SUDDENLY I am delving into my memory bank, reliving how it was to take that nerve-racking walk from West to East across Berlin’s no-man’s-land of Checkpoint Charlie. An instant recall sparked after inexplicably waiting two decades to open a book fully intended to be read when it made its spectacular debut in 2003. That’s how it was with me and Anna Funder’s Stasiland. Launched to an avalanche of plaudits at the start of the century, it stayed on the best-seller list for close to two years. But only recently has it made its way to my bedside pile, the result… Continue reading
Memoir
MUCH joy tempered by bouts of shock and sadness. Such is the lot of family historians everywhere. Something I can well attest to after recent foraging in the foliage of my family tree. Anyone joining this global corps of addicts soon learns that tracking down their ancestors is a long… Continue reading
SHOCKS galore can await those delving into their family history; a fact frequently demonstrated by the fascinating TV series Who Do You Think You Are? The constant theme is that of surprise. The program has a well established record in shattering strongly held beliefs in one’s lineage. Much that was… Continue reading
SURELY mine is not the only brain that has gradually turned to mush thanks to this endless lock-down. I sense previously lively little grey cells have coagulated into something resembling sago pudding. Thus my head is host to an amorphous splodge of lifeless nothingness. A once active organ languishes listless… Continue reading
Mullion Cove, Cornwall (courtesy Geograph UK/Wikiwand) TRACING one’s ancestors is akin to joining Poirot as he unravels the threads of an Agatha Christie mystery. Except that the little Belgian detective eventually provides acceptable answers. Not so with family history. So many detours and distractions. So many loose ends. So much… Continue reading
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A CLICHE it maybe, but the saying that “everything old is new again” is one that has stood the test of time. As reliable as ever as each generation “discovers” something that was commonplace to their parents or grandparents. It rushed to mind as today’s papers splashed on the “innovative” ways public houses were coping with the Covid-19 lockdown of their businesses. With patrons no longer able to enter their premises, and certainly not cluster along the bar, these lateral thinkers are following the lead set by cafes and restaurants and venturing into takeaway sales. Just like the old days. Continue reading