History? Bah Humbug!!!

Winston Churchill once said: "The further back you can look, the further forward you are likely to see." I like that - comes in very useful when sermonizing to teenage daughters on the merits of learning for their history tests. There is so much truth in that statement and yet it is almost impossible to get young people to read about history let alone enjoy it. Why? Where does it all go wrong? Hang on...I hear the philosophers among us saying maybe 'the history haters' are all 'right' and us 'history huggers' are all 'wrong'; that history is just a boring old pile of stuff that happened in the past and we should all just forget about it and move on. *thinks very hard about that...mmmm* Nah. I don't buy that theory. History has everything to do with the present and the future. Respect for the past is respect for what one's ancestors have achieved, what they strived for and what we can learn from the mistakes they made, after all we are geographically, physically, spiritually and financially where we are today because of the choices they made in their lifetimes.

When I was at high school we were fed a very bland diet when it came to history. We learned everything parrot fashion just to get through the dry, boring syllabus and nothing was ever done to make it more interesting. We did not discuss, debate, challenge or unpack, as they say today, any part of it. So my love of history certainly did not come from that quarter. There was also no television to switch on so that we could watch excellent documentaries nor was there any Internet to surf. So my love affair with history began with my family and in libraries . My parents encouraged reading and nurtured my tender interest in archaeology. We often visited the library - all those fascinating books on Ancient Egypt and underwater archaeology published by Life (anyone remember those?). As a kid I particularly loved books on dinosaurs, fascinated that these creatures had ruled the earth for millions of years and then 'Poof' ...gone in the blink of an eye (well, in evolutionary terms that it is). Doesn't that last part make the hairs on your neck stand up and a niggle of concern tickle your grey matter? If it could happen to them, then what about us and our blatant disregard of the warning signs of global warming, large scale extinctions of animal species and the era of super bugs. Maybe the next era in evolutionary terms will be that of viruses...but I digress.

History can be made interesting. One only has to look at the example set in many British Museums where re-enactments and interaction are the order of the day. The recent film "A Night at the Museum" starring Ben Stiller sparked a lot of interest and I read somewhere that one of the Museums in Cape Town had staged a Night at the Museum 'experience' where actors posed as the people in the exhibits and came to life to huge shrieks from the public.

There are exhibits in British Museums where one can experience what it was like to be in a World War One trench with the sound of gunfire and flashes of artillery lighting up the set - even the smell of rotting mud I am told. Never having been to it I am not sure if the last part is true but with or without the mud, history needs to be brought to life in order for younger generations to become interested in it. When children begin to ask questions about what they see then you know they are interested. When my children ask questions about history I am so happy I have to stop myself from bombarding them with a lot more than they bargained for!

The murder of historian and raconteur David Rattray was a very sad event and it made me think about him and what he had achieved when it came to bringing history to life in this country. He was a story teller of note specialising in the Anglo-Zulu wars and he would take people out onto the plains where the battles were fought and one could feel the tension rise as he told how the impis had appeared on the hill 'over there' and the pandemonium that followed below. Apparently no-one who heard him had anything but praise for the man and his fans amongst others included Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi - traditional Prime Minister of the Zulu Nation and Prince Charles. Read Prince Buthelezi's tribute to David Rattray - it says everything (click on Funeral Tribute). If only there were more people like David and I am sure there must be, who would be given more prominence on our TV channels and at our schools so that a lively interest in history would be sparked.

Lament of the Confused Genealogist
(acronyms to be pronounced as words not letters)

MOOCs and MOKs
KABs and DOCs
See Ohs and Illiquid Trials

TABs and NABs
MOGs and VABs there are
Files for miles and miles

Where to begin?
My head’s in a spin
My ancestors are lost in these tomes

I’ll start with a MOOC
It’s the best place to look
To rattle up some of their bones

(attributed to Pete Blogg the famous Irish / South African Genealogist and expert on ancient Whisky drinking practices. No one has been able to verify that this is indeed his work as he has disappeared. Last seen clutching a Volume of Death Notices, and shouting “Prepare to meet thy Tome.” (Very strange indeed!)

