Happy Birthday, Josie!

Happy Birthday, Josie!

A year ago today, our beautiful third child, Josie Jean, was born sleeping at Liverpool Women’s Hospital. I wrote about her short, tumultuous journey in this space a few days after the event. Today, I want to mark her first heavenly birthday by writing about her. You...
Josie Jean Coates: A life not lived

Josie Jean Coates: A life not lived

I’d like to tell you the story behind a tweet which was sent out late on a Saturday night but has had a far greater impact than I could ever have imagined. This is the tweet: Josie Jean Coates was born sleeping at 18.35 today, at 21 weeks gestation. She had an...
Norman Raw: 22/10/1919 – 11/09/2020

Norman Raw: 22/10/1919 – 11/09/2020

Our family recently got a little smaller, following the passing of my Great Uncle, Norman Raw. Uncle Norman lived to be 100 years old and celebrated the milestone as a guest of Middlesbrough Football Club, who provided the image above. The notice that appeared in his...
When the present meets the past

When the present meets the past

I’ve been working incredibly hard on our Family Tree over the last few months during lockdown and one of the most pleasing aspects of the research is how many paralels I have found between my life and those of my ancestors. It really has surprised me how many...
Falling Down Holes

Falling Down Holes

The biggest problem with taking up genealogy is that, in many ways, it is just a really nerdy game of Whack-a-Mole. Just when you think you have an understanding of a situation, a piece of information appears that changes everything. Suddenly, you’re working on...