I have condensed the contents of the 'old blog' down into one entry and here it is:
Entry Title: It's been a long time!
Date of Entry: 17th February 2008 at 01:57:30 PM
It's been ages since I last added an entry on this page... I have added some stuff since then but didn't add anything here to tell you!Since my last entry we have been to Rome, been approved as adopters, had Christmas, been to mum & dads and I have done some work on the tree and met a long lost cousin!I have added some more functionality to the family tree bit of the website, you can now
view death certificates I have on record.
Entry Title: Rome or bust!
Date of Entry: 1st August 2007 at 03:09:21 PM
Last week we rebooked our holiday to Rome after having to cancel last time we booked. This time we booked a run-of-the mill chain hotel then encountered some problems with the booking so after nearly 3 hours of trawling the internet for a hotel that wasn't grotty or in a bad area and in our price bracket, I stumbled upon what appears to be a little gem. The reviews are all excellent so we can't wait to go now!
Want to take a look? Visit this link!
Rodrigo de Vivar and
this one too which has reviews on it!Entry Title: Happy Birthday Harry! Date of Entry: 30th May 2007 at 05:04:03 PMWe celebrated the dog's birthday this weekend by taking him out on a loooong walk. I know what you are thinking, but Harry is a big part of our family so why not celebrate his arrival inot the world? We took him to Hawkestone Park and you can see the photos in the Photo Album under Days Out. This week I have also made contact with a lady in the US who is a close relation to my grandad (his cousin's daughter!) and has given me some invaluable information for my tree! So this blog is dedicated to Liz as a thank you! I have also added a new page with transcriptions of birth certificates I hold, go to the family tree page for more information.
Entry Title: Say No to Junk Mail
Date of Entry: 19th February 2007 at 10:19:01 AMI'm not the most environmentally friendly person in the world, I forget to turn lights off and leave my bath running contantly whilst I am in it but since we started recycling it made me think about the sheer volume of junk mail that comes through the door. Well I am doing my bit by saying NO TO JUNK MAIL! You can say no too, I have put together some simple instructions on how you can stop the mail:
Register with the Mail Preference ServiceThis is for mail specifically targeted to you, in your name. You can register online at
http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/. Whilst you are there, check out TPS and FPS for halting unwanted telephone and fax calls too! All the services are free to use and take about 4 weeks to start working for you.
Royal Mail Opt Out ServicesThis is for mail that is delivered by Royal Mail and addressed To The Occupier, House Owner, etc. To opt out write to Door to Door Opt Out, Royal Mail, Kingsmead House, Oxpens House Road, Oxford, OX1 1RX and ask to be reomved from the database for door to door mail.
At The LetterboxPut a sign on your letterbox and stop the leaflets being pushed through. I have ordered a nicely made one from ebay that matches my letterbox.So thats it! It's only a drop in the ocean as far as the environment is concerned but if we all start opting out it soon becomes a small pond! Hope you found it helpful!
Entry Title: Happy Belated New Year!
Date of Entry: 6th February 2007 at 11:27:01 AM
A lot of changes this year but firtsly I have to give a special mention to the nice people at Quatt village hall where Kath and I took part in a Christmas Fayre in November. We were made very welcome by everybody and had a lovely day. The village hall has it's own website at
http://www.quatt.info/ with a webcam and a birdcam.Other than that, Stu & I are now working full time at home. We decided after a lot of agonising that we really did not need an office. I can work from home easily and often did, and as Stu is out on the road most of the time, all he needed was a telephone and a tool box! So here we are now in February all cosy in front of the fire, working away, whilst outside the world is hurrying by! Bliss!
Entry Title: It's been a long time!
Date of Entry: 17th February 2008 at 01:57:30 PM
It's been ages since I last added an entry on this page... I have added some stuff since then but didn't add anything here to tell you!Since my last entry we have been to Rome, been approved as adopters, had Christmas, been to mum & dads and I have done some work on the tree and met a long lost cousin!I have added some more functionality to the family tree bit of the website, you can now
view death certificates I have on record.
Entry Title: Rome or bust!
Date of Entry: 1st August 2007 at 03:09:21 PM
Last week we rebooked our holiday to Rome after having to cancel last time we booked. This time we booked a run-of-the mill chain hotel then encountered some problems with the booking so after nearly 3 hours of trawling the internet for a hotel that wasn't grotty or in a bad area and in our price bracket, I stumbled upon what appears to be a little gem. The reviews are all excellent so we can't wait to go now!
Want to take a look? Visit this link!
Rodrigo de Vivar and
this one too which has reviews on it!Entry Title: Happy Birthday Harry!
Date of Entry: 30th May 2007 at 05:04:03 PM
We celebrated the dog's birthday this weekend by taking him out on a loooong walk. I know what you are thinking, but Harry is a big part of our family so why not celebrate his arrival inot the world? We took him to Hawkestone Park and you can see the photos in the Photo Album under Days Out. This week I have also made contact with a lady in the US who is a close relation to my grandad (his cousin's daughter!) and has given me some invaluable information for my tree! So this blog is dedicated to Liz as a thank you! I have also added a new page with transcriptions of birth certificates I hold, go to the family tree page for more information.