This is a picture of a MOOC taken by

a hidden camera. MOOCs are generally

shy and should be approached with

caution as they are likely to go to pieces.

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Springbok Radio

I have to smile when I hear people say that one should not live in the past…after all that’s where I spend most of my day and I love it!!! It often causes mild alarm to appear on the faces of those who find history boring or irrelevant but, what the heck, I get my revenge by thinking: “Everything you do Buddy, is anchored firmly in the past. You can’t get away from it. You can’t even ignore it because it is the one tangible dimension of time which pervades every inch of ground you walk on, every building you see and every person you meet.” *laughs maniacally*

Seriously though, there are certain ‘places’ in the past that I love to visit over and over again. Too many to mention here but I am going to mention one in particular because this is a part of South African history that has touched many of us personally. I am talking about Springbok Radio…The Station for Brighter Broadcasting!

When I was growing up, Springbok Radio was a fundamental part of our household. It was there when my Mom made supper, it was at the dinner table when we listened to the “The World at 7pm” (mostly with Dennis Smith, Neville Dawson or Victor Mackison reporting) and afterwards it would keep us around the table over a cup of coffee, riveted to another episode of No Place to Hide with Mark Saxon and Sergei (do you remember Sergei’s faithful pistol called Petruschka?) .

What wonderful days they were. There was no television service in South Africa until 1976 and before that radio was King. Programmes such as Inspector Carr Investigates, Call Back The Past with Percy Sieff, The Creaking Door, The Top Twenty hosted by Gruesome Gresham (David Gresham) which my brother and I used to listen to clandestinely on a Saturday night when we were supposed to be asleep…and what about the Chappie Chipmunk Club, Brian O’Shaughnessy as Jet Jungle, Test the Team with Dewar McCormack as quizmaster and Venture with Kim Shippey?

The live studio shows were always popular too – The Surf Show Pick-A-Box with Bob Courtney, the Caltex Show with Peter Merrill, Check Your Mate with Percy Sieff and Judy Henderson and Fun With The Forces also with Percy Sieff. The Super Dooper Shopper Show recorded live in shopping centres around the country became quite the thing where people could win expensive appliances and shopping vouchers.

Of course no one could forget Friday nights when you heard the words “They prowl the empty streets at night…waiting… in fast cars and on foot…living with crime and violence….” Squad Cars! Ja… those were the days! Loads and loads of other programmes spring to mind but I better leave it at that or we’ll be here all day (well…er…I don’t mind if you don’t mind.)

As fate would have it, after I left school, I landed a job in the SABC’s operations or technical department in Cape Town and had the privilege of working with many of the personalities who had ‘joined’ us in our home via the radio when I was younger : Bill Prince, Dewar McCormack, Peter Merrill, Brian O’Shaughnessy, Judy Henderson, Percy Sieff, Pip Freedman, Leslie McKenzie, Andre Botma, (drama producer of the Destined Hour and Lux Radio Theatre), Andre Brink, Driaan Engelbrecht (Afrikaans drama producer) to name but a few. In the first few weeks in my new job it was quite amazing to meet the faces belonging to the voices I knew so well over the air. Later I was to work with Colin Fluxman, Martin Bailie the little Irish Devil and Oom Dana Niehaus. I also had the privilege of working one weekend with Tannie Esmé Euverard. She was just as kind in real life as she sounded on the air.

Springbok Radio fell silent on New Year’s Eve 1985. Since its first broadcast on the 1st May 1950 it had been a presence in every South African home. It was vibrant and had huge variety in its programming format not to mention the personalities. Some of them were celebrities like modern day film stars and would be mobbed at outside broadcasts. But for all that, the Powers That Be at the SABC in Johannesburg decided that, with the advent of television, Springbok Radio was no longer commercially viable and that was that. I still cannot believe that skillful repositioning of the station would not have worked; after all it has been done with other stations within the mighty SABC.

