, but today we exceeded our target for book sales (feels great to make a sale - again a first for me!) and we had one couple commission a project on the spot. I'll be doing the research so that's work for me as well.

Saturday night we went to a reception for the Heritage Together group hosted by Project Book. I got to meet other people who do what I do, which is so rare. I work in isolation most of the time, at home or travelling. Last week I bumped into someone I knew at the National Archives and it was so nice to see a familiar and friendly face. So this was a great chance to get to know other researchers and people interested in history and historic buildings. A terrific evening.

I've just been watching an episode of Britain's Best Buildings on Hardwick Hall. That's the house we visited with Jonathan aged 5; he popped out of the car and noticed scaffolding on the west wing, pointed to it and said "Look, an extention". As the programme ended I commented that I wouldn't mind doing the research for a programme like that. And as the credits rolled I spotted that the Archive Researcher credited was Nick Barratt - my boss! So there's a possibility that I will work on a programme like that.

George Baron went to New Zealand, mined a load of gold, got on a ship and promptly sunk. But before that, he was a baker the Bedfordshire village of Shefford. Today I found he bought a house there. Doesn't sound that exciting right, except that all my forebearers were miserably poor and invariably destitute. The fact that one of them could afford to buy a house in the 1850's is frankly an astonishing discovery. Here's his signature.And one of the documents states that his father was Joseph Baron formerly of the parish of Watton in Herts. We didn't know that's where he died. It's another clue to follow up. Look for more conveyances in Watton. The hunt goes on...

Now my Christmas (really more New Years) holidays are over let's look ahead to the coming year. I'll be attending some trade shows, and by attending I mean I'll be behind the desk talking to people and telling them how wonderful my research is! I'll be moving to London. Because let's be honest, it's about bloody time. I have wonderful friends in Luton and of course my lovely Mum. But I spend so much time getting from A to B, it's using up an unacceptable chunk of my life. (although I do read and do work on the train). Ok, I just want to be back in the city, 'nuff said. I'm going to make use of the cheap flights from outer London airports and see some sights. I want to hit Rome and Morocco again. And that's just for a start. It's probably also time I went to Ireland to meet my relatives. 2010 was the year of mass marriage among my friends. In 2011 I don't have to feel bad about not getting another friend a wedding present (I was broke). Although I wish them all joy and lots of fat, happy babies.

So resolutions are to eat more chocolate and swear less. Not to over-analyse and to be more gutsy. I didn't do so bad with the last one in 2010 but there's a long way to go yet. I'm going to work on developing my career - cuz I never had one before and we all love to play with a new toy. I'm working on lining up some NYC friends to come visit here soon, and there's a rumour that Lucy and the two carpet munchers may be paying a visit to the old country. That would rock the house!

I wish you all a great 2011.

Foxy ladies

Stephen dug this picture out to put up in my room in Dallas

Wasn't Mum cute?!

Christmas adventure, part III

I made it to Dallas for Boxing Day and a delayed Christmas. We managed to open half our presents before dinner, after which I conked out (I asked Mum why no one woke me up - we tried several times she countered) so we wound up Christmas am on the 27th. As the much-hyped "Christmas Nazi", I had always tried to ensure that recent Christmases weren't over in a frenzied flash of paper shredding, but even I would never have stretched it out that long. Alas the next day we had to say goodbye to Stephen, but it meant I was the only one left to spoil the rest of the week. Had a lovely time with Mum and Dad. I ate buffalo burgers and deep fried pickles and tons of delicious Mexican food, although I could have popped into old town McKinney's surely authentic English pub for some yummy grub from home. Dad and Mum have been slowly unpacking all the boxes from our house in Saudi Arabia. So there were pieces of my childhoold strewn about the place. In every room I encountered something else - family photographs, children's books, my great-grandfather's Chinese cabinet - that I hadn't seen in well over a decade. It's strange to be reunited with your past.

Am now in Atlanta for a week. Enjoying cuddles with Jacob and flirty smiles (but hands off!) from Andrew. One thing I miss in England is having someone to play games with. Since leaving Dave in NYC, I don't really have an outlet for my insanely competitive streak which has sadly lain dormant, so I took it out on Jonathan in a brutal round of junior monopoly. Play has been delayed due to lack of light, but tomorrow I'll finish him off. Or maybe I'll take pity and let him win. Yeah, not a chance.

Christmas adventure, part II

Greetings from the Minneapolis Airport Hilton! As the snow was finally cleared from Heathrow Airport in London, a snowstorm was wending its way to the Atlanta airport. I could have made it to Atlanta today, but connection to Dallas was cancelled and I wouldn't have arrived there until Monday earliest. So yet another rebooking - the fourth. (Christmas next year will involve a journey of no more than 100 miles!) Christmas night in an airport hotel isnt what I would have chosen for myself, but I had three diazepam's on the plane so I'm in very good spirits! And had a grilled ahi tuna sandwich with honey bacon and wasabi mayonaise for dinner downstairs which beats boring old turkey and sprouts any day.

Tomorrow morning it's on to Dallas at the crack of dawn. Flight on to Atlanta for visit with Lucy & co. has been postponed till New Years Day so I'm not losing any of my vacation time. And later arrival back in the UK. Have just seen the first photos of Christmas at Lucy's in Atlanta. Apparently Jacob is now a cowboy (the pround owner of a plush rocking horse) and Andrew has fallen in love with Toy Story and is carting Woody around all over the house with him.

It's 1am in England and I'm already drifting....

