Travels, books, workshops & other news: My Genealogy Weeks 16 Oct - 17 Nov 2023

Half this month was spent travelling in China. We did the usual things in Beijing and then went to the older areas of Hangshou and Souchou before ending in Shanghai. It was supposed to be autumn and cool but while we were there, they had some of their hottest days in years.

Touring the Imperial Palaces

The Great Wall of China

So many people, cars, bikes and very few accidents that we saw. Traffic was heavy but not gridlocked as their road systems are amazing and mostly above the ground. You only go off the freeways if you want to visit a particular place.

AFFHO & the Nick Vine Hall Awards

One of my new challenges for 2024. I have agreed to convene the NVH awards and I have a report for Council consideration at the November meeting. The plan is to have regular articles in the AFFHO newsletter to remind societies about the Awards which recognise published articles and society journals in Australia and New Zealand.

Books

Bribie Library is closed for some repairs so I ordered in a few books to tide me over until the end of January. A mix of easy reading by the pool to more heavier tomes for my PhD thesis.

Plus the book I selected for the inaugural Bribie Family History Association Book Club via Moreton Libraries also arrived. Thankfully that is not due back till February so I have time to recruit a few more people to make up our ten.

I used to hope for rainy days so I could stay inside and read. Now I turn on the aircon for these incredibly hot and humid November days.

New Resources

Roots Ireland have added some new Cork records - the exact details are in their blog post. I was hoping for earlier records but they all seem to be more later releases.

I've registered for the next Scottish Indexes conference - they are free but with excellent speakers and topics you can give thanks by making a donation. Each presentation is shown twice so you watch all the sessions at a reasonable time no matter where you live.

A Christmas wish to find a photo of my Scottish GGG grandparents John & Helen Carnegie,
buried Toorbul cemetery

Talks

We are coming up to the end of the year so not a lot happening. However, one exciting new speaking engagement for me was an appearance at the Really Useful Family History Show held in the UK but virtual. You had to buy a ticket but lots of great talks over last weekend. My slot was Saturday night and all about researching family history in Australia. From the virtual exhibition area I was able to download a society journal from a number of exhibitors and I'm looking forward to having a good read.

2024 calendar is starting to fill out and with the PhD commitment plus my local Genie Chats, I don't want to be too busy with talks. Always hard to say no when it is usually a friend asking for their society. Or it is a paid presentation as that all helps to pay for my travel expenses.

What's Coming Up?

The Christmas tree with lights is already up and all that is left is to put  some more presents under the tree. Even if it is only for us and our inner child.

Love the lights changing colours

My Genie Chats finish for the year next week and I have decided to resurrect the Christmas party at home with the traditional goodie bag. This was something I did back in the day when we were Bribie Zoom Genies. That should be a fun morning.

The last meeting of the year for Bribie Family History Association is a Christmas Quiz hosted by Judy Lofthouse. Afterwards a number of us are staying on for lunch at the Bribie RSL restaurant Botanic. I always feel lost with no meeting in January but as we meet on the first Friday that is early in the month and too close to New Year's Day.

Until next time, stay safe and happy researching. Shauna