I was in the Cape Town studios on that last day. I had recorded and done live programmes for the station for almost 8 years so it was a sad occasion for me, as it probably also was for many of my colleagues. Some of the personalities were absorbed into other areas of the industry – some went to other radio stations like Percy Sieff who hosted his Zoom with Oom show on Radio Good Hope on Wednesday nights. Brian O’Shaughnessy jumped the great divide into television becoming famous as Buller Wilmot in the TV series The Villagers and ended up producing radio drama in Cape Town for the SABC’s English Service. Martin Bailie also successfully made the switch to television. Many did ‘voice over” work recording radio commercials and some went into theatre. But whichever way you look at it something died the day Springbok closed down. It felt like an entire era had come to an end as indeed it had and whilst I continued to work for radio for the next 10 years it just did not feel the same. Brings to mind the song by The Buggles – Video killed the Radio Star.

One of the best sites for information and sound clips on Springbok Radio is that of the Pumamouse - Enjoy!!!

Another very good website is the Springbok Radio Preservation Society

1. 
   

Of Spitfires and Fighting Women

A very Happy New Year to all genealogists and fellow Blog Dwellers!!! Here’s hoping that 2007 will be unbelievably, awesomely, thrillingly rewarding for you and may the little Blue Bird of Happiness fly very carefully over your glass of champers!

Spitfire

Speaking of things that fly – I am very proud to show you this painting by my Dad Michael Warr who lives in the Little Karoo town of Barrydale in the Cape. It is an oil painting commissioned by Mitzi Stokes the daughter of WW2 air ace, Group Captain Petrus ‘Dutch’ Hugo. Hugo was a South African who joined the Royal Air Force in 1938 and flew throughout the war in various places. He was renowned for his excellent flying and combat skills.

Many hours of research went into this painting to ensure its accuracy. For example, working from a small black and white snapshot of Hugo’s Spitfire taken on the ground in Corsica, Michael was able to identify the squadron and therefore the exact model of Spitfire that Hugo had flown. He also had to find the exact colours used in the camouflage markings for that particular squadron. No mean feat. The way the Spitfire is depicted in the painting shows it off to its best advantage. I think Michael has done an excellent job.




A very good summary of Dutch Hugo’s achievements can be found in the Military History Journal (article no. 4) - (South African Military History Society)

Women in the Military.

My friend Anne Lehmkuhl has started a project which I know will make a valuable contribution to the heritage of this country. She aims to write an account of South African women in the military and has begun to put together material she is ferreting out in the most amazing places. Apart from the obvious sources like the Military Museum, Airforce Museum, Ysterplaat, Defence Force Archives, Pretoria etc, Anne is also gathering firsthand accounts of South African women who served in the Second World War, the South African Bush War, the Boer War, the first fighter pilots, helicopter pilots etc. It stands to reason there will be a lot of ‘firsts’ in this account but that is not the sole reason for doing the project. Anne felt that so much has been achieved by South African women in the military throughout the ages that the time has now come to tell their stories.

Having served in the South African Air Force herself, Anne is highly qualified to evaluate and follow up on any information she finds. The book is limited to South African women who have served in the military but can cover any time frame or place in the world. If anyone would like to share their stories, photos etc. please contact Anne - she would love to hear from you.

Hey Anne – how about a few snippets from time to time…as a kind of preview????

ROBBERS and CHRISTMAS

Time flies doesn’t it? Almost three months gone and not a word from the errant Genealogist. Tut tut!! That’s really bad. However…as an excuse (you can skip this part if you don’t want the technical bits) I have been rather distracted by a spate of break-ins in the area in which I live (38 in about a month) and to be honest I thought it only a matter of time before our house was targeted. All the incidents occurred around 3am when all good citizens should be abed (barring those who are protecting the said good cits of course) so yours truly, being a real worry-wart, could not sleep during the wee hours. (My nickname for the foreseeable future is Grumpy).