Christmas adventure, part I

So apparently it takes at least seven days to get out of England! My flight to Atlanta on Saturday was cancelled after just one and half hours and three inches of snow. The airport claimed they were working like mad to clear it and get planes flying. We watched out the windows for five hours after it stopped and saw nothing. Nobody was doing anything. BAA is full of crap!

But people are terrific. As we collected our bags a young chap overheard me tell my father that my phone was running out of juice. He offered me his charger, and when my flights bags came onto the carousel he told me to keep it and send back to him at my convenience. So kind! Dad was able to get me rebooked for a Monday morning flight so I headed home. We all packed onto the Heathrow Express. When I got to Paddington the Tube was out of commission so I joined the queue for taxis. Only an hour wait and my driver and I chatted about the history of his cottage in Essex. In the queue I chatted to a family who had been on their way to Shanghai for a wedding planned around their coming out from England - they bought the tickets in February! I began to think I wasn't so hard done by. Luck was definitely on my side, as I made it onto the last Thameslink train from St Pancras back out to Luton that night. I even had a seat!

While so many people slept on the floor at Heathrow I was tucked up warm in my little flat. My bedroom is very cold, so I've pulled out the sofa bed and moved into the living room - watching the 37" flat screen telly from my bed - this isn't pretty nice. The airport is still frozen solid so today's flight was always cancelled. Thankfully they announed it online last night so I was saved the horror of travelling to Heathrow again today. The first available flight was on the 25th, but at least I went to bed last night knowing I could sleep in and I had a new flight arranged. With five days - and not too much more snow forecast - I may just be third time lucky.

I'm in good spirits considering. I just need to keep as busy as possible. I spent much of today at Paddy and Mike's. Now only four days to go.

Christmas starts here

For me Sloane Square means Christmas: Partridges, Holy Trinity, blue trees and sparklers...Christmas starts here.
Had a very successful Christmas shopping expedition this afternoon, and bought myself a present...I'm a sucker for pretty dresses.

My family history magazine article made the cover this month! I'm not just buried in the back pages.

I've made an exciting discovery today. Most of my family were so hopelessly poor they never show up on records other than the parish registers. But working as a researcher for the past five months has introduced me to all kinds of new records, and I'll be darned if I didn't find some family in a place I never would have expected to see them.

I was looking at the tithe map for the Beds village of Whipsnade (Whipsnade is my special place) and found my family listed on the tithe apportionment.

They were occupying cottages marked on the map - to be honest I wouldn't have been surprised to learn they'd been living under a hedge somewhere - but no they're on the tithe. It's nuts.

Cottages labelled 68 are the ones my family were living in. I'm trying to determine if the cottages are still there. And if they are, well I might just go bother the people who live in them.

I've got a new obsession, and I'm afraid it's twitter. You don't have to join up to follow my twitterings as there's a web address: twitter.com/bilaeva

Although if you do join, you can send me messages. And you can follow others. I highly recommend Armando Iannucci (Lucy: you'll remember him as the creator of the Mr Tony Blair doll) and Graeme Swann who is a very funny dude.

My article on cricket history and genealogy has gone to the copy editor for prep for the December issue, and today the November issue came out, which has my first Ask the Experts Q & A on US genealogy. It's the first article to have my name on it, and there's a photo as well. Eeek! I also had to send a short bio to go with the cricket article. Mum and I read some of the ones from previous issues today, people with PhDs, lecturers, authors of several books, we just laughed. In the end I went with "Genevieve Bovee is a family history researcher and joined Sticks Research Agency in 2010. She is a former director of the New York Family History Center." Not the most exciting, but New York always sounds a bit impressive, right?

I just need to publish a book. Then I can bark with the big dogs!

This is a copy of the magazine containing my first published article on sale in my local WHSmith newsagents here in Luton.

They weren't carrying the magazine a few months ago when I first got here, but I popped in today to see if they have it now. I was awfully excited. I've been going to that shop to buy magazines ever since I was old enough to read.

This is where I went to work on Wednesday!Seriously. The local archives for the towns around Canterbury is actually located in part of the cathedral.

This is really funny!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vcr38/The_News_Quiz_Series_72_Episode_5/

Here are some things I think are really cool (yeah, I'm supposed to be working):

The Bell Rock Lighthouse
William Tyndale
High speed trains
Blue cheese
Venice
The Name of the Rose
anything Basque

My job is also really cool. Just not right now.

On QI they're talking about how waiters in the US will chase after you if you leave a restaurant without tipping.

This is true!! Happened to me twice in New York. Really bizarre and very annoying. First time we were too shocked to protest and paid more. The second time... I let 'em have it, and I don't mean more cash.

My favourite joke

What do you call a cow with no legs?
Ground beef.

The speed of life

I'm on the high speed train from St Pancras to Kent. It's the first time I've used the line and it's exciting. I love going through tunnels and at this speed it felt like we could come out almost anywhere, Russia or perhaps even China. Dagenham as it happens. I loved the roar of the train as we sped through the tunnel. I wonder just how fast we were going.I love speed, though I'm too afraid to drive more than ninety. Hopefully one day ill get to drive a supercar! The train is smooth which makes a nice change after the bumps of my recent plane rides. And I remember the old Eurostar route along the main line to Dover, commuting back and forth to Brussels. You flew through Belgium and France only to get stuck behind some doddering local service on the English side. We were ALWAYS late arriving. This is brilliant. No brain hemorrhages!

