Documenting the present

Many folks are a little concerned just now about the coronavirus pandemic that is rapidly spreading worldwide. As I sit writing this, it is entirely possible here in Scotland that within the next few weeks my son's school and university might close, right at a time in particular when my youngest's first major exams are about to take place. My elderly father who lives just six miles up the road is deeply concerned about what the effect might be on him if he gets Covid19. Events are being cancelled left, right and centre here in the UK, the public seemingly moving to act further and faster than those elected to represent them to call off major events, including many within our own wee genealogical bubble. We're taking many precautions - our hands have never been scrubbed so clean!

I've also started to write another personal diary today, after a gap of a couple of years. As a genealogist, the one person I think many of us often forget to document is ourselves, and our own day to day lives, so intent are we on breaking down particular brick walls from centuries ago, and yet forgetting we are also a part of that ancestral story.

It's always a great idea to keep a diary - I have my wedding, my kids' births, the passing of loved ones, all recorded over the years in the present tense, as I experienced them. If you have never kept a diary before, and if you have the time to spare, now might be as good a time as any to give it a go.

I hope things pass quickly and return soon to normality. There will be some things we can do to get through the next wee while, and some things perhaps we cannot. But whatever happens, I want my kids, and their future kids to know about these extraordinary times from my perspective, with my family present one day to be part of their family history.

Chris

You can pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 (out April). Also available, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.