Anyway, one morning I was checking out the grounds after another sleepless night in which I swore I heard ‘noises’ out in the darkness and was pleased to discover that there is naught amiss with my hearing. The thieves had robbed a house two doors down, used my garden wall as cover to empty and dispose of now useless wallets etc. and then jumped over another neighbour’s wall to rob him! I think we have a guardian angel looking out for us because the robbers used our grounds as a thoroughfare and did not smash our invitingly unprotected patio doors. Either that or they thought “This house looks like it won’t have a flat screen TV and a laptop, let’s hit next door instead, they have a satellite dish.” Have since had one of those slam-lock thingies installed, so feel much safer now.

I think the police got fed up of getting calls from our neighbourhood every five minutes so just before dawn one morning they decided to send in helicopters and police on foot with BIG guns - SWAT style. They apprehended two robbers. Mmmm…they could not have been the only ones but nevertheless it has helped. With all of this and getting a new puppy into the household my creative, genealogical Muse decided to depart for more receptive pastures and I have only just managed to coax her back.

Isn't she gorgeous!! This is Minky (started off being called CoCo but every one calls her Minky now....)

So, having got all that off my chest I must tell you that I have not exactly been idle over the past (almost) three months. The grey matter has been hard at work mulling over all sorts of ideas (this is what happens when you can’t sleep) and hopefully some of them will be revealed in the weeks to come. Can’t let all the cats out of the bag in one go, can I?

CHRISTMAS

I hope everyone has had a truly Blessed Christmas. We had a fairly quiet one for a change and did not overdo the feasting part… well not too much anyway. This did not deter me from having the traditional afternoon snooze though. Whilst in that blissful state I could not help thinking about accounts I have read of Christmases spent in very different surroundings and under very different circumstances. For one I am thinking of the Boer War (or the South African War / Second Anglo-Boer War whichever rocks your boat). I prefer the latter as the ‘official’ name myself – no ambiguity there – you know exactly who was fighting whom. Anyway – I have a book called “Boer War” compiled and edited by Nicholas Riall the grandson of one Malcolm Riall, a heliographer in the Prince of Wales Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) from 1899 to 1902.

In his diary Malcolm describes Christmas day 1900 like this:

“Men are on full rations today, but through some mistake there is not enough bread and they get biscuits instead. Great slaughter of chickens and turkeys which have been fattening up round camps for months past for Christmas dinners.“

Another description of a past Christmas which is a little more poignant for me because my Great Grandfather and his family were all there, is that of Christmas 1899 during the Siege of Kimberley. From a diary written during the siege by T. Phelan and published in 1913 under the title “The Siege of Kimberley : Its Humerous and Social Side” there is mention of the appalling heat on Christmas Eve and how grateful they all were that they had cooler weather on Christmas day itself and had not all been ‘cremated’. The next morning they enjoyed a Christmas breakfast:

“Christmas breakfast consisted of black tea, khaki bread and golden syrup – an appetising rainbow on a ‘merry’ morning.” He mentions the thrill of being served a dish of real butter by their landlady. “It was an astounding phenomenon in itself but the sharing of it in a season of famine with the poor relations like her boarders was the kindest cut of all. Butter it was; we remembered the taste and there was the circumstantial evidence of our eyes.” Amazing how small things can light up one’s life in a situation like that.

The part about Cecil Rhodes “with characteristic thoughtfulness” sending large quantities of Cape brandy down to the ‘camp’ where the soldiers were is too long to include here but the following sentence from the account sums it up: “The quantity of what was styled Cape brandy consumed in camp baffles computation.” 'Nuff said!

Well that’s it for now – we too were well stocked up on our own giggle juice to help usher out the Old Year and ring in the New – not enough to baffle computation though. More on that later.

Oh yes – I once came across a death notice for lady whose surname was Christmas. Her parents had baptised her Mary (Evelyn). Poor thing. I have the death notice to prove it.

History Matters. This is the name of a campaign launched in Britain by English Heritage, the National Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund in order to find out exactly what people think about history and its place in everyday life. By doing this they hope to create a heightened public awareness of the value of history in the present in order to preserve Britain’s heritage in the future.