I went to Lord's today. Technically it's the home of the MCC and the Middlesex County Cricket, but really it's the home of cricket (as they announce on their masthead) and rightly so. If none of this is making sense, kindly follow the link provided. I was doing a bit of research on a professional cricketer for a magazine article. Now why specify a professional cricketer, why not just a cricketer? Because, the distinction between amateur and professional is a very important one in the history of cricket. Amateurs were men of means and talent who played for county sides and for England, but only received their expenses. The professionals were the folks who had the talent but not the means. They weren't gentlemen - a big no-no in English society until, well, like not that long ago - and who had to play for money, also a big no-no. It's very complicated and isn't meant to make sense. A few exceptional cricketers somehow managed to be a bit of both. Gentlemen who also made sure they got a share of the gate takings. Amateur in theory, but professional in practice. I'm a bit like that. Still living on other means but trying to get my share of the professional genealogical takings. They say "you can't ride two horses with one ass". Well W.G. Grace and G.M. Bovee have had a go at it at least!

No one can accuse Worcester of having nightlife. I know it's Monday but I had to get my dinner from Mickey D's. And I'm not real big on cardboard hamburgers. Still it's quite a charming place 9-5 so looking forward to seeing it reawaken tomorrow. I've been here at least once before. We stayed with Saudi friends the Wilmers back in the day. Not that I remember much of Worcester. I stayed indoors with Alix - we played seven rounds of Monopoly and made up dances to Kim Wilde records.

Jacob

Old friends run into at JFK: 1 + his newly minted Mrs.

Pairs of boots purchased: 4

Lunches at Chilli's: 2

Naps taken on Auntie Genevieve's shoulder: 6

Peanut butter M&Ms consumed: oh hundreds

Number of hours on a plane tonight: 9, uggh

I have a name!

Andrew has given me a name. I'm Ghee. We've been pointing to me and calling me Genevieve and trying to get him to say my name, and tonight he said, "Nigh-night Ghee". I'm the fifth person to get an Andrew name, after Mummy, Daddy, Goggy, Dad-Dad. And now Ghee.

Happy birthday wishes from Stephen and The Onion and some of our friends at the BBC:

Spooky

White polyester suit, loafers, shaggy shoulder length hair, small round frame glasses. For a moment I thought the ghost of John Lennon was haunting TNA. On closer inspection, it was just some other old hippy.

It's not the first time this has happened, only last time I saw someone dressed like that it turned out to be John's son Sean Lennon. My first thought - er, get your own look, dude. I'd have told him that as well, but I was a guest of the band playing that night and it's not the done thing to upset their friends. Especially when they're a famous artist also signed to the record label you work for. But still, he looked RIDICULOUS.

And I'm pretty sure the guy in the light green sweater swanning around the reading room this afternoon is Paddy Ashdown. Yes, former Liberal party leader and Bosnia peace envoy. Shall I ask him why the UN really made asses of themselves and allowed the deaths of tens of thousands of Bosnian Muslims? It's a fair question.

I've written a piece for a family history magazine about blogging and genealogy. I was sent the mock up today. Do I really need to say how just how exciting this is!!!

About two years ago my friend Lexia and I were talking about our ambitions. She wanted to paint and I wanted to work as a genealogy researcher. Lexia suggested we both make goals . I actually did it, but I had forgotten it until just now. And here is the list I made back in 2008:

• Attend non-LDS conferences and participate in workshops
• Open LDS family history center to the public
• Identify genealogy companies and archives in UK and US, and look for jobs/intern/volunteer
• Network and communicate with other genealogists
• Become a published genealogist

I was thorough, I even had sub-goals and recorded my first round of achievements. I've done them all now! I'm really quite chufffed to have remembered this.

I'm in print

I'm about to be published. The research company I work for also publishes a new family history magazine called Your Family History. I've written an answer to a reader's query for the Ask the Experts section. I've had to supply a mugshot for that. Yes, my face will be on newstands (if a big gust of wind blows the magazines open to page 9). I've also written a short piece on the joys of family history blogging for the On the Web section. And there are more Ask the Experts queries and articles in the pipeline.

I've also just bagged two new projects. One from a repeat client (this is number 3) with more fascinating family members to follow up. And a house history project in Kent. I've done one house history - villa in Blackheath - and this is my favourite type of project. They combine family history, local history, geography and architectural history. Everything I enjoy, and a good transferrable skill. TNA records are only in London, but you can do a house history anywhere. You know, should I ever decide to escape to the country...

Which reminds me, I'm in the market for a village. (No I'm not going to buy a whole town Kim Basinger style) I want to write a history of a small town or village, describing the history of all the properties, the families who lived there over centuries, how the wider historical events and movements affected (or passed by) my little corner of England (or Wales or Scotland - who knows where I might end up living in the future).

Watching New York episode of Stephen Fry in America... a rare moment of nostalgia. When I see New York on film or television it doesn't seem possible I lived there. Even when I was there, the New York in the movies seemed like somewhere else. Oh wow, he's just landed on a ferry at Lewes, Delaware. I was in Lewes today. The one in Sussex.

Dreaming of TNA

When my sleep is disturbed, my dreams are invaded and become wrapped up in National Archives cataloguing numbers. WO 363, ADM 188, CUST 47, CP 165, RAIL 66... They swirl around in my head and keep me from falling back into a deep sleep. I think it may be my subconscious mind trying to make order out of chaotic thoughts.

Last night it was IR numbers. Part of my brain was trying to interpret a confusing email I had received - that was assigned IR8. There were other IR numbers assigned to different parts of the dream. IR stands for.... you guessed it, Inland Revenue. Now that really is a nightmare!!!

Are you looking at me?

I found out today that my 3x great grandfather David Woodcroft had a glass eye. Great for creeping out the grandkids.

Francis and Frances sitting in a tree

What do you do when you like hearing your own name? Marry someone with the same name and get a double dose every day.

