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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: panda40 on Thursday 13 August 15 21:23 BST (UK)
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BBC Who Do You Think you Are? with Paul Hollywood.
Well so far it is a Second World War history lesson and nothing to do with genealogy. such a shame when they focus on just one person. I like the format when they go back through the generations and show you the methods used.
Regards panda
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As Panda says this episode is a WW2 history lesson. No genealogy at all so far. Rather disappointing. :(
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I'm glad you've said that. I'm a bit bored. I'm interested in the war(s), but I wasn't expecting to watch a documentary on it now, I was expecting a genealogy programme.
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This episode is like David Tennant's one, although that started off interesting for the first 20 minutes it then focused on one person who was involved in religion in Northern Ireland in the 1960s. This one is one that focuses on a recent ancestor who was involved in things within the last 70 odd years instead of back to the 1800s and even 1700s.
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I thought it was a really interesting programme. I don't particularly like Paul Hollywood so I was pleasantly surprised by him and he was genuinely interested.
I like it when the programme focusses on one person because genealogy is not a gathering of names and dates, well not for me anyway. I had a grandfather who fought WW2 in the same places and would love to find out more of his story.
Having holidayed in Gairloch more than once that story was also interesting and imagine running 120 miles every week for 10 years, what an amazing story to find in your ancestry. :)
Kerry
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Not a bad programme and enjoyed the bit about Donald the post runner.
I did think it was a shame they did not do anything on the paternal side as that is where the baking comes from, but then perhaps his dad didn't want to be a TV star ;D (if still with us)
I see there are some trees online that don't exactly agree on the early ancestry !!!!
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Dont we all finish watching with the thought 'But they just got started! There is so mch more I want to know!"
My mom worked her whole life in hospitals and hated TV shows about them because they were never "real".... Sound familiar?
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Workhouse admissions just before death are usually health related rather than about poverty aren't they? Was the programme trying to create a moment of sadness with that?
Blue
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He did seem genuinely interested which was nice, and he does the same thing I do - oh my family are from mountains and the sea, I like mountains and being by the sea. He also does "ah, so thats where I get that feature/trait from", which I do all the time!
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Workhouse admissions just before death are usually health related rather than about poverty aren't they? Was the programme trying to create a moment of sadness with that?
Blue
I agree totally with this, no mention of the fact that the Workhouse Infirmary was virtually the only free medical care at that time and being admitted 2 days before his death it was obviously why he went in.
This sort of I will say misinformation for effect I hate.
I will admit though the programme was a good free advert for the Highland tourist industry, a tourist film couldn't have got better scenery and weather.
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There was a lot of padding .....driving ,etc.I enjoyed the second half where he did go back a few generations and what he found was interesting.Perhaps an hour isn't long enough.
We all know our different lives reveal different stories and one wonders what his maternal line would have revealed.
Ringrose
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I will admit though the programme was a good free advert for the Highland tourist industry, a tourist film couldn't have got better scenery and weather.
We commented about the weather on them there 'ills.
Imagine doing that run with the post sack on your back in a long Scottish winter :o
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Some further interesting reading re the 'post runner' :
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01fwk/
so it may only have been the 'full run' for five or so months of the year.
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Some further interesting reading re the 'post runner' :
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01fwk/
so it may only have been the 'full run' for five or so months of the year.
Thank you Scotmum. I am SO relieved the poor postie was "only " doing that remarkable journey five months a year because I certainly wondered how he could have managed it every week through the winter months. :o
I believe I read that WDYTYA have focused on the world wars for this series as a continuation of the commemoration events. Personally I would have preferred the programme to have had a different balance, but Paul Hollywood expressed a desire to learn about his Grandad's war experience, and definitely he did that!!
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Yawn........ ::)
So much padding with driving around (free advert for R---- R----?) and artistic shots of fields and plants. Obviously Hollywood was interested in his grandfather's war history, but this part went on far too long, until we were fed up with hearing the word "Granddad". Much more time could have been spent on history further back into the family, but the result was that this part was sketchy and rushed.
It's always interesting to hear how people moved around in the past and I loved the tale of the postie.
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Families need to check what photos and letters from WW2 they still have in the loft, before they are lost.
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I think they overdid to some extent how afraid he would have been leading up to the battle on "Banana Ridge"
I think they were trying to impose current thinking and ideas on to young men 70 years ago.
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I agree with the comments about padding and war history.