I read about this campaign in the July and August editions of the BBC History Magazine. This magazine by the way, is a publication, which covers not only British history but also world history so it is relevant to anyone who is interested in history in general. Its contributors are all highly respected writers, historians, professors and broadcasters and they all put a different spin on the interpretation of history which I find refreshing.

The “History Matters” website states the following about the aims of the “History Matters – Pass it on” campaign:

“…it is all about raising awareness of the importance of history in our everyday lives and encouraging involvement in heritage in England and Wales. Our goal is to build public support and interest in looking after our history and heritage - today and in the future.”

So, here I am, thousands of kilometres away in sunny South Africa thinking “How does this affect me? Why does history matter to me?’ Firstly I have a sneaky suspicion that I am just a very nosy person who likes to know ‘what went on back then’, why people did what they did and ultimately what the consequences of their actions were. I get a kick out of unraveling mysteries but more than this, it is understanding one’s own ancestral past and indeed the past on a global scale which is the key to understanding issues that are still with us today. Issues that will influence our own decisions, the consequences of which will appear in the history books of tomorrow.

Trying to live exclusively in the present is like looking at a tapestry from very close up. You see all the intricate stitching, texture and some colours but you will not know what the tapestry depicts until you stand back and are able to see the entire thing. Sounds simplistic but it is actually that simple.

One of the people who was asked by BBC History Magazine to give her view of why history matters was Ludmilla Jordanova, a professor of history at Kings College, London. Amongst other things she said: “It matters because it is everywhere, in streets and houses, parks and palaces, machines and money, places of worship and gardens of remembrance. How can we, an essentially nosy species, not care about what envelops and shapes us?”

I couldn’t agree more.

Everywhere you look there are little historical signposts in our lives – the ones which, with a little bit of investigation, reveal new horizons and take us on journeys where we will learn to understand and place in perspective the things that influenced our ancestors, the things that shaped our present landscapes. Every step of the way, if one is observant enough we come to an “O-o-h so that’s why!!” moment in our day-to-day lives. But only if we are willing to see these things; only if we are taught to recognize the value of what we are looking at.

One thing that really made my eyebrows rise a notch or two when I read about this campaign is that Britain is so history conscious, they are surrounded by it wherever they go, wherever they live because it is so visible. There are 900 year old churches in just about every village. There are castles and palaces, Roman ruins and battlefields. Their tourism industry thrives on this and their historical buildings are generally well preserved. Britain’s museums are actively promoted. In fact Britain’s entire brand image is History. Why then would they feel the need to launch a campaign of this nature if they had not detected a shift in their nation’s respect for and perception of the past? That’s a scary thought. If they perceive a problem with all they’ve got then down here at the Southern tip of Africa we need to take a long hard look at our own situation.

We stand on the brink of new historical awareness, one that still needs to be grown but if Britain feels the need to launch a campaign of this nature then we ought to re-examine how much effort and funding goes into the building of our own nation’s historical identity and public awareness of the past. Is enough being done?

BBC History Magazine
History Matters

Genealogical job hazards

I have a problem with being sidetracked. There…I admit it! Not distracted mind you. No…definitely not distracted as some perfectly mean individuals would have it, but sidetracked. I make a definite distinction between the two because in my case being sidetracked often leads to amazing discoveries albeit not the ones you were meant to be making. Being distracted on the other hand usually leads to a game of computer Sudoku – great fun but not very constructive.

I have started a whole project based on things I have discovered whilst being sidetracked. I have tentatively called it “Past Lives” and it is a collection of stories about ordinary people who lived at the Cape in the 19th Century. Each chapter deals with a different person as I have pursued them across worn and yellowed archival pages. Some of them I have got to know very well indeed. Others elude satisfactory explanation but all, I hope, will live again in some way through these stories.

