It