The Federation of Family History Societies has completed the 3rd edition of its National Burial Index for England and Wales, with an impressive 18 million names and more. This is almost double the number currently available on the FindmyPast.co.uk website, which hosts some 10 million entries from the second edition.
For more information, visit www.ffhs.org.uk/projects/nbi/nbi3-status.php
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Learn Scottish Gaelic - in Andalucia!
A couple of posts back I mentioned how I had been learning Scottish Gaelic in Bristol many moons ago. There's many ways to learn Gaelic. In Scotland is certainly one useful way to do it, mainly on account of the Gaels living there! That's the traditional approach. There was my way, the novelty way, i.e., be an Ulsterman living in England to have a go. Then there is the truly exotic - learn it in Andalucia, Spain, under the lemon trees, with a pool at your feet and the sun beating down on you in all its brilliance.
Damn, I hear you mutter under your breath, if only there was a course in Andalucia. I mean like, what are the odds...?
Oh ye of such little faith! Well known Gaelic singers Gillebride Macmillan and Fiona Mackenzie, along with broadcaster, actress, and all round good egg Rhoda Meek, will be hosting and teaching a course from the evening of Wednesday 28th April 2010 through to the afternoon of Sunday 2nd May, at the Hotel Bandelero in the the village of Júzcar, Andelucia.
Details of the full programme are available at www.fionamackenzie.org/Course_Information_2010.pdf, with a course booking form at www.fionamackenzie.org/Booking_Form.doc.
Sorely, sorely tempting....!
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
Damn, I hear you mutter under your breath, if only there was a course in Andalucia. I mean like, what are the odds...?
Oh ye of such little faith! Well known Gaelic singers Gillebride Macmillan and Fiona Mackenzie, along with broadcaster, actress, and all round good egg Rhoda Meek, will be hosting and teaching a course from the evening of Wednesday 28th April 2010 through to the afternoon of Sunday 2nd May, at the Hotel Bandelero in the the village of Júzcar, Andelucia.
Details of the full programme are available at www.fionamackenzie.org/Course_Information_2010.pdf, with a course booking form at www.fionamackenzie.org/Booking_Form.doc.
Sorely, sorely tempting....!
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
Discover my Past Scotland issue 16 now on sale
The February issue of Discover my Past Scotland (issue 16) is now available at www.discovermypast.co.uk, packed with all the usual goodies.John Hannavy looks at the Victorian fad for 'taking the waters', Sue Wilkes provides a profile of Sir Walter Scott, Michelle Higgs explores the lives of Scottish lighthouse keepers, Ruth Symes visit the kitchens of old to see what old Scottish recipes can say about your family, as well as starting a new series on the annals of Edinburgh, Katie Howard describes the resources available for Orkney research, and yours truly examines how to research death in all sorts of Scottish records, as well as providing the latest news and reviews from the Scottish genealogical scene.
Along with all the other regular features, such as Q&As, events listings, bygone days and more, it's £2.50 well worth spending!
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
Can Seo! Teach yourself basic Gaelic
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....
OK, it was actually Bristol, which is about six and half hours away down the motorway in that strange land of the Angles that is England! As a student in the city I had started learning Irish during my spare time through the Bristol Irish Society, the odd one out, to say the least, with me being a Northern Irish protestant. All went well for several months, until one night when one of the organisers was attacked by loyalist nutters from Belfast who were apparently over for just a few days. The gent in question was seriously hurt, which meant that afterwards I was sadly not as welcome as I had been before. I did not take it personally, and did remain in touch with many members for several years after.
With no society to now go to, I looked for ways to help myself learn from home, and along those lines I bought myself a copy of an album called 'Ard' (meaning 'high') by a group called Runrig. But crikey, what had gone wrong with the Irish language? The spelling was atrocious in the printed lyrics, the pronunciation was off, but the music itself was wonderful. At that point, as someone who had been raised in Northern Ireland, I had absolutely no idea that anybody else in the world spoke in Gaelic, let alone just over the water. What I had in fact bought was my very first album in Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig). Needless to say, I absolutely fell in love with it - much easier to learn (no present tense - imagine!), more directly relevant to my ancestry (though I wasn't aware of it at the time), and a complete surpise to me in that although most of those who spoke it were actually protestants in Scotland, it was a form of Gaelic with no sectarian hang ups, as in Ireland.