I hate those family lines that stop up suddenly in the 19th century, it just doesn't look right. This is England, we've got parish records. Every line should make it to at least the 1700s. I've been working on some of these stunted lines (remember Richard and Judy), and today it was the turn of the Gilby's to be unmasked. Ann Gilby Sharp died in Kensworth in 1873 at the ripe old age of 91. We had no parents for her. Genealogists talk about brick walls, this was more of a speed bump. Her name at marriage was Gilby, but at birth was recorded as Guilby, far enough down the microfiche that Mum had not found it all those years ago. Thank goodness for familysearch!

Ann was baptised in Hitchin, at St Mary's church, daughter of Francis Guilby and Elizabeth Fountain. I love that name. Francis' parents were Francis Gilby and Frances Cooper, married on 12 October 1733. I don't think I'm going to have this problem. A dude named Genevieve would be an interesting creature indeed. Francis parents were Matthew Gilby (another name I really like) and Mary Turner. And it stops there, familysearch doesn't have a baptism for Matthew, but I'll track him down some other way.

There's heavy rain today, and the gentle rumble of distant thunder. Wonderful.

It sounds just like the tape we used to listen to in Saudi Arabia. People in Alaska have those lamps so they don't get S.A.D. and we used to listen to a cassette tape of the sound of rainstorms to remind us what moisture was. We'd turn off the lights in the living room and pull the curtains to make it dark like it was overcast outside, then open the door slightly as if the sound was coming from outside and switch on the tape and just listen.

The sound of rain still makes me happy.

Birthday starts early

Dad returns to Dallas on Wednesday, so he gave me his birthday presents early:


I raved about the series the BBC did recently on the Norman Conquest period and thoughtful Dad had a bright idea. And we found this beautiful book on St Albans Abbey at the library when I was doing some research, and he's got me my own copy!

We always used to hire a car over August bank holiday weekend when I would come home from New York, so we decided to keep up the tradition. I wanted to see the Elizabethan garden that English Heritage restored at Kenilworth Castle.

Then we went to the West Country. First to Wells, where the cottages are made of a salmon-coloured stone.

Wells Cathedral

And just behind the Wells Bishop's palace are open fields - I can't imagine a more English landscape.

The ruins of Glastonbury Abbey.

We drove along the Dorset coast. It was a beautiful day (perhaps the only day in August that the sun has shone) and the sky and water were a wonderful blue. This is Chesil Beach.

We also made a stop in Weedon in Northamptonshire where my great-great-grandparents Thomas Dellas and Sarah Ann Baron were married at the Weedon Barracks. No pictures though - I took snaps of the wrong buildings. Ooops.

"It is very vexatious to honourable feelings, when we go into society at home and abroad, to meet foreigners of all nations covered with medals and orders, when we, who have had the pleasure of licking them in every part of the world, have neither orders nor medals." - a Wellington-era British officer argues discretion is NOT the better part of valour.

I love my work! I go to London all day, and I work on the train on the way, and on the way back (although occasionally I read a book that's not work related although they're historical in some way). And then as I walk down the steps at Luton station on my way home I start to get excited, because soon I'll be home and I can get my computer out and do some MORE WORK. Not like direct work, that's what I do in the archives, but some background reading, maybe a little tinkering around on familysearch, trawling through the National Archives online catalogues. Today, I picked up a couple more small projects. I finished my first magazine piece this week which should be running in the next issue but one, and I've got two more on the go.

Don't worry, I haven't become some kind of workaholic. I still have time for tinkering with other stuff, tending my garden, and watching all those awesome new programs on the BBC about Normans and Saxons. In fact, it seems I've spent an awful lot of time lately watching middle aged men wandering around damp fields and tripping over ruined buildings. Although the Norman series went to Sicily and Jerusalem this week which are not damp and completely amazing. And I did have some play time tonight. I met up with Dad and went to dinner in Chinatown. We ate spicy beef and I chattered about...err, work.

I love being in an unfamiliar train station and looking at a board filled with destinations I never see at home...

I was in Manchester this weekend. It looks like it was a grand city once, but now I thought if felt like Boston, but without the history. I don't know if that makes sense. Anyway, it was just still light when we left Manchester Piccadilly on the train journey home, and I could look out the window and read all the station signs and everything written on the sides of old buildings. I wanted to see everything and remember it all. I want to know everything about everywhere. That's why I love my job, I'm learning things all the time. Obscure, perculiar things about obscure, peculiar people and places, and I'm trying to remember it all.

Oh and they have trams in Manchester. I LOVE trams.

I'm in Lancashire

First time ever. It's pretty exciting.

At three months, little Jacob is really starting to come to life.

Looking ahead to my birthday (wow, only two months to go) I'm thinking about birthday treats for myself. How about a trip to Bayeux to see the tapestry, something I've wanted to do since I was quite small. And if I'm going to northern France, perhaps I should take in Beauvais as well.

Any other bright ideas?

I totally smoked the boys on University Challenge trying to identify lego representations of British musicians. I rock!

I couldn't quite beat them to the answers on many of the others questions, but we know what counts here.

I've just been sent another followup from a previous client - my first project on early army records, she's sent like new names - and then hot on it's heels came three - yes three! - offers for magazine work bang in a row. They're American case studies and I'm the Yank so... What a morning my head is spinning!

I can't concentrate today. I'm supposed to be writing a lengthy client report for work. And I just can't do it, too much on my mind that's not a Georgian villa in Blackheath. This is the trouble with going freelance, it's easier to confine your thoughts to work when you're chained to a desk. I think I'm gonna go help my friend dig up her garden this afternoon instead. I need air and space. And gardens are a great place to think.