I also think (and have done for some time) that the BBC are again trying to appeal to all and sundry by choosing their subjects for this programme not necessarlily for their interesting ancestry but more because of their current popularity.
Thus we have from the very popular Bake Off Paul Hollywood for this series and Mary Berry from the last series. We also have the two leads from Last Tango In Halifax (very popular): Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid.
We'll probably get the actors who play Mr & Mrs Poldark in the next series!!
Interestingly, I watched a few of the latest series of WDYTYA USA on the Watch channel a few weeks ago and - I hate to admit it - they're now doing it a heck of a lot better than us! They had the story zinging along; lots of experts and documentation, and, above all, by and large they didn't stop at one ancestor but kept going back. Kelsey Grammer's story was brilliant, as was Jim Parsons.
I hope our series improves as we go on....
Jill
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I have to concur with everything Jillruss says..... although "Mr Poldark" sounds good to me! :P ;)
I suspect the BBC are cutting costs as far as possible, but at this rate they will kill the series if it does not improve.
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I agree with you Panda. More of a WW2 History Lesson than genealogy - but did enjoy the Gairloch "postman's" story.
Again, its all done for the celebs no paying for certs etc. like we all have to do.
A free trip to Anzio too - bet there are many ordinary "Joe Blogs" who have ancestors who lost their lives in both World Wars and have never been able to afford the trip to visit their graves - my own family included. Of course we are not as interesting are we? Who would want to make a telly program about the wee man from wherever who was killed in action :'(
That's my moan over.
Will still watch it thought even if its only to criticise.
Dorrie
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I'm trying not to read the comments too closely as I haven't seen this episode yet and don't want to spoil it for myself.
..... We'll probably get the actors who play Mr & Mrs Poldark in the next series!!....
....Interestingly, I watched a few of the latest series of WDYTYA USA on the Watch channel a few weeks ago and - I hate to admit it - they're now doing it a heck of a lot better than us! ....
Jill
I still think that the worst of WDYTYA is a lot better than most of the other rubbish on TV these days.
I wouldn't say no to Mr Poldark either. :-*
Sorry Jill, I find the American WDYTYAs very difficult to watch. I'm not criticising the content, more the incessant ad breaks, the constant re-caps, and the way they insist on changing the programme where changes need not be made, eg the music.
This week has just aired the second episode of the new Australian series of WDYTYA. Unsure if there is a way to watch it for those in the UK. Toni Collette's story this week was excellent:
http://www.sbs.com.au/programs/who-do-you-think-you-are
Well worth a look. :)
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They should rename it "What-Granddad-did-in-the-War"! So much mumbling and rambling on, and too much scenery, not enough history.
After a while I pressed the record button then fast-forwarded through the fighting etc.
rayard.
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The Mackenzie's of Gairloch's main residence was at Conon House in the east, amongst the other "Big Hooses" of that clan's gentry. A family death at their Summer residence on the west coast involved the coffin being carried, by hundreds of retainers, for burial in the east. Feeding & billeting this expedition, which was generally well lubricated by whisky, must have been some undertaking. The funeral procession for Forbes of Culloden's mother for example, a family noted for their fondness for the "deoch", arrived at the kirkyard without the coffin. ;D
Skoosh.
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I also felt that "Grandad's War" went on a bit too much - after all, he actually already had a lot of the material to hand already, in those letters, more than most of us would have, and the regimental war diaries would have filled in the movements of the men.
I do hope that the rest of the series will not be all replaying the Second World War - many, like my own father, totally refused to speak about it - the only thing I ever recall him saying was (ironically) that he supposed it'd given him a chance to see a lot more of the world than he might otherwise have had ... and I've an album of fading photos of Egypt to prove he did. But he never wanted to speak about it, and the medals remained in a box, deep in a drawer.
Many who served in that War would not have liked to have their war gone over again - and there is no disrespect intended to all those who had to play their part in that War. They had their young lives changed in a way that thank goodness most of us will never need to experience, but it cast a long shadow over their lives.
I've watched some of the USA ones, and -apart from adverts - there does seem to be a good range and interest in them. I don't think that the series has had its day - but it needs to avoid presenting too formulaic an approach. In a previous series we had the same Irish famine images shown in a few programmes, which may point to lazy research, - or of course, a paucity of relevant images.
I shall look forward to the rest of the series - after all, they rarely start off with the best one, do they?
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I agree like so many successful programmes WDYTYA is too formulaic.