Entry Title: Say No to Junk Mail
Date of Entry: 19th February 2007 at 10:19:01 AMI'm not the most environmentally friendly person in the world, I forget to turn lights off and leave my bath running contantly whilst I am in it but since we started recycling it made me think about the sheer volume of junk mail that comes through the door. Well I am doing my bit by saying NO TO JUNK MAIL! You can say no too, I have put together some simple instructions on how you can stop the mail:
Register with the Mail Preference ServiceThis is for mail specifically targeted to you, in your name. You can register online at
http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/. Whilst you are there, check out TPS and FPS for halting unwanted telephone and fax calls too! All the services are free to use and take about 4 weeks to start working for you.
Royal Mail Opt Out ServicesThis is for mail that is delivered by Royal Mail and addressed To The Occupier, House Owner, etc. To opt out write to Door to Door Opt Out, Royal Mail, Kingsmead House, Oxpens House Road, Oxford, OX1 1RX and ask to be reomved from the database for door to door mail.
At The LetterboxPut a sign on your letterbox and stop the leaflets being pushed through. I have ordered a nicely made one from ebay that matches my letterbox.So thats it! It's only a drop in the ocean as far as the environment is concerned but if we all start opting out it soon becomes a small pond! Hope you found it helpful!
Entry Title: Happy Belated New Year!
Date of Entry: 6th February 2007 at 11:27:01 AM
A lot of changes this year but firtsly I have to give a special mention to the nice people at Quatt village hall where Kath and I took part in a Christmas Fayre in November. We were made very welcome by everybody and had a lovely day. The village hall has it's own website at
http://www.quatt.info/ with a webcam and a birdcam.Other than that, Stu & I are now working full time at home. We decided after a lot of agonising that we really did not need an office. I can work from home easily and often did, and as Stu is out on the road most of the time, all he needed was a telephone and a tool box! So here we are now in February all cosy in front of the fire, working away, whilst outside the world is hurrying by! Bliss!
Entry Title: Its Been A Long Time! Date of Entry: 26th December 2006 at 01:48:07 PMFinally the Chrismas break gave me some time to work on my family tree a little. I have a new feature that I am adding to as and when I can showing transcripts of census information for people in my tree. When you view the tree people who have census information attatched are indicated with a quill and scroll.
Entry Title: War Heroes
Date of Entry: 12th May 2006 at 12:48:06 PM
Well after speaking to nan tonight I found a story about
grandad's Uncle Jo and his time in the World War I trenches. As well as this I found lots and lots of information and some distant relatives of the Beards family! I'll keep you posted baout the new developments!
Entry Title: Looking for Eliza
Date of Entry: 5th May 2006 at 10:15:06 AM
I finally found my great, great grandmothers parents. It took weeks for the certificate to arrive, I tore open the envelope with much anticipation and excitement (which goes to show how dull my life must be)! Eliza (Blakesley) was born 9th April 1873, parents Job Blakesley (deceased) and Emma Walker. She was born in Union House, Sedgley which was the poor house for Dudley. I'm now thinking that this conjures up more questions than it answers! What happened to Job that he died before spending any time with his daughter? Did his death cause his new family to move to the poorhouse or did Emma work there? I think probably the former... but how can I find this out? At least now I have some clues to forge ahead with...
Entry Title: Jet Setting!
Date of Entry: 2nd May 2006 at 12:37:04 PM
Wow! I've had a really busy couple of weeks which is great but means I haven't added much to the tree for a little while!
The first weekend we helped Dave & Caroline move into their new house in France, the following weekend back in France viewing a house for ourselves. The house was in a little hamelt just outside Lanrivain, Brittany. The house (17th century farmhouse) was lovely from the outside but very dark inside and needing vast amounts of work, new floorboards, roofs, walls etc. The trip was not a total waste as we stayed in a lovely village in Normandy called Ducey. This really decided us that this is where we would lile to buy. Also that we would prefer a townhouse with local amenities so watch this space!
This weekend just gone we recuperated, spent some time walking the dog by the canal followed by lunch at the Boat in Penkridge and I visited Stu's great Aunty Lilian with Kath. Unfortunately Lilian couldn't give a lot of information for the tree, I think she was a little bewildered by our sudden visit.
Next weekend I'm off to Dublin for Zoe's hen weekend so in the next few weeks I should be posting lots of photos here so come back and visit again!
Entry Title: Contact!
Date of Entry: 12th April 2006 at 10:05:32 AM
What a great week! First off we took Harry to the seaside for the first time. It's definitely a thing we will be doing a lot through the summer, he went bonkers!!! At one point we thought we were going to lose him as he decided to chase a seagull towards the dunes, not barking or anyhting, just running after it with his head looking skyward!!! Daft dog!! It was very windy so he had lots of fun chasing feathers and weed and he went in the sea too!!!The next great thing is that I have made contact with two distant relatives!! The first is a lady called Helen who has worked out that I am her Fourth cousin once removed!!! If you want to know what that means then
click here for a guide on family relationships! The second was a gentleman called Ivan. He is a relation of Stuart's his Grandfathers brother (Bertie) married Hannah Constable (George Hurd's uncle, Florence Constable's sister). Ivan lives in Australia now so he tells me his research is limited.