This whole sidetracking phenomenon must have something to do with a primordial part of the brain that likes a good chase. You latch onto something which gets you thinking: Why did this happen, who was this person, what was the outcome? And you’re off chasing their spoor through dusty volumes, in and out of archive repositories, dodging red herrings and trying your best to resist other interesting spoor along the way.

I suppose we ancestral sleuths have much in common with forensic detectives like those in CSI. We too are often presented with very little in the way of solid information and we have to investigate every possible lead in order to trace our ancestors and so link them to their forefathers or descendants. Accessing original written sources is the most important part of this process but aren’t we lucky that we also have modern technology at our fingertips in the form of the internet, online databases, access to photographs, documents and e-books to help us along the way. Alas, this is exactly where most of the sidetracking comes in. It is fairly easy to search for things in this manner and well…one thing leads to another…

At least something concrete is emerging from my propensity for being sidetracked. I can only say that it is a great adventure and one’s general knowledge improves by leaps and bounds. It is definitely a job hazard with benefits.

The more things change, the more they stay the same…..

As I trawl through archival material I am constantly struck by the similarities that exist between the present and the past. Individuals have come and gone but the things to which they aspired and the things they got up to back then were and are essentially the same. Now I can almost hear you say that things could not possibly have been as frantic and twisted then as they are today. No? Let’s take a look at a few similarities. Let’s start with families. I have come across many, many cases throughout the 19th Century where families were fragmented by desertion, divorce or death. Sound familiar? Bear in mind that if a husband died the wife was obliged to either marry again quickly in order to feed herself and her children or she would have to have been left some means of supporting herself.

Many times it is the wife who died young and it is not difficult to find a reason for that either. On many a death notice there would be up to 9 or 10 children listed, the mother’s death sometimes occurring soon after the last baby was born. What was a man to do with 9 children if he had to go out and work? Well, he too remarried quickly and would often then proceed to have another brood of children with the second wife. At least we have the option of birth control today.

Divorces, especially in the early 1900’s were for the very same reasons as we have today. …Malicious desertion, physical abuse, intemperate habits, adultery etc. etc. I recently read through a court case in 1893 where a man was convicted of theft for the second time in a year and sentenced to 2 years hard labour on the Breakwater. By trade he was an ironmonger and had a business in Cape Town. He had a wife and three young daughters under the age of 6 years. Why would he resort to theft? Like many of our modern day cases, he had a drinking problem and couldn’t hold down a job. He eventually came out of prison and disappeared out of his family's lives forever.

The equivalent of motor vehicle theft in the 1800’s was theft of horses. Instead of reporting make, model and chassis number to the authorities you would report the loss of a brown mare about 9 years old, white star on forehead, marked right ear swallow tail, left ear slit and hopefully someone would spot it and tell you where to find it. Of course animals could do something that cars cannot do, they could wander off by themselves and would often end up at the local pound. The Pound Master would then sell your wandering transport if you did not collect it within 6 weeks.

The 1800’s equivalent of street children? The Government Gazettes have hundreds of entries for ‘destitute children’ who, unless claimed were indentured “to some fit and proper person” mostly people with trades or to farmers. In the Government Gazette of 7th April 1876 the following entry appears:
”Wheras Africa Jantje, a destitute Hottentot boy about 10 or 11 years of age, who states that his Father and Mother are both dead, is at present with W Williem Keys, at Lushington in this District, notice is hereby given that unless the said Africa Jantje be claimed within six weeks from this date, by some relative or friend able and willing to support him, he will be indentured according to law. [signed] Alexander Bisset, Resident Magistrate, Seymour, 29th March 1876.” Makes you wonder what became of young Africa – did anyone come along to claim him? I seriously doubt it. His family, if he had any, would more than likely have been unable to read and if they could, the Government Gazette was not delivered door to door back then (still isn’t for that matter).