So having discovered this amazing language, I decided to park learning Irish for a bit and to have a go at Scottish Gaelic. I needed a course - and along came a very old VHS copy of a 1970s series called Can Seo, which I discovered soon after through the Bristol branch of the Cardiff Gaelic Circle! Can Seo was produced by the BBC as an absolute beginner's guide, and is remembered affectionately by many learners in that it absolutely did what it said on the tin - it taught you how to speak the very basics of the language, not in parrot fashion, as with later series such as Speaking Our Language, but by actually explaining how the words worked as you went along. It got me hooked, and from there I moved onto Boyd Robertson's Teach Yourself Gaelic series, but Can Seo definitely paved the way.
Now the series is online at YouTube, so if you fancy a go, get stuck in! Forget the 70s fashion, the wooden smiley presenters, and the almost Open University like look to it - it is a course that actually works. If in doubt, here's the first part of the first episode - enjoy!
I should add - the music is from Runrig!
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
OK, it was actually Bristol, which is about six and half hours away down the motorway in that strange land of the Angles that is England! As a student in the city I had started learning Irish during my spare time through the Bristol Irish Society, the odd one out, to say the least, with me being a Northern Irish protestant. All went well for several months, until one night when one of the organisers was attacked by loyalist nutters from Belfast who were apparently over for just a few days. The gent in question was seriously hurt, which meant that afterwards I was sadly not as welcome as I had been before. I did not take it personally, and did remain in touch with many members for several years after.
With no society to now go to, I looked for ways to help myself learn from home, and along those lines I bought myself a copy of an album called 'Ard' (meaning 'high') by a group called Runrig. But crikey, what had gone wrong with the Irish language? The spelling was atrocious in the printed lyrics, the pronunciation was off, but the music itself was wonderful. At that point, as someone who had been raised in Northern Ireland, I had absolutely no idea that anybody else in the world spoke in Gaelic, let alone just over the water. What I had in fact bought was my very first album in Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig). Needless to say, I absolutely fell in love with it - much easier to learn (no present tense - imagine!), more directly relevant to my ancestry (though I wasn't aware of it at the time), and a complete surpise to me in that although most of those who spoke it were actually protestants in Scotland, it was a form of Gaelic with no sectarian hang ups, as in Ireland.
So having discovered this amazing language, I decided to park learning Irish for a bit and to have a go at Scottish Gaelic. I needed a course - and along came a very old VHS copy of a 1970s series called Can Seo, which I discovered soon after through the Bristol branch of the Cardiff Gaelic Circle! Can Seo was produced by the BBC as an absolute beginner's guide, and is remembered affectionately by many learners in that it absolutely did what it said on the tin - it taught you how to speak the very basics of the language, not in parrot fashion, as with later series such as Speaking Our Language, but by actually explaining how the words worked as you went along. It got me hooked, and from there I moved onto Boyd Robertson's Teach Yourself Gaelic series, but Can Seo definitely paved the way.
Now the series is online at YouTube, so if you fancy a go, get stuck in! Forget the 70s fashion, the wooden smiley presenters, and the almost Open University like look to it - it is a course that actually works. If in doubt, here's the first part of the first episode - enjoy!
I should add - the music is from Runrig!
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Women's Work in the Highlands conference - report
The Glasgow Women's Library blog has posted a report on the recent Women’s Work in the Highlands conference before Christmas, organised by WEA Scotland, Glasgow Women's Library and the Highland Archive Centre.
The article can be read at the following link: Women’s Work in the Highlands
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
The article can be read at the following link: Women’s Work in the Highlands
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
Skin and Bone: Life & Death in Medieval Perth - exhibition
As part of its celebrations to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the granting of the Royal Burgh Charter to Perth by King William the Lion of Scotland in 1210, Perth Museum has launched the Skin & Bone: Life & Death in Medieval Perth exhibition. Access is free and the exhibition runs throughout the year.
