This post is part of a weekly series of 'link-up' Posts which reflect on life's journey, old memories and family stories (see below for more info).

When I was growing up, I can remember that my Aunt had an awe-inspiring piece of tech equipment in her house. A...

A bit of background
This emotional journey will revisit the stories of my Uncle Joe once again. I hope you will enjoy them, and think of your family as you read.
Joseph Henry Thompson (pictured, here) was born in June 1925 in Birmingham, England. The eldest...

This post is part of a weekly series of 'link-up' Posts called 'Life's a Journey' which reflect on old memories and family stories.

I noticed this week that there appears to be a new fashion skirt in town. They're calling it the Mullet, apparently, in homage to the...

I hope you haven't come here for mind-blowing super-macro photography this week, chaps. You may be disappointed. This is an in-depth delve into the social history of Clackers. Homage to 1971. You are most welcome.

Or, if you are from the US, Klackers.
Or, if you hail from Germany,...

A bit of background

This emotional journey will revisit the stories of my Uncle Joe once again. I hope you will enjoy them, and think of your family as you read.

Joseph Henry Thompson was born in June 1925 in Birmingham, England. The eldest of four children, and brother of...

This post is part of a weekly series of 'link-up' Posts which reflect on life's journey, old memories and family nostalgia (see below for more info).

I noticed last week that the Girl Guide movement in the US were celebrating their 100th anniversary. Awesome. And then I remembered that I...

A bit of background

This emotional journey will revisit the stories of my Uncle Joe once again. I hope you will enjoy them, and think of your family as you read.

Joseph Henry Thompson (pictured below, left) was born in June 1925 in Birmingham, England. The eldest of 4 children,...

A bit of background

This emotional journey will take in the stories of my Uncle Joe. I hope you will enjoy reading his letters (the original versions of which can be found here), and think of your family as you read.

Joseph Henry Thompson was born in June...

"Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our hearts forever." ~Author Unknown

A moment this week to pay homage to those special 'extra' parents who mark our lives so deeply. Grandparents.

A Grandparent seems to be able to bridge that wide gap between the modern and...

Look, if I'm going to be totally honest with you about this, then there were more than three.

But in case anyone I actually knew in 1978 is tuning in (unlikely, since no one who knows me would imagine there to be any items of remote interest in my past...

Joseph Henry Thompson was born in June 1925. He was my Uncle, though I never knew him. The eldest of four children, and brother of my father (dad being the youngest).

He was born in Birmingham, England's second largest city, in a relatively poor neighbourhood. His father had died in...

From last week's My Earliest Baby Photo, this week we're taking a step forward a few years to those heady school days...

1974. Another miserably disappointing year for the eagerly awaited school portrait.

I was seven years old in the photo here, and my brother nine....

It's a new year, so time, thought I, to start a more regular series of posts to this family stories blog.

As you know by now, my obsession is the preservation of our family stories and memories for future generations. Our children are unlikely to ever ask us about our...

Yesterday I began the traditional New Year clear-out. You know, the one where you use stealth to remove the toys and games which graced previous Christmas stockings but are no longer deemed fit for play, then take them under cover of darkness to the charity shop?

Anyway, as I rifled...

Let's go back to 1971 momentarily.

I am an average 4 year old British girl, lover of all things pink, dolly-fashion-guru, and slightly shy, but since today is Christmas I am the happiest girl in the world.

My main Christmas 'box' is a corker - Barbara the doll, all magnificent...

It's both a cliche and a major regret to me, but I most certainly took my mother for granted.

Today, my two sons are off school (teachers on strike - less said the better), quietly watching TV and taking me for granted, whilst I make them lunch and bustle around...

It is 11.11.11. (By the way, did you know that in America they write it 11.11.11 - weird huh?) An event which only comes along about every 700 years or something, so it would be a crime not to mark it in some way.

Picture the scene. Remembrance services are...

Recently, my small, wise 4 year old child achieved a milestone. He got a new scooter and he learned the art of balance. It was a little tiny jump into the deep end of life's oceanic swimming pool. Not a life-changing moment, granted, but I captured it nonetheless on my...

Bonfire Night.

Well, I had one too many vinos for starters, and a punishing pain to my left temple on Sunday morning told me I'm too old for all this malarkey. The kids' clothes were abandoned on the floor and the smell of smoke was rising from them.

For those...

When I was a little girl, growing up in 1970s UK, there was no such thing as a Halloween holiday. Halloween was just one of those days that came and went, signified only by the annual TV airing of it's eponymous movie (which incidentally I still cannot watch today, having...