Reflections - An interview with SPVR

Comments

Genealogy Series: Betsy (or Elizabeth) Esplin Bell (1858-1930).

Betsy (or Elizabeth) Esplin Bell (1858-1930). She had a long criminal record driven by her addiction to drink, but was she her husband’s victim? by Stewart Stevenson. Betsy was born on 26 th January 1858 in Dundee to David Bell, a carpenter, and his wife, Agnes Sandeman. i Father registered the birth, but is recorded as “Not Present”. George T Bisset-Smith, the Registration Examiner, published his book “Vital Registration”, the manual for Scottish Registrars in 1907. ii In it he states that a “liberal interpretation” should be given to the word “Present” in this context but also states that “Not Present” must not be used. I suspect that leaves most genealogists, me included, little the wiser as to what “Present” was actually supposed to mean. So let’s pass on to the story. Betsy’s parents married in 1856, iii with her mother Agnes making her mark, an ”X”, rather than signing the registration record, indicating that she was illiterate. Her husband David signed. ...

Semper Vigilio

Today is day 130 since my personal lockdown as a "vulnerable" person started on 17th March. Here's some things I said in my first daily diary back then. "For a week or two, we've moved from handshakes to elbow bumps" "I miss the gossip" "It is quite surprising how much of my work is done via a computer keyboard" For the members of our family who have had to be shielded, it's been somewhat tougher than for me. I have been able to take outdoor exercise every day, albeit when the weather has been bad, it's been indoor rowing rather than outdoor walking. A visit to the shops roughly every eight to ten days has reminded us that there are still other humans out there. My walks have involved brief chats, or a "hullo", over the garden fence, but people in any number it ain't been. And Parliamentary activity has continued via Messrs Bluejeans, Microsoft Teams and Zoom. The word "us" has also been importa...

101 Primer for being video-online: Part 2 - Presentation

Yesterday I wrote about preparing to go "on-air". Today, it's Lights, Camera, Action. In a professional TV studio, an illuminated sign "On-Air" will switch on above the door to warn people to keep quiet and be aware that cameras are broadcasting. Many things happen behind the camera that the public does not see. I have sat in the corner of the BBC's Reporting Scotland studio playing pontoon with some of the stage-hands while Sally Magnusson read the news. And rescued a cameraman who, in his enthusiasm to obey the producer's instruction to reposition his camera, got his leg tangled in the cables, tripped and fell forward with the camera a mere six feet in front of Kirsty Wark who was speaking to an adjacent camera. I saw it coming and had dashed forward and caught him, and his camera, just before he hit the floor. Risks in a home studio are less extensive and more banal. For example, The First Minister's daily press briefing yester...

Search This Blog