From the council's website:
The Royal Burgh of Perth has been a thriving town for over 800 years. The town has grown considerably since its early days in the 11th century and, although only St John’s Kirk stands to visibly remind us of that medieval past, every day we walk over the buried remains of the old town.
The special exhibition includes loans from other collections and features the Hammermen Book - the medieval guild record book - and the Perth Psalter prayer book both from the National Library of Scotland, and the Hammermen’s stock box from St John’s Kirk, which was used in the 15th century and later to collect fines from local metalworkers in and around Perth.
Finds from excavations in the latter part of the 20th century form a large part of the exhibition. Digs on Perth High Street, Mill Street, Canal Street, around Horsecross, St John’s Kirk and several other places turned up some incredible objects, bodies and buildings.
Skeletons discovered beside the Kirk during pedestrianisation work, believed to be from the medieval burial ground, will be on display, along with other skeletons uncovered during work around Horsecross. One of these, nicknamed “Robert” by excavators, appears to have been murdered and dumped in a hastily-dug pit near the site of the current Museum and Art Gallery.
The remains of several dogs that have been found under the streets of Perth city centre reveal that medieval Scots enjoyed keeping pets - the skeleton of one appears to be that of a lap dog. Another appears to be the remains of a fighting dog, illustrating a more grisly side to medieval leisure pursuits.
Other items on show will be an ornately carved ivory knife handle recovered from Perth High Street excavations, one of several inidcations that some medieval residents of Perth were high status individuals.
A set of iron scissors, pins, jugs, a candle holder and an anvil base are some of the items that will show how Perth was a thriving centre of crafts and trades in and before the 16th century.
A chess piece made of jet which was recovered from Meal Vennel and parts of other board games recovered during excavations give an idea of how people in medieval Perth liked to spend their leisure time.
Also on display - kindly lent by Perth and Kinross Council Archives - will be one of only two surviving medieval copies of the charter from King William the Lion confirming Perth’s royal burgh status, making this a must-see exhibition for 2010.
For the full release visit here.
My family's connection with Perth is very strong, the Patons having moved there in the 1770s, and with several cousins of mine still resident there today. So if you don't visit, I'm gonna take it personally! :) Incidentally, if you have weaver ancestors from Perth, visit my site at www.perthweavers.bravehost.com, where some records have been made available and a summary of the handloom trade from 1770-1844 based on a university project I carried out a few years ago.
Have fun!
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
From the council's website:
The Royal Burgh of Perth has been a thriving town for over 800 years. The town has grown considerably since its early days in the 11th century and, although only St John’s Kirk stands to visibly remind us of that medieval past, every day we walk over the buried remains of the old town.
The special exhibition includes loans from other collections and features the Hammermen Book - the medieval guild record book - and the Perth Psalter prayer book both from the National Library of Scotland, and the Hammermen’s stock box from St John’s Kirk, which was used in the 15th century and later to collect fines from local metalworkers in and around Perth.
Finds from excavations in the latter part of the 20th century form a large part of the exhibition. Digs on Perth High Street, Mill Street, Canal Street, around Horsecross, St John’s Kirk and several other places turned up some incredible objects, bodies and buildings.
Skeletons discovered beside the Kirk during pedestrianisation work, believed to be from the medieval burial ground, will be on display, along with other skeletons uncovered during work around Horsecross. One of these, nicknamed “Robert” by excavators, appears to have been murdered and dumped in a hastily-dug pit near the site of the current Museum and Art Gallery.
The remains of several dogs that have been found under the streets of Perth city centre reveal that medieval Scots enjoyed keeping pets - the skeleton of one appears to be that of a lap dog. Another appears to be the remains of a fighting dog, illustrating a more grisly side to medieval leisure pursuits.
Other items on show will be an ornately carved ivory knife handle recovered from Perth High Street excavations, one of several inidcations that some medieval residents of Perth were high status individuals.