The report is my first house history project and it's definitely something I'd like to do a lot more of. And I have a repeat client. He was happy with my report on an ancestor's naval career, so now he wants us to do some follow up research. That's five projects now that I've done - a house history, a merchant seaman, an excise officer, a sailor and a soldier who fought at the Battle of Waterloo.

Wow, driving in London is certainly an adventure

Clouds of mist were rising from the fields - just visible in the twilight - as I rode home on the train tonight. Beautiful.

I got to do something really cool today. A friend of my mine who actually works with genealogists but who thinks family history is a bit of a snore, recently fessed up that there was one person in his family who intrigued him. It all revolved around his military service in WWI. I'd been digging around in military records at The National Archives all the previous week so I said I'd check it out for him. Well, I got a result, and not at all what we were expecting. We met up this evening and I got to talk him through what I found. I set the scene with some census records, established some background and worked up a bit of anticipation, and then I hit him with the big discovery. It was so much fun. And the dude was super pleased. It turned out gt-granddad was rougher, tougher and more cantankerous than he'd ever hoped. It was great to share something that made an impact. I completely FREAKIN' LOVE THIS!

Got my first Oyster card today. Terribly, terribly exciting!

I was on my way back from Windsor with my friends John and Sara from NYC.
They're on the last stop of a round the world tour. I'm really enjoying entertaining friends in London and it's nice to be able to great them with good news of how I'm getting on since leaving NYC. Sara is having a great time in the city, and I may have talked her into moving here. Although she needs to get her skates on before our idiot government slams the door on visas for people with brains who heaven forbid might just contribute to our economy and prosperity. Anyway, she'd be a fab roommate so I laid it on really thick and we just might have a winner!

Rev is awesome! Gets better every episode. If you have access to BBC you've got to watch it.

I love that British men wear proper shoes.

I found a new part of London that I love. Hampstead Heath and Highgate Hill. I guess that's two. You're high up looking down over the city. The houses are grand and graceful. You can go swimming in the lake on the Heath. Well not the big lake because apparently the fish will eat you. But there's a bathing lake. One for boys and one for girls. They're very modest up there on the hill. I like driving up hills, I have amazing clutch control. I could definitely live there. Does anyone have 5 million quid they wouldn't mind lending me?

Michael is 25 today! Happy birthday, my dear.

My friends in England remember you and ask how you are. Can you believe it's been three years since we were here.

World Cup update

Me and Dave are supporting the Netherlands. We dig the orange!

This is funny

New crush

I have a new crush. Move over Dan Snow, you couldn't make me happy like this little beauty:

I pass her on my near daily pilgrimage to the National Archives. She sits there on Burlington Avenue, taunting me with her perfect proportions. And that colour! Some girls dream of a knight in shining armour to come carry them off. I dream of a smart little audi, and I'll drive myself thank you very much.

My babies are growing like crazy. This was Jacob just seven weeks ago. Andrew likes being big brother but he's going to be mighty unhappy when Jacob - the beef - overtakes him and suddenly he's the little brother. I see it happening. And in the not too distant future.

First day of work at my new little desk today. Oh good grief, the guy upstairs is listing to "The Final Countdown". Looks like the crack in my bedroom wall also leads to a rift in time.

This just in: we're descended from Richard and Judy!

Today I found my first Elizabethan ancestor. I was messing around with PCC wills at the National Archives and I used the middle name of Plummer given to my 6x great-grandfather's second son (Charles Plumer Baron) to try and find his maternal grandfather. Charles Baron Snr was a tanner and landowner in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, married to Sarah, whose own will was proved in the PCC in 1822 (he was 100!). I searched for a will for a Plummer in Hitchin and found John Plumer, Tanner of Hitchin proved 14 Dec 1752. He leaves the bulk of his estate to his daughter Sarah and son-in-law Charles Baron of Hitchin. RESULT!

So Mrs Sarah Baron started out as Sarah Plummer. Working with parish registers for the Hitchin/Baldock area here's how far I got:

- Sarah Plumer daughter of John and Martha Plummer, Tanner baptised at Hitchin St Mary 12 Jul 1724
- John Plumer married Margret Weeb at Thundridge 15 Nov 1722
- John Plummer son of Richard and Martha Plummer baptised at Willian 11 May 1701
- Richard Plommer married Martha Dodson in Willian 28 Oct 1697
- Richard Plommer son of Richard and Judye Plomer baptised at 5 Feb 1671 (it's Richard and Judy!!)
- Richard Plummer married Judith Luke at Sandon 20 Apr 1663

There are two Richard Plomers baptised six years apart in the 1640's. I don't know which one is mine, but both fathers are the sons of Henry Plomer and Catherine Corke who married in Norton, Herts in 1605. There are no baptisms before 1597, so I may not be able to follow the Plumers any further back, but in Henry and Catherine we have ourselves here a pair of bona fide Elizabethans. I'm feeling very satisfied right now.

Do you ever have that sinking feeling? You know you've misplaced something ...

"Thought to be missing for four days, the Rev. Aaron Slavinsky, aged 82 was found dead in a rarely used room of his home in Finsbury Park, London on Monday. Why he had gone to the room - used for keeping lumber - remains a mystery to his wife, who found him by chance."

What??!!! So he's missing for several days, she apparently doesn't search the house (well why would you look there), and then she finally has a wander round the house, decides to pop her head round the door of the lumber room and "oh there you are darling, what are you doing in here, oh you're dead, nevermind then." This is my brother-in-law's great-grandparents. Lucy and I laughed and laughed over this and came to the conclusion that the two of the must have been completely doolally.

