Well where to begin………….
The initial shock of losing Grahame in February has eased, naturally I miss him but its true life goes on and you must make the most of it. Thanks to support from family and friends the time has passed quickly and here we are heading into August.
After working from home for a few months (day job) I once more returned to the temporary office and realised how much I missed it all. After my two week annual leave I then returned to our brand new office where I am now based permanently. New beginnings and good to see my colleagues in the flesh so to speak. Just after Grahame passed away my line manager announced she is to have a baby so whilst she is on maternity leave from October there are a few changes to negotiate but am sure we will keep things ticking over until she returns.
I mentioned my annual leave. I had a week at home getting into website matters. Then John Pope the OPC for several parishes and administrator came up to visit me. Thankfully the weather was good and we were able to visit a few places on the West Coast of Scotland (socially distanced where required). John took some fantastic photographs. We spent the Friday working on website matters. John organising a pile of photographs, post cards and pamphlets we have collected into parishes and creating folders for each parish ready for scanning, transcribing and loading to the website. Whilst he carried out that arduous task I carried on updating items on the website.
The gorgeous weather continued and even as I write this the weather is cloudy and dull but still very warm 18 degrees (believe me for Scotland that is amazing).
Now that restrictions are being lifted and more travel permitted it has been decided that the annual meet will take place (unless disaster strikes and we need to cancel again). We have arranged this for weekend of 24th – September 26th September. The venue is the Kings Hotel, Wood Street, Swindon where the meet will take place from 12 Noon onwards. An optional meal can be booked through Ruth Wood and there will be a guest speaker for an hour or so during the afternoon. Nigel Chalk has kindly arranged for the Local Research Archives to be available on the Saturday morning. It is hoped that a guided tour of Radnor Street Cemetery can be arranged for the Sunday Morning. Of course there are many other things to do in the area including the Steam Museum. I know I can rely on John to find some nice watering holes for us to visit too (for photographing of course). Myself, daughter Chiannagh and John Pope will be in Swindon from the 21st September until the following Sunday/Monday, I know John has plans for us to go church hopping a couple of days. So if anyone wishes to join us log your interest here.
As far as the website itself is concerned things transcribing wise has slowed down a little, this is due to people returning to work, restrictions being lifted so people can get out and about a bit easier and the fabulous weather we have had. Although the old saying the calm before the storm seems to have proved its not just a myth if the flash floods reported in the South are anything to go by. If anyone is planning on family history research trips don’t forget to read our essentials list for such trips. Hopefully the advice will help you keep safe and to preserve the environment whilst enjoying the thrill of the chase.
I have been working on the We will Remember Them Project – fuelled by Martin Barrett who bought a book for me to use as a guide. Thank you Martin it is proving invaluable. I am also checking each date on the CWGC for entries I may have missed especially for those brave men and women who died during WWII. I am of course working on other items too.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has donated to the Go Fund Me appeal and to my Facebook birthday fundraiser. All funds are used for the website maintenance and development.
Once again we ask for people to come forward to help out with the website. Many different ways to help are available and it doesn’t always mean you need to spend hours of your time working on the project. If you want to help please contact me via the website or on Facebook. One position I would really like to fill is for someone to volunteer to assist with the admin of the website. I will train someone via Zoom if required but all is needed is enthusiasm, some free time and a knowledge of Microsoft packages would be advantageous..
Enjoy the rest of the summer and I hope to see you in Swindon in September. Please stay safe until our next blog and beyond.