Entry Title: I'm Back!!
Date of Entry: 29th March 2006 at 04:52:06 PM
It's been a long-time coming but the website is back on it's feet!And now, there is extra with a family tree which I am adding to all the time, so keep checking!! I would appreciate any imput you have for my tree, pictures, certificates, information, stories etc!It's going to be a busy week, tomorrow is Stu's 36th Birthday and we are off to the White Hart! On Friday is Spanish Club Meal and Saturday an engagement party! So I'll post some pictures (if I take any!) Bye for now peeps!26th December 2006 at 01:48:07 PMFinally the Chrismas break gave me some time to work on my family tree a little. I have a new feature that I am adding to as and when I can showing transcripts of census information for people in my tree. When you view the tree people who have census information attatched are indicated with a quill and scroll.
Entry Title: War Heroes
Date of Entry: 12th May 2006 at 12:48:06 PM
Well after speaking to nan tonight I found a story about
grandad's Uncle Jo and his time in the World War I trenches. As well as this I found lots and lots of information and some distant relatives of the Beards family! I'll keep you posted baout the new developments!
Entry Title: Looking for Eliza
Date of Entry: 5th May 2006 at 10:15:06 AM
I finally found my great, great grandmothers parents. It took weeks for the certificate to arrive, I tore open the envelope with much anticipation and excitement (which goes to show how dull my life must be)! Eliza (Blakesley) was born 9th April 1873, parents Job Blakesley (deceased) and Emma Walker. She was born in Union House, Sedgley which was the poor house for Dudley. I'm now thinking that this conjures up more questions than it answers! What happened to Job that he died before spending any time with his daughter? Did his death cause his new family to move to the poorhouse or did Emma work there? I think probably the former... but how can I find this out? At least now I have some clues to forge ahead with...
Entry Title: Jet Setting!
Date of Entry: 2nd May 2006 at 12:37:04 PM
Wow! I've had a really busy couple of weeks which is great but means I haven't added much to the tree for a little while!
The first weekend we helped Dave & Caroline move into their new house in France, the following weekend back in France viewing a house for ourselves. The house was in a little hamelt just outside Lanrivain, Brittany. The house (17th century farmhouse) was lovely from the outside but very dark inside and needing vast amounts of work, new floorboards, roofs, walls etc. The trip was not a total waste as we stayed in a lovely village in Normandy called Ducey. This really decided us that this is where we would lile to buy. Also that we would prefer a townhouse with local amenities so watch this space!
This weekend just gone we recuperated, spent some time walking the dog by the canal followed by lunch at the Boat in Penkridge and I visited Stu's great Aunty Lilian with Kath. Unfortunately Lilian couldn't give a lot of information for the tree, I think she was a little bewildered by our sudden visit.
Next weekend I'm off to Dublin for Zoe's hen weekend so in the next few weeks I should be posting lots of photos here so come back and visit again!
Entry Title: Contact!
Date of Entry: 12th April 2006 at 10:05:32 AM
What a great week! First off we took Harry to the seaside for the first time. It's definitely a thing we will be doing a lot through the summer, he went bonkers!!! At one point we thought we were going to lose him as he decided to chase a seagull towards the dunes, not barking or anyhting, just running after it with his head looking skyward!!! Daft dog!! It was very windy so he had lots of fun chasing feathers and weed and he went in the sea too!!!The next great thing is that I have made contact with two distant relatives!! The first is a lady called Helen who has worked out that I am her Fourth cousin once removed!!! If you want to know what that means then
click here for a guide on family relationships! The second was a gentleman called Ivan. He is a relation of Stuart's his Grandfathers brother (Bertie) married Hannah Constable (George Hurd's uncle, Florence Constable's sister). Ivan lives in Australia now so he tells me his research is limited.
Entry Title: I'm Back!!
Date of Entry: 29th March 2006 at 04:52:06 PM
It's been a long-time coming but the website is back on it's feet!And now, there is extra with a family tree which I am adding to all the time, so keep checking!! I would appreciate any imput you have for my tree, pictures, certificates, information, stories etc!It's going to be a busy week, tomorrow is Stu's 36th Birthday and we are off to the White Hart! On Friday is Spanish Club Meal and Saturday an engagement party! So I'll post some pictures (if I take any!) Bye for now peeps!
For ages now I have been working on dad's side of the tree and finding it hard going. Because of my granddad dying while I was very young I have had no close person of reference further than my dad and sometimes its just hard to ask the right questions.
So now I have a 'new' 2nd cousin! I am so pleased! we have met twice now and have had a lovely time on both occasions. Yesterday we introduced the cousins (my dad and Sam's mum) Cynthia to each other and also visited dad's Uncle Des & Aunt Kath whom I can only vaguely remember.