Next week Jane Seymour who has Jewish ancestry, now shall we guess what will come up?
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Well, I switched off after 20 minutes . . . . I thought it wad going to be about Hollywood's family / and it's history. Instead it was a WWII lesson. Boring! If this is the format of the fforthcoming episodes - don't think I'll bother.
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If you want to see a good episode of wdytya which revolves around one ancestor watch the USA Ginnifer Goodwin episode on you tube. I really do not usually like the present format of concentrating on relatively close relatives but this one was extremely good and totally unexpected and something I haven't seen covered before.
I liked the McKenzie second half of the Paul Hollywood episode, the first half was, to me, another ww2 program not genealogy research, and Paul knew quite alot about his grandad beforehand.
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I agree that the first half was pretty much just a ww2 segment but it was still interesting in a way.
But the second half was a lot better, with the McKenzie family, especially the postman doing 120 miles a week by foot. :o
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I was born about 4 years after my dad returned from 4 to 5 years overseas service. So, I had the benefit of seeing the photos taken by my dad in his travels, and him telling me some stories.
I think he was lucky to survive his escape from France in 1940, as I believe he ended up in the Water when his ship was sunk.
But I think he concealed that detail from both his mum and his wife.
After 70 years since the end of WW2 A lot of the younger generation just cannot comprehend how things were that length of time ago.
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I found the section about the post runner really interesting and felt that more time could have been give to this part of the episode and much less time given to the WW2 segment. I taped the episode and have to say that I fast-forwarded through some of it. More genealogy please! frostyknight
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As I like to research the life of my ancestors I found all of Paul's programme very interesting and as we're having a year long commemoration of the end of WWII it's understandable that this subject would be included in the series. What surprised me was learning that missiles were fired from cannon guns over thirty miles away :o
The Mackenzie half also interested me as that's my dad's side of our ancestry. I never imagined they could walk from west to east of the Highlands and back again in only six days!
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I enjoyed the programme, although I agree that the details in the first section dragged on a little bit.
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Didn't really enjoy it and wouldn't watch it again. Some of the older episodes I can watch over and over.
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The book that mentioned his postman ancestor and got his name wrong ... How did they know this was him? I hope conclusions were not jumped to! Any info on that from anyone? It was certainly an eye opener that such a job existed.
Like most people here I groaned at the length of time spent on the war, then got more interested when the family line went further back. I think the programme needs to be an hour and a half long to get into the genealogy more and less of the travelogue, nice though that was to see.
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@ CMS, that occurred to me as well, Donald became Duncan I think? Donald can also be Daniel but not Duncan but Duncan the post-runner was a more interesting subject. Are we being conned.
Skoosh.
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Interesting. I hadn't remembered the names but just as you say, I have an ancestor from Scotland who swaps between Donald and Daniel, which I beleive is to do with the translation from Gaelic. It could be that Duncan being such a similar name was just a mistake in the account given in the book. But there would have been many with the same names in that area so how were they sure it was the same man?
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Mackenzie country, so folk used their patronymic, he wouldn't be known as Donald Mackenzie, there would be dozens.
Skoosh.
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Coincidentally as I was surfing for background information on my several Donald Mackenzie(s) I came across an article about the early postal service including post boys which I found most interesting.
It didn't do to separate the Post Office from its charges:-
"On the early morning of the 1st of August 1802 the mail from Glasgow for Edinburgh was robbed by two men at a place near Linlithgow, when a[Pg 39] sum of £1300 or £1400 was stolen. The robbers had previously been soldiers. They hurried into Edinburgh with their booty, got drunk, were discovered, and, when subsequently tried, were sentenced to be executed. The law was severe in those days; and the Post Office has the distinction of having obtained judgment against a robber who was the last criminal hung in chains in Scotland."
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27688/27688-h/27688-h.htm
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Some further interesting reading re the 'post runner' :
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01fwk/
so it may only have been the 'full run' for five or so months of the year.
For those commenting on the name difference, see link in my earlier post above.
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I was VERY disappointed in the Paul Hollywood episode. It's nice that he found out about his granddad, who he knew, but it was a programme that didn't give the viewers much/new. They spent far too long on this one person (who wasn't a mystery and who had lived a long life) - and I find the war stuff 'boring' as there's so much of it about in recent years and it's "quite easy" to find out more yourself if you're interested.
The show was something that he should've paid for/had done (it's not like he's on national minimum wage).
