Many Blessings

It's an old adage - for me, as a blogger of ten-plus years, at any rate - 'when inspiration fails, turn to the diary'.  For a week that began with few diary entries, it's been a remarkably full one.

Not everyone takes a break on the Bank Holiday.  Ever since I moved into this house, I've been wary of shutting the door between the porch and the lounge, remembering that the broken handle has sharp edges.  On one occasion, returning from shopping with two heavy bags, I forgot and suffered the inevitable nicked finger.  However, that trouble is now in the past, thanks to Paul, who popped in to replace it on Monday morning.

Paul is the supervisor of a team of contractors engaged by the landlord's agent, and I took the opportunity to mutter about the colder evenings and the fact of the heating system not working.  He already knew about this, and promised a call from the plumber later in the week.  The phone rang at lunchtime on Thursday, "Plumber here, I'll be there in ten minutes if that's OK."  I stifled my cheer and told him it would be fine.  After skilled attention to the boiler and all the radiators, along with patient explanations to answer my 'newcomer's silly questions', I now have warmth to accompany both ends of every day.

Long ago, or so it seems, I subscribed to a wonderful system called Lost Cousins.  It's a well-run on line system, working around a database of particular entries on the key censuses, contributed by individual genealogists from their own research.  An algorithm then matches people who have shown interest in the same individual on the database.  I found it of limited use, and was reminded this week that, some nine years ago, I responded to two people I'd been matched with, only to be met with complete silence!  I don't think I've been near the site since, although I still receive and enjoy reading the regular newsletters from its organiser.

Twice this week, I've had e-mails from Lost Cousins, announcing that someone matching my entries to the database would like to make contact.  My confidence in the system was instantly restored, and in each case I responded immediately.  I have now exchanged two or three e-mails with both Michaela and Ian, with definitely positive results.  Michaela appears to be a fourth cousin, twice removed, linked to my grandfather's ancestors, while Ian's first cousin, three times removed, married my great-great uncle and emigrated to Canada before the First World War.

They say good news comes in threes ... so does genealogical revelation, it seems.  For many years, I have exchanged Christmas Cards with a lady whom I knew to be my third cousin once removed through my grandmother's family.  This week, as a result of my long-standing and oft-lamented work on the Burlingham family, I discovered links that now indicate that this woman is also a straight fourth cousin through my grandfather.

It will be fun in the coming weeks to incorporate all these links into my long-neglected family tree program and see how they look on paper!