Today's discovery

My 6x great-grandparents George Phelps and Mary Bean were married in this cute little church in 1783.

Yeah, not so little. In fact it's a bloody cathedral! Does this mean I've uncovered some wealthy, aristocratic roots? Of course not. It turns out that St Albans Cathedral and Abbey Church, perhaps uniquely, is also a parish church, so not just the great and the good but the grungy and ordinary also got hatched, matched and dispatched in this amazing building that awed and inspired me as a child. We used to visit every summer with my grandparents. Who on earth would have thought it my own family had been married and baptised here. I can't wait to go visit again.

This is great - iPlayer The Beauty of Maps

After several days in London, I needed to escape to somewhere rural. I retreated to my trio of beloved villages on the Dunstable Downs - Kensworth, Whipsnade and Studham. The bus took me through the first two and I hopped and went for a wander around Studham which I've never explored on foot. Here is the modest little church - my 5x great-grandparents William Woodcroft and Charlotte Walker were married here 206 years and 7 days ago. At the rear of the churchyard I joined a footpath that crosses a field and then heads into woodland. With no map, and not wanting to become a cautionary tale, I decided to turn back. But then I changed my mind and carried on anyway into the trees. I love being alone in the woods - I don't understand why people find it scary. I finally got a signal on my phone and discovered I was headed west. Whipsnade it turns out is north, so not wishing to end up in Bristol, I backtracked to Studham, enjoyed a delicious packet of crisps at the Red Lion pub, and hopped back on the bus. I really missed crisps while in America, in fact that's why I came back to England. There it is, the truth is finally out.

Andrew is systematically dismantling grandpa's house in Dallas. An 18-month old's idea of a dream vacation!

By the way, my new dream vacation is eastern Mali. So if you're interested in exploring west Africa's greatest treasures, and the threat of capture and execution by Al-qaeda in the Magreb doesn't phase you, let me know. Best time to go is early November.

Great-gt-gt grannie Mary Baron made the papers. The landlady found her at half past four on a Saturday afternoon, expiring at the bottom of the stairs leading to her first floor lodgings at 151 Wellington St. She apparently fell down the stairs bringing up coal for the fire and the concussion and shock killed her shortly after. Neighbours, the doctor and Mary's youngest son John (lodged in nearby Hastings St) were all summoned. She was carried up to her bed, where she briefly regained consciousness. John recounted to the Coroner that he asked his mother how she fell, to which she replied that she did not fall. She then promptly snuffed it. It's kinda odd, but the Coroner's Jury accepted the testimony of the doctor that Mary had died of concussion and shock to the system, and their only recommendation was that a handrail should be installed on the rickety stairs. And where did the Coroner's Jury meet? In the pub next door at number 152.

I had anticipated a more dramatic tale when I collected a copy of Mary Baron's death certificate last Wednesday and saw that the informant for the death wasn't a family member but Mark Whyley, Coroner for the County of Bedford. It stated there was an inquest, which led me to the report in the local newspaper, The Luton Reporter. Mary's son John was known to subsequent generations of the family as "Wicked Uncle John", so you can imagine the thoughts that initially went through my head. Alas, it seems his notoriety has some other origin. There's also tales within the family that Mary was psychic and foresaw her husband's death. I don't want to sound flippant, but, err, she didn't see this coming.

I want to go visit some little wooden churches in Russian forests.

We three

Lucy's boys. Proudest of proud big brothers Jonathan, Andrew grinning as always, little Jacob looking for lunch.

Day six

Today was a great day. Started with good run in the park. Then I finally convinced someone to cut my hair again the way Mike used to do it. After that on to London where I went to the Society of Genealogists library to work on some book stuff. Ok so that was productive but admittedly a little dull. I got fed up and went down to Bedfordshire parish registers (I love those things) were I found something that made me very happy. I'm trying to trace the origin of a peculiar name passed down through the Raynor family and I found a clue not only to it's origin but that also took me over one of those proverbial brick walls and back 3 more generations than we had on our chart (details below). It was hard not to shout with delight (I would imagine that's frowned on at the Society) so I just kind waved my arms around and woo-hooed on the inside. Followed that with an expense account dinner in SoHo and added my tummy to all the parts of me that were happy. We talked about history all through dinner, kinda of a quick catch up from the Tudors to VE Day. I should be a history professor, I love explaining all this stuff. By the way, I finally caved and joined Twitter. But...... only so I can follow Dan Snow. And I hereby swear I will only stalk other fellow history nerds.

My 3xgreat-grandmothers Mary Ann Raynor had a brother named James Marvel Raynor. English baptisms rarerly involve a middle name, and that one is of particular interest. It was passed down three more generations, and I have reason to think James Marvel and Mary Ann's father James Raynor also carried the name. Family surnames were passed on as given names, but it's not a surname in the region. So where did it come from? And was there some special connection with the name that made then pass it down so many generations. A link to someone illustrious? That would be a first for our family! So the next generation back is also a James Raynor, but we have no baptism for him from the Dunstable registers - the first mention of him is his marriage in 1804. So I went further back and there are no other Raynor baptisms for his generation or what would have been his parents generation. But when I got to 1751 I found three Raynor children all baptised on the same day, Frances, Elizabeth and Marvil (!). I was so excited to find this. The three children were all born previously and baptised together. Parents were James Raynor and Hannah. There must be a connection. Is this James Raynor my 8x great-grandfather? I don't know why they missed a couple generations in the Dunstable register. The wife of James Raynor who was married in 1804 was, according to the 1851 census, from St Albans, so I'm going to check the St Albans register to see if a branch of the Raynors were in St Albans for a couple generations before returning to Dunstable. Of course this doesn't give me the origin of the Marvel name. Perhaps it was Hannah's maiden name. There are no Marvels in the Dunstable register. So the mystery isn't solved quite yet.