As for the rest, they skimped and rushed and achieved nothing.
A very poor show. It's not often I find a WDYTYA that is a waste of an hour of my life that I'll never get back, but this episode would be one of the first in the hat!
Yes it's nice, for Paul, that they took him on a jolly .... but it wasn't film-worthy.
If I'd been The Boss of WDYTYA I'd have pulled that episode and shoved it to the back of the cupboard.... I guess they were trying to capitalise on the Great British Bake Off audience pull. They'll not keep many (if any) of those new viewers it pulled in on the back of PH's name.
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I cannot believe that more than a few thousand watch "the Great British Bake off" It is totally bland, just like their cakes. ;D
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I cannot believe that more than a few thousand watch "the Great British Bake off" It is totally bland, just like their cakes. ;D
It's about wanting to be a twee Yummy Mummy - and middle-class - before dashing off to Amazon to buy a Kitchen Aid mixer (that won't get used). It's a tight demographic + those who follow like sheep on social media :)
And a few people who like looking at nice cakes and dreaming of scoffing them.
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I cannot believe that more than a few thousand watch "the Great British Bake off" It is totally bland, just like their cakes. ;D
Some people like sports programmes, some like reality shows, some like game shows, others like watching the ability of others to bake cakes good or bad.
We are all different, we all like watching or doing different things, and I say thank goodness for that.
Simon
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The Observer TV critic calls WDYTYA a "tired formula". After an episode like this I'm inclined to agree.
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The Observer TV critic calls WDYTYA a "tired formula". After an episode like this I'm inclined to agree.
Me too. Perhaps they should go back to some of the earlier series when there was actually some genealogy on show. I seem to remember even being able to press the red button and get Adrian Chiles and that chap who used to pop up on any genealogy related programme (can't remember his name now) explaining how to start your family history and which documents to look for. They need to get the balance right between social history and actual genealogy (going back a good bit earlier than 70 years ago).
Above all, they need to stop opting for 'popular celebrities' (No, Scouseboy, I don't get the attraction of watching people bake cakes either but - hey - each to their own). They need to hire better researchers who are prepared to slog it out at the Records Offices to come up with interesting stories - even if the so called celebrity isn't actually very celebrated!! I don't care as long as they have an interesting ancestry to offer.
I'm hoping Jerry Hall might be the exception to all this WW2 stuff. I live in hope!
Jill
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@ Rena, one of my Urray Grant's was the last postie in Scotland to deliver on horseback, a Jimmy Grant, I think he delivered up Glen Orrin in the 1950's.
Skoosh.
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I also noted that there were two census records for Alexander McKenzie and the first one was assumed to be the correct one. I'm sure someone looked into this but it would have been good to see them consider both and discard one.
Rishile
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Like a good cupcake I will blend the 2 themes that seem to be going on here ( see what I did there huh huh )
Both shows GBB and WDYTA are in tv speak - aspirational- we all sit home watching other people make the most wonderful creations while we fill ourselves with the local egg custard tart from the mass production factory - and wish we could do that.
We also like celebrities on our genealogy shows because who knows . - Blimey I might be related 32cousins twice removed ( the second time was with a warning) to Paul Hollywood!!!! Or maybe Jerry Hall. I mean I could be related to someone who was married to Mick Jagger . Imagine that!!
That's what both shows are selling. ( and going back 70 years wont do that)
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.... because who knows . - Blimey I might be related 32cousins twice removed ...
Interestingly (or not) - the Bruce Forsyth episode showed how his grandfather (?) had disappeared and they found him; he'd gone to America and got a new family - although he'd also been in contact with one of his daughters still in the UK (and popped back to visit her). Reading the sites like Rootschat after the event somebody else had popped up and said "Hey - I think that missing-grandfather with the 2nd family might've had a 3rd and it's MY family!!"
I also found the Bill Oddie one amusing - he met a "very distant cousin" who was a keen genealogist, who'd spent most of his time/life trying to find out if/how he was connected to Bill Oddie - they met up (and he handed over all his charts and evidence/certificates) and showed Bill their connection - and the funny thing was, they looked IDENTICAL!
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@ Rena, one of my Urray Grant's was the last postie in Scotland to deliver on horseback, a Jimmy Grant, I think he delivered up Glen Orrin in the 1950's.
Skoosh.