One thing that was easier to achieve back then than it is today, was the ability to just disappear or to change one’s name. The CO or Colonial Office Archive series in the Cape Town Archives has numerous letters from worried relatives in England and elsewhere looking for family members, mostly male, who had left their country of birth to enter the Cape Colony and were never heard of again. Some did it to evade the law, some to evade their spouses or family, others to seek their fortune. The Colonial Office would publish these queries in the Government Gazette and in the 3rd December 1895 edition alone there 21 missing persons listed. The entries look something like this: “Henry John Palmer – came to the Cape Colony from New Zealand about the year 1868 and supposed to have proceeded to the Diamond Fields.” and “Garlick or Knoblach – came from Germany to Cape Colony a long time ago and is supposed to have been in business in Cape Town on his own account.” Others simply had these meager facts. “George Rodwell last heard of at Cape Town about 12 months ago.”
Name changes must have occurred more often than we think. Apart from the usual small changes which took place over time, like Petersen to Peterson, I have tracked some who who anglicised their names from Dutch or German and sometimes from English to French! Johan became John, Lourens became Lawrence and Pieter became Peter. The Frenchified one was quite unusual in that this man changed his first names from William Henry to Henri de Clunison (a play on his original surname) and then added his newly acquired surname. I have still not been able to ascertain why he wanted to change his identity. Just goes to show that you have to try all sorts of variants on the spelling of names when looking for your missing links!

More from the Chronicles of a wandering Genealogist next time (or should that be wondering???)

Theft by any other name, smells as foul…..

Today I would like to have my first BlogWhinge. (Not to be confused with being on the soap box, by the way, which is more a platform for sermonising). A BlogWhinge is simply my way of giving vent to the injustices of life and because this is my BlogSpot I suppose I can jolly well have a whinge if I want to.

My whinge is about theft and the fact that some people cannot keep their hands off of other people’s things. By now you have probably deduced that something of mine has been stolen and I am feeling highly peeved about it. (this is a Family BlogSpot so I am deliberately choosing words like peeved over other infinitely more suitable phrases to describe my feeling of indignation. I will leave these to your imagination.)

Yesterday morning at about 06:15 whilst trying to catch another 2 minutes of shut-eye under my cozy duvet before getting up, I heard some strange noises coming from outside. On investigating I found to my dismay, that the tap for the water mains and the entire water meter were missing.!!!! By the looks of the exposed pipes you could tell that they had both been cut just below ground level and I had no way of turning the water off!! The spectactular and noisy jet of water spraying into the night sky was something to behold, rivaling that of the Adderley Street fountain. A brisk wind blew the spray into my next door neighbour’s garden, saving him the trouble of watering it later on. To cut a long story short, the municipality eventually came and replaced the missing parts with plastic ones and everything is now back to normal. All except my feeling of indignation and anger that is.

Apparently many neighbourhoods have been thus vandalised. The brass and copper fittings find their way to scrap metal dealers for a few Rand courtesy of these scum buckets that prowl our streets in the dead of night. I think it is the shady scrap metal dealers who should be watched like hawks and raided on a regular basis as these are the same criminals who receive copper cables stolen from railway networks, Telkom and Eskom, the theft of which greatly inconveniences thousands of people on a regular basis. May their murky little souls be held accountable one day.

Theft touches all our lives at one time or another and we can only take sensible precautions in order to minimise it happening to us in the first place. But what about out here in the genealogical world? How vigilant are we? Theft is just as evident in our world as in our local neighbourhood. Just the other day I was shown an article in a newspaper where an entire section had been copied verbatum from a published book with no credit to the author. Plagiarism...that’s theft with a capital “P”. We must guard against it at all times. (now I’ve jumped on my soapbox)

When it comes to the Internet many people plagiarise entire family trees without one single twinge of conscience simply because it is hanging out there in ‘cyberspace’ for everyone to see. This is a BIG no-no!!! Acknowledging sources is a common courtesy but more that that, failure to do so can land you in the doggy-doo if you are not careful.

One day I am sure all us Genies hope to publish our family’s history in some form or another and I don’t think any of us would like it if someone took the research we have spent years accumulating and used it without acknowleging our hard work.

Enough fellow BlogDwellers – I must attend to the cauldrons and feed the cats!!! The family and a glass of vino awaiteth.

