Genealogy Chat

How about fancy dress?

you get husband and wife tag teams because they have THE most difficult to trace family in the world and want to tell everyone about it (or make sure everyone in the office hears them anyway). they assume that as their is two of them they are allowed to take double the number of allowed items each from the drawers at any one time. No matter that you've been in and out of the office at least once a week for a year looking for one man's birth in every parish within a hundred miles your search is NEVER as arduous as theirs is They normally have matching coats - so beware if you spot a member of the opposite sex as you wearing similar outergarments waiting to get in in the morning - everyone will assume your' 'Family Tree From Hell Couple' - stand at leats 20 paces away.

That's an idea Joy... do you think Santa or a Womble would be better?

How about going dressed as a Victorian and asking everyone to help you trace your descendents?

You do realise Merry that record offices up and down the land are going to be on the look out for you now. No longer will you be able to visit incognito. From now on this ensemble will be known as the Merry look!

Hi Merry I would recommend a long coil of stout rope. (You can smuggle it in wound round your middle underneath the long baggy cardie, a few more inches won't matter surely). You will need this rope to attach to the chair at your fiche reader, because the husband-and-wife researchers at the next machine will kidnap your chair every time you stand up to fetch another fiche/go to the loo/have something to eat/sneak back to the lockers for a swig of the gin which you will of course have packed in your kitbag. H-and-W will be so engrossed they won't notice the trailing rope. When you get back to your fiche reader (now chairless), you just give the rope a sharp tug et voila. Works every time. Oh, and I would borrow a large hearing aid so that, should they be so discourteous as to object, you can pretend you can't hear them. Tina

Michael, I think maybe Batman

Of course if you're going to the FRC you simply MUST take a toddler and a baby in buggy to keep everyone amused with their incredibly short boredom threshold. However, when visiting Hertfordshire archives I can only suggest a swimming cossie as they don't have air conditioning and the building is always 20C above that of most maternity wards.

MERRY, I THINK YOU SHOULD WEAR A LONG GREEN PARKER AND COURDOROYS, ISN'T THAT WHAT ALL TREE HUGGERS WEAR? BEV

Well in Cambridge bicycle clips, courdroy and patches on your elbows are essential, but if you sit on the left hand side you may want to wear less as it gets very hot through the large windows! I just wear whatever I need to be wearing that day. If I'm in London I'm usually meeting someone for lunch so will look quite smart and business-like but it's not very practical for hefting heavy books around and you do tend to stick out like a sore thumb. Don't forget your anorak. That, by the way, was an instruction from my kids to me the first time I went! Daisy

Oh, and NO PENS!!! Not allowed. Pencils only. Daisy

Oh, I really AM laughing out loud......!!!!! So many of you have fantastic descriptive powers! Does that come from studying family history, or something else, or is it just chance?? Heather's Americans are spot on (sorry anyone reading this from over the pond.....I know you are not all like that, but it's only the American's like Heather describes that we notice! LOL) The tips covering the husband and wife team are great (esp the Indian Rope Trick!) I had the pleasure of a H & W team at my local library the other week.......He sat at a table looking at Trade Directories and she popped back and forth to the shelf (25 yards away) collecting the next volume........ ''I think 1927 first'' ''Pardon, dear?'' ''PLEASE BRING 1927'' ''That one is missing'' ''PARDON??'' ''THAT ONE IS MISSING'' ''is that 1927 that's missing??'' ''PARDON??'' ''1927???'' ''NO, THAT ONE'S MISSING'' Aaaaggggghhhh!! Merry

.......... or Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson ?

This thread has had me laughing out loud. It's the funniest one I've read for such a long time :) Thanks to you all :) :) joanne *sneakily hiding her pack-a-mac behind the sofa*

What I would advise is not to go dressed like the staff. She - waist length greasy dark hair, streaked with grey. Long thin make-up-free face, long skirt, opaque tights, close fitting dull cardigan, shapeless plain blouse - a sort of dull hippy look. He - woollen waistcoat & dickie-bow. Non-descript other than that. Both of them using their posh voices, talking enthusiastically about council policies on something or other - scowling continuously and keen to kick you out 10 minutes before closing. Wear a smile and put everything back where you found it tidily. Winds 'em up every time when you've flourescent pink hair and an inch of goth make-up. Lol.

Hmmm ! I think that the next time I go to the Chelmsford RO I'll take Meercat with me. For she is more warming than any Arctic Survival Kit. Well it seems to me that you have now got the dress code well and truly sorted Merry. But what about making sure that you get the most from your visit ? You need to assemble an expert team to make full use of your precious time..................... For starters ; Two Research Assistants who will help you to ensure that you view every record that you have on your list. A Secretary to keep all your findings in some semblance of order and save you ploughing through copious piles of notes when you get home. A Translator to help you unravel the mysteries of the foreign language that administrators used so obsessively all those years ago. An Archivist to enlighten you about long forgotten terms such as Strap Slingers and ( dare I mention it ) ......Beaver Blowers. A Personal Trainer to ease the headache that you will surely get from viewing all those illegible microfilms and keep you at peak fitness for the even more arduous microfiche ordeals. A Therapist to help you maintain your enthusiasm for the richly rewarding pastime that you have signed up to. And your own Personal Chef............. so that you can have your meals 'in house', and not suffer the indignity of popping out for a sandwich and coming back to find that some trumped up amateur family historian has nicked your seat !!!!!! Happy hunting My Friend

Please see Keith's list..... who is going to volunteer?? (and for which post?) Salary to be negotiated (bloater paste sandwiches to be deducted) Merry

I refuse to be 'volunteered' again,and am taking a huge step backwards as you read this. Anyhow i can't be very incognito in my outfit. glen

Re husband and wife teams - dont you just expect Roy and Hayley Cropper to turn up one day?

Keith and Meercat HAVE to go together!!!