:o :o :o :o :o :o
That was my first reaction - romantic visions of the lone rider in the outback. Then I realised that I lived through that era; as in the 1950s I saw horses everywhere delivering the milk, the beer, collecting the rags and bones, etc., etc.
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You talk a lot of sense about the aspirational aspect of the two programmes David. I agree with you.
Blimey I might be related 32cousins twice removed ( the second time was with a warning) to Paul Hollywood!!!! Or maybe Jerry Hall. I mean I could be related to someone who had to **** Mick Jagger . Imagine that!!
And that is hilarious! ;D
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;D ;D
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I have to say I found the episode tedious in the extreme. I got so bored with the WW2 bit that I switched off. Not a lot happened and Paul knew that part of it anyway. After reading this thread with people saying the second part of the programme was better, I tried again but still found the programme disengaging. Perhaps it's because I found Mr Hollywood had all the enthusiasm of a dead fish. Still, I'll try again next week...
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We mustn't blame Paul Hollywood for the layout of the programme. There must have been hours of filming and it's down to the editors to produce a well balanced finished programme from what they filmed.
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Did anyone get a clear view of the medals?
Was the Africa star and the Italy Star clearly shown?
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Did anyone get a clear view of the medals?
Was the Africa star and the Italy Star clearly shown?
I have just checked this out on i-player. I don't think anything was said about the stars in particular, although you can spot brief, partial views of them.
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Anyone who missed it in the UK, I believe there is a repeat on one of the channels this evening.
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Anyone who missed it in the UK, I believe there is a repeat on one of the channels this evening.
It's on BBC1 at 11.35pm.
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Just caught this episode on iPlayer.
WDYTYA has always been one of my favourite TV programmes and in the early years I would be glued to the screen. However the last series found my attention starting to drift. And this first episode of series 12 had me opening another Window (I watched it on my laptop) and checking my emails within the first 20 mins. Perhaps I'm just getting bored with the format - the same old same old .
I don't watch Bake Off , so I although I knew who Paul H was , I've never watched him before. Can't say I took to him :-\ although he did seem interested and moved by both his Grandad's story and Donald the Post's too.
Personally and with apologises I found the WW2 history a bit dreich. No doubt it was interesting to Paul but another "what my father/grandpa did in the war" segment seemed like the same old same old I referred to above. I found the Scottish history (honest I'm not biased) a bit more interesting but even at that, we the viewers never got a proper look at Census records or the OPR record.
Lastly, I just hope that the next time I visit some remote old graveyard to search for a GGG-granny some anoraked expert pops up to lead me to the exact location and show me a chapter written about her in someone's book . ;D ::) I wish !!
Don't know who is next? I'll probably watch it and hope it gets a bit more exciting.
Looby :)
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Some of us will have been with wdytya? since the first series and at times, the format might be a bit stale and the stories familiar.
But people start their family history all the time and for them, this is all new and exciting.
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Some of us will have been with wdytya? since the first series and at times, the format might be a bit stale and the stories familiar.
But people start their family history all the time and for them, this is all new and exciting.
It's hard to believe that anyone just thinking about starting would have found the Hollywood programme exciting. I think it would have put people off instead. Talk about dreary - WW11 and scenery.
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But people start their family history all the time and for them, this is all new and exciting.
Agree, but many of the comments here, have been wanting more about how it was done, which would be useful for "newbies" too.
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The next one is Jane Seymour and we have been told that it involves life under the Nazis. Again!
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The next one is Jane Seymour and we have been told that it involves life under the Nazis. Again!
Given there were approx 20,000 nazi concentration camps during WWll perhaps there might be something we have not seen before? ::)
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There may be hope for us yet!!
Just been looking at next week's Radio Times and 3rd on is Derek Jacobi and, dare I say it, Huguenots are mentioned!! That should guarantee us getting back further than grandfather, surely? :o
Jill
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There may be hope for us yet!! Just been looking at next week's Radio Times and 3rd on is Derek Jacobi and, dare I say it, Huguenots are mentioned!! That should guarantee us getting back further than grandfather, surely? :o Jill
And I SO HOPE that instead of just producing answers with a flourish, they give me procedural information that I can use for one of my "brick walls". :P
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I am astonished that Pauls brother did NOT say to him when he turned up at their front door:
"If we knew you were coming we would have baked a Cake"
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I am astonished that Paul's brother did NOT say to him when he turned up at their front door: "If we knew you were coming we would have baked a Cake"
;D Excellent. I wish I had thought of that!! ::)