This question reminds me of the powerful and highly emotionally charged response from Michael Sheen in the film ‘Damned United’ he stood up and asserted “Brian Clough” and again even firmer “Brian Clough”. You may have felt that emotion too, but I’m sure if you and I were in the same cinema some of that emotion would have been radiating from me, having sat next to Brian and his wife Barbara on a flight out to Spain when I was about 12 years old. I didn’t have a clue at the time who he was, my Dad, star struck obviously did when he plonked me in the seat.

Generally speaking, how great is it to experience a person who has a solid sense of their ‘self’ in the world.
The business of finding out ‘who you think you are’ has seen continued growth in the UK since the late 1960’s, it’s described as the most popular leisure pursuit with over a million and a half people involved in family history, we can see why it could become a good business to be in. I wonder how many entrepreneurs have made the connection with ancestral tourism, how many are making the most of those opportunities to provide accommodation, tours and a great experience. It’s certainly noticeable that there’s a shift in a sense of nostalgia for the past tied with UK made.

Having had wanderlust for many years I’ve recently experienced a very strange and comforting shift since getting involved in the business of searching my family history with the skilled help of my friend and genealogist Alan France. Word had it that my Cherry family roots originated in France, and being inspired by the BBC series ‘who do you think you are’ I was certainly up for a trip over the channel to find my cherry growing ancestors.

As it happens they’ve lived within yards of each other for years and years, right under my nose and right on my door step, My Son is mortified that there’s been no migration of the family since 1775, but why would they? They all had work, many of them self employed (just like me), and Barnsley in those days was at the centre of the industrial boom.

I’m finding my project interesting, intriguing and an exciting process. It’s also had a profound effect on me as a person in mid-life, I get a stronger sense of belonging, I have a stronger passion for making my place a better place to be, I feel more connected to my community and the seemingly progressive work going on in it. I do wonder though if comparatively speaking we (our town) have progressed.

What I do find very amusing is my secret (until now) fascination that I have for fabric, more so, old & intricate paintings of woven fabric, I can lose myself in a gallery, absorbed in a painting of someone dressed in their finery. What’s funny here is the fact that a number of my family were handloom weavers, ok so they didn’t work with silk, they worked linen (genes, jeans…). I chose not to make a garment in my textiles class at school; instead I made a hand woven wall hanging, ooohhhh!!

I remember fighting tooth and nail be able to get married in a church way outside my parent’s parish, I’m not sure of my reason why, I just had my mind set on it. When Alan and I went along to the wonderful Archive department in Barnsley Library I found that the majority had married, and had their children baptised at the same church too.

So Gail who, do you think you are, a chip off the old block?

I couldn’t have got through this project without Alan, thank you Alan for your dedicated help in finding my ancestors. www.findyourroots.co.uk