My family. A rich tapestry of characters and events both past and present ranging from my poetic mother, my father, funny and serious in turn and politically aware, to other family members and their friends, heroes, villains and the downright eccentrics who entertained us with their antics. Not forgetting the Tobys, the family dogs all given numbers, Toby number one, two, etc. Our homes were located in such diverse places as 'Scabbyhills' and the 'Debtor's Retreat' and our spooky haunted house. There were sad times, also. Ill health, unemployment, and the scandal of illegitimacy that almost...

The families of the ladies who married into my family have always intrigued me.
From the five sisters, all leading ladies on the stage.
The championship Ballroom Dancer. Those who made and lost a fortune. We have the military men, dating from the Anglo/Norman invasion of Ireland, the English Civil War through to WW2.
Our Scottish branch goes back to the 16th century border rievers who terrorised the borderlands.
Not forgetting those brave family members who crossed America by wagon train and helped in the founding of the...