April 10th 2014

'Collecting Family Stories is good for the soul' – Sue Jackson

We all like hearing stories about our family. It gives us a feel good factor and we long to spread the word if the stories are interesting, funny or even, sad. Many people find pleasure in researching their family histories and finding out about relatives who have long since passed away but had a fascinating life. Sue Jackson will, we are sure, encourage us to collect stories to share and pass on to our own families and friends.

Review of the evening
Sue Jackson was introduced  and she began her talk by saying that she had decided to write a few family stories for her grandchildren when they started asking questions about family members from photographs.  She had problems, as many of us do, with loads of photographs and no idea who most of the people were. She began asking her brothers and sisters to help by thinking about their childhood and most were helpful. She retold several of the funny ones which, not surprisingly many members could relate to. Now she has written a book and has sold many copies locally to where she lived and the Wellingborough area. Clothes and food featured widely as, with 10 people in the house there was a lot to organise on a daily basis. Her talk brought back many memories of childhood and encouraged people to talk to each other and subsequently their families 'before it is too late'.

Competition: Home is where the heart is.
  The competition was won by a member showing a basket of letters from an elderly great uncle to his wife during the First World War. Second, was a framed drawing of a member's childhood home and a book that she had written about her mother's life. Third was a black and white family photograph.