Mothers are special to us all year round. But once a year we get an official opportunity to spoil that first lady in your life! 

Have you ever wondered how amazing it would be to publish your family history as a book? 

 

Imagine having a professional writer use your jumble of research notes to craft a narrative to your family's history. And those old forgotten family photos that lie hidden in a shoe box? These can now illustrate your story... 

It’s exactly 4 weeks today until the annual festival of love and romance that is St. Valentine’s Day. So how are you going to express your feelings for that special person in your life on February 14th this year? 

 

There are (of course) the clichéd, default presents: flowers or chocolates for your lady; aftershave or cufflinks for your man! But maybe she’s keeping-up her New Year's resolution to diet, and perhaps he only wears a smart shirt once a year at a wedding! 

 

Well here's an idea... Why not give a truly unique and deeply personal gift that really represents your love for each other? 

I talked last month about my trip to Western Australia to meet my long-lost cousins. Well Sally and her family weren’t the only cousins I spent time with there. I had also traced a more distant cousin called Mary who lived about 250 miles north of Perth. 

 

When I originally told Tanya about Mary, it turned out the two women had already known each other for about five years but had no idea they were related – an incredible coincidence! They were both overjoyed by this fact and admitted that it was a good job they liked each other! 

The research teams who created the latest series of Who Do You Think You Are? have excelled themselves to produce their best one yet. 

 

They have tapped into lesser-known archives and enlisted the help of experts with a very specific knowledge-base to reveal some very personal and emotional information to the various celebrities. 

 

They ended the series with real style by helping Ruby Wax come to terms with her family’s history of mental illness. 

In a shocking twist, archivist Dr Lenka Matusikova revealed that Ruby’s great grandmother, Berta, was also admitted to a psychiatric hospital. (Picture credit: WDYTYAMagazine.com) 

It’s that time of year again. The parties are being booked, the tinsel and baubles are starting to appear in supermarket aisles and it won’t be long before the dulcet tones of Shane McGowan, Slade and Wizzard are being played all over the airwaves. 

 

Yes, it’s that time of year again. With less than 50 shopping days to go until Christmas, you’re going to have to make a start soon, but what to buy? 

I’ve spent countless years trying to reconnect my grandad’s fragmented family and I have finally been able to put in the last piece of the jigsaw. 

 

In September I spent an amazing three weeks in Western Australia with cousins that, 9 years ago, I didn’t even know I had!