A set of iron scissors, pins, jugs, a candle holder and an anvil base are some of the items that will show how Perth was a thriving centre of crafts and trades in and before the 16th century.
A chess piece made of jet which was recovered from Meal Vennel and parts of other board games recovered during excavations give an idea of how people in medieval Perth liked to spend their leisure time.
Also on display - kindly lent by Perth and Kinross Council Archives - will be one of only two surviving medieval copies of the charter from King William the Lion confirming Perth’s royal burgh status, making this a must-see exhibition for 2010.
For the full release visit here.
My family's connection with Perth is very strong, the Patons having moved there in the 1770s, and with several cousins of mine still resident there today. So if you don't visit, I'm gonna take it personally! :) Incidentally, if you have weaver ancestors from Perth, visit my site at www.perthweavers.bravehost.com, where some records have been made available and a summary of the handloom trade from 1770-1844 based on a university project I carried out a few years ago.
Have fun!
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
Business Archives Strategy for Scotland draws near
Business Archives Scotland has posted an update to say that its Business Archives Strategy for Scotland is being finalised and will be made available for public consultation within the next few weeks. There is also some discussion on cross border representation for companies with assets in both Scotland and England.
The full post is at the following link: December into January
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
The full post is at the following link: December into January
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
ScotlandsPeople Centre records update
The ScotlandsPeople Centre computer system has just undergone an update to January 9th 2010 for all recent birth, marriage and death record events. Any events which may still be missing will be down to the fact the relevant registrar's office has not submitted the records yet, but these will be due soon. The DIGROS system in the Dundas Room has been similarly updated, along with recent divorce records (these will be updated on the main system elsewhere in the centre soon).
Indexes for George Square in Edinburgh that were previously missing from the ScotlandsPeople network have now also been added.
(With many thanks to Dee Williams at the ScotlandsPeople Centre)
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
Indexes for George Square in Edinburgh that were previously missing from the ScotlandsPeople network have now also been added.
(With many thanks to Dee Williams at the ScotlandsPeople Centre)
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
Evening Times microfilms at the Mitchell Library
If anyone is looking to go through the Evening Times microfilms at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, it is worth noting that not all editions have been photographed. I was in today doing some work for a client who had asked me to try to find the exact dates of 18 articles which appeared in a semi-regular series in 1938. I had the timeframe narrowed to between May and October, but was initially unable to find them. I eventually found a reader's letter after two hours digging, which in commenting on one of the articles in question referred to its exact date of publication. Yet even with that, it was still not found on the microfilm.
The reason was that the Saturday issues which were photographed were only the Final Editions, usually printed with the sports results and just a couple of other pages from the First Editions. When I guessed it might be the case, I was able to get the librarian to bring out the original bound volume to double check, and soon located some of the articles in the earlier editions which had indeed not been photographed.
The moral of the story is that even when a microfilm run of papers is available at an archive, it may not contain each and every edition of the paper you are using, so don't be afraid to ask to see the originals. Not all archives will allow this, but in my experience most will if you have a legitimate reason to request access.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
The reason was that the Saturday issues which were photographed were only the Final Editions, usually printed with the sports results and just a couple of other pages from the First Editions. When I guessed it might be the case, I was able to get the librarian to bring out the original bound volume to double check, and soon located some of the articles in the earlier editions which had indeed not been photographed.
The moral of the story is that even when a microfilm run of papers is available at an archive, it may not contain each and every edition of the paper you are using, so don't be afraid to ask to see the originals. Not all archives will allow this, but in my experience most will if you have a legitimate reason to request access.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
Friday, 29 January 2010
Aberdeen Blitz images
Some images from the WW2 Blitz in Aberdeen have been placed online at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8485102.stm.
The pictures, held by Grampian Police archive, will be shown at the Deemouth Business Centre, South Esplanade East, from Saturday until Sunday 14th February.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
The pictures, held by Grampian Police archive, will be shown at the Deemouth Business Centre, South Esplanade East, from Saturday until Sunday 14th February.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
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