Family history

Family history has been a bit of a passion of mine for more than a decade. I am particularly interested in how my ancestors lived and what drove them to make the decisions that they did. I am very lucky to have quite a rich selection of photographs and documents which help in the research.

Last week the 1921 census details were released on line. At £3.50 per record it isn't cheap but having rarely gone out for lunch or coffee or to the cinema over the last two years I regard each one I buy as a little treat to myself.They make interesting reading.

Unemployment and tightly packed, multi-generational households seem to have been the order of the day. I sometimes wonder what my grandmother would make of central heating and en-suite bathrooms. It might have been called the roaring twenties but not, I think for my family.