What’s the Genealogist’s favourite movie?…..“Good Will Hunting”

Yaaay - I finally did it!! My first ever Blog Spot and what an amazing world Blogging is too. To all the other Blog Dwellers who read this - WELCOME!!

Genealogy, someone once told me, is an obsession not a hobby and I tend to agree. Personally I dislike the word fanatic so I am happy to say that I am only obsessed.

I cannot think of a time when I am not thinking about genealogy or one of its related topics like history or archaeology. When being introduced to someone for the first time I mentally automatically slot them into genealogical categories - mmm...this name is probably Huguenot or that name is definitely German Military Settler stock. (put that straight jacket down - I'm OK...really I am!!!)

South Africa has a rich genealogical legacy and for some lucky souls their family's arrival on South African shores has been well documented. I am thinking 1820 Settlers, Huguenots, Aided Immigrants (1857), German Military Settlers, Moodie Settlers etc. etc. Others have to go hunting their ancestors one by one, death notice by death notice, church register by church register. I am definitely in the last camp. I'm not complaining though. My ancestors weren't very big on diaries and letters and such so because of the lack of family folklore I have been compelled to ferret out info in the most unlikely places. Makes me feel like Grissom in CSI. Yep...lateral thinking rules!!!

One thing I do know is that I probably would not have been so enthusiastic about genealogy if it was not for the Internet....I just would not have had the patience to pursue it via snail mail. Can you imagine having to wait weeks for a reply to a query only to find that it wasn't what you were after??? Nope - I definitely would not have had the patience. Hats off to those who persevered through the Cyber-less years.

Speaking of persevering...hands up all those who have had dealings with the Masters Office in Cape Town???? Perseverance takes on a different meaning does it not? Firstly, there is the reading room. For those who have not visited the Masters Office let me just say that the term 'reading room' is a touch ambitious for such a humble facility. It is a partioned off space (with no ceiling) within a HUGE hall and is so noisy that one can hardly think. I have on occasion had to chase cockroaches from between the pages of the registers (yes...creepy crawly nightmare and do you know how they cling to the pages as you try to flick them off with something....eeeuw!) The dust is also something else. All this aside though, the thing that irritates the most is that some of the registers are missing completely!!. There is a sign up to this effect in the reading room (1961, 1963 and 1966. 1967 was also missing but appears to have been returned (from where though? It has been missing for at least 2 years and no-one knew where it was!!). The only other way of getting the information you need is to stand in a long queue at the main enquiries counter in order to get the clerks to look in the ancient card filing system. When one puts the request to them they always argue with you that the information must be obtained in the reading room. (makes you wonder who put the sign up in the first place!) It takes a good 5 minutes just to get it across that the registers for the years you need are MISSING...M-I-S-S-I-N-G. Grrrrrr!

A visit to the vault is the next lesson in self control. You may only draw 5 files a day so woe unto you if you have six. If the clerk on duty is in a bad mood it means another trip on another day with parking at R7 an hour in order to get that one extra file.

As far as staff are concerned, I have yet to meet one single person who actually looks like they enjoy what they are doing...goes with the territory I guess. Can't say I blame them really...working in such an environment must be demoralising, but having said that, I object to being made to feel that I am wasting someone's time when I ask for something or that it is a huge favour which is being bestowed upon me. (sighs and rolling eyes can be very expressive). If the facilites were upgraded one would not need to 'bother' anyone. By this I mean for instance that according to the staff the records from 1989 to present day are now on computer. By making a terminal available to researchers no-one would have to disturb the staff when requesting some assistance. (on the other hand what else are they there for I ask myself.)

Wish Adelbert Semmelink would continue with the excellent project he started in indexing the death notices (see the e-family website (click on the CDNI (Cape Death Notice Index)option Oh well...that is my first soap-box topic for my BlogSpot. Would love to hear your comments or views on other things.

Spot the genealogist in a crowd - they are the one sporting a "Who's Your Daddy" T-Shirt.