Day four

Oh dear, the Conservatives are back in Number 10 tonight, but with a Liberal Democrat deputy prime minister. Weird?! I spent 3 hours on a bouncy bus today reading the classic "Genealogy as Pastime and Profession" and no resulting migraine, so that was nice. The bus ride was to Aylesbury (via lovely Chiltern villages Edlesborough, Eaton Bray and Ivinghoe which have family connections) to visit the Buckinghamshire county archives. I found details of poor relief paid out to my 5x great-grandfather Joseph Sired in the mid-1830s: the whole family fell ill with small pox in May 1835 for which they received several shillings in assistance. The catch of the day, however, was the marriage bond for Joseph's father-in-law William Ashwell who married Ann Fardell by license in Ivinghoe church on 6 Feb 1777 and I learned William was a sheep-dealer (awesome, I've always loved lamb!). My favourite moment: passing through Edlesborough I noticed a sign for Happy Valley Chinese Takeaway & Chips. Ah, it's great to be home!

Day three

Today I finally resurrected my iPhone, ordered a new bankcard (I think Barclays thought I was dead) and had my first experience with Jedward. Also went for my first run in the park here and made a mighty fine little desk out of our tv tray. Yes, things are going well. Tomorrow I'm off to Buckinghamshire, I hope to ransack the Edlesborough parish chest.

Jacob Adam King

Here's my new little friend, born 3 May at 16.24. He was a big lad, 21 inches and weighing in at 8 lbs 11 oz. He has long feet and simply enormous hands with long fingers. And best of all, a full head of luscious, near jet black hair, just like his auntie had at birth.


And here's my lovely little sister and her three sons

Day two

Today was a great day. My friend Erin Hadley is in London for nine days on business. We arrived the same day, both a bit lonely and disoriented, so we were perfect company for each other, a welcome familiar face and a connection to home. We went to the Hyde Park Ward at a bleary-eyed 9am this morning. Saw a bloke from New York and then recognised a fellow I met at Who Do You Think You Are Live last Feb. He's a banker (booooo) but also doing a part-time postgrad course in genealogy so a buddy in the making I think. He's called Matthew by the way. We went for lunch and then I took Erin up to Primrose Hill. I've never actually been up there and I thought she would enjoy the view which was terrific. Erin was fascinated with English children and English dogs. Well, English everything really. I enjoyed playing tour guide, and we had a great chat. Erin and I have always been fond of each other and it was good to reminisce a bit about our years in New York.

Day one

It's my first full day back in the UK. I gotta say it's really tempting to lounge for a while but I need to keep busy. So I spent the morning in a workshop on parish records at the Society of Genealogists. And I pitched a book idea to the Society's publications dude. I really want to write a book. I won't make any money but I'd be the first Bovee to be a published author woo-hoo. The idea needs a lot of work, but I need something to do, so not complaining. The weather is seriously crap here, wet and gray, so no chance to break in my new running shoes this morning, that will have to wait for Monday. I still miss the family terribly, and it's hard not having friends in London to spend time with to get over that, but at least I have my friend Erin in town this weekend so that will help.

A leaving party was thrown in my honour this afternoon and this is the super amazing cake:

Family weekend

I managed to get Stephen up here for my last free weekend in New York. It's a shame, the poor git finally moves to the East Coast (just a four hour Chinatown bus ride away) and I "bugger off to England".

Adam snapped this picture of us at the top of the five flights of stairs to my apartment. Stephen wasn't such a fan of those. We had a pretty relaxed weekend, no rushing to see all the tourist sights, which we covered the last time he visited six (!) years ago.

Sunday we ate our last dinner with Dave and Adam & Lexia. We've been talking about making Poule au Pot, a 16th century French chicken dinner, for Adam our French literature fanatic, so it was now or never. It's good solid "peasant food" and the results were delicious and more than filling.

Saturday afternoon I traded stories of our family heroes and villains with my long lost cousin Cynthia Lovewell. Cynthia’s great-grandmother Elizabeth and my great-great-grandfather John were brother and sister. We’re part of the Ducie clan and there aren’t too many of us [link to Ducies make money not babies] so I was really excited to make contact with someone from this part of my family. The Ducies came from Ireland, via Birmingham, but they split up once they got to America with John settling in Montana and Elizabeth Ducie and husband Charles Chadwick making their own way to San Francisco. We swapped photographs and I got to tell her all about Mrs Ducey's saloon.

Cynthia and her husband John were terrific. Just what I would imagine a couple from California would be like: relaxed, friendly, youthful. They're coming to London in the fall so we have plans to meet up again. Maybe a trip to greater Birmingham is in the offing, how exciting does that sound? And we have a open invitiation to their beautiful big cabin at Lake Tahoe. It was a wonderful afternoon and nice that Stephen was in town. They got two Bovee/Ducies for the price of one!

New Doctor Who = Ahh-MAZING

I ate Blackhound three-layer chocolate mouse cake for breakfast. I'm out of weetabix, and, well, it needed finishing up. I think maybe salad for lunch today. And for dinner.

Dave and I played a for old time sake game of US Ticket to Ride last night before I switch my allegiance to euro rails. I started strong, but had to rethink some routes after he blocked me between San Francisco and Los Angeles. As the game was nearing the final round, I had completed 5 middle value routes worth 51 points. That’s respectable. With all routes in hand completed the usually course of action (assuming you have a few left over trains and a colour cards) is to grab one last set of 3 route cards in the hopes that with so many train segments already on the board you may with the addition of just a couple trains be able to complete an extra route and pick up a few extra points that might clinch you the game. I had just two trains to spare and one card in hand, but I couldn’t be sure I had Dave beat, so I decided to risk it and grabbed three cards.

My worthy opponent

To my astonishment, I could complete two of them (both high value routes) with the addition of just one train piece between Seattle and Vancouver. And the third route I already had. I took an extra 49 points in two turns! When we counted up at the end Dave came in at 146, normally a winning score. But I was sitting on 68, and with 49 + 51 points, that was a round 100, which meant, with the scoring marks round the outside of the board running only 1-100, I had done a whole other lap and my marker stayed put. We had planned to play a second round, but this was the game to end on. A stunning victory for yours truly!

Watching Dexter (series 2). Such a guilty pleasure.

Century old mystery even more solved

Two months ago I declared a century old mystery solved. Well it turns out there's more to the story.

Having found the marriage of my grandmother's cousin Edith Ward (whose father had run off to Canada under an assumed name with his son-in-law's sister), I ordered up the microfilm with births and baptisms for Montreal. I found Edith and her two sons, which actually pointed me back to some online records which I had already searched with no results. Turns out the indexing doesn't include first names, so now I had the church they used from the microfilm, I pulled up all the Ward records for Grace Anglican Church of Montreal.

I found the burial of my auntie Flora May and the full register entry for Edith's baptism. And as there were only 30-odd records for the period in question, I had a peek at all of them. Working my way back from 1940 (the last record available online) to 1909 when my great-great grandfather Arthur Woodcroft now known as Albert Ward arrived in Montreal, I was looking for a marriage for Albert and May, but I found something else. The burial on 27 Aug 1910 of a little girl named Isabel, parents: Albert Arthur and Flora May Ward. Her birth date was noted as 27 Feb 1910, four months after Albert arrived in Canada. So here was a part of the story I wasn't even looking for. Arthur and May had left England because there was a child on the way. They weren't fleeing scandal - May's sisters all had children out of or very shortly after wedlock - I'm inclined to think they really wanted a family together. Arthur had left behind a unhappy marriage, but May's family was a happy and tight-knit bunch. She could easily have returned to them after the loss of Isabel, but she didn't. She stayed with Albert and they had another daughter seven years later.

It was an exciting find, but the best bit was telling Mum what I had discovered. There are still a few things left to wrap up - Albert's death, May's ship's passenger list - but more importantly, with the baptisms of Edith's two sons I now have their full names. They are my parents age so most likely living, and I found two iterations of each name in the Canadian phone directory. I've been practicing a little speech. I'm not a huge fan of genealogy cold calling, but I hope the accent and little bit of much-rehearsed charm will keep them on the phone long enough for me to establish if there is a connection. The rewards could be big: fingers are crossed for a (otherwise non-existent) picture of my great-great grandfather, and of course the last few details of a story that has intrigued my family for a century. Wish me luck!

It's official

I have given notice at my job and am moving back to England. I've been obsessed with genealogy for nearly six years now and it's time to go learn more and do it full time. England is the best place to be for that and I've dreamed of going home ever since the day I arrived here in New York. I'll be staying in the city through April, then dropping all my stuff off with my sister in Atlanta - she'll mind it in case I decide to come back - and then heading to England. It's strange to be leaving New York, but I've been thinking about it seriously for the last few months and now is the right time. Even my Dad agrees, and he's put the stops on some crazy ideas I've had over the years - like spending several months in Wisconsin in the winter!? - so it must be a good idea. I've always missed England and I can't wait to get there.

I can't wait to live in a flat with it's own washing machine again! I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate going to the laundromat. Six flights of stairs and I have to pass the posh sushi place looking like a bag lady. Sit in the cold waiting area. Can never concentrate on my book.

Back in the day, when Lauren lived with Lexia I used to accompany her to the very same laundromat. I remember watching (rather appropriately) the diving and swimming competitions at the Athens Olympics. So some happy memories.

But now I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate it!

Who Do You Think You Are? - US

I've just watched the first two episodes of the US version of WDYTYA. I was afraid they'd make a horrible mess of what in England is a perfect show. I feared excessive sentimentality and oppressive voiceover. But I was pleasantly surprised. There is very little voiceover, and I liked that most of it is done by the celebrities themselves. I thought they got the tone pretty right as well. My only grumble is the coming up next highlights and the recap that sandwich the commercial breaks. It's such a terrible waste of time and meant that they only had time to cover one side of person's family. It also meant it's impossible to get the element of mystery and anticipation that works so well in the English version. "Coming up later in the program..." No, I'm sorry that just doesn't fly. As far as the stories themselves, Emmitt Smith's tale of mixed race slave ancestors is something I've seen already in Ainsley Harriott's UK episode. But Sarah Jessica Parker's Salem witch trials connection was truly fascinating.

I've also been able to watch three episodes online of Prof Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s series for PBS, Faces of America. I've heard some grumbling about this show, that is has a strong message of America's intolerance towards immigrants and that Gates himself is too prominent. I decided to give it a shot anyway, and enjoyed it. Instead of focusing on one person's lineage at a time, the four programmes each have an overall theme and incorporate elements of the 12 participants family histories. I really liked his attempt to tell their stories in the wider context of the building this extraordinary nation, however flawed.

Jonathan was academic bowl team captain for one round this weekend. They trounced the other side by 70 points. Next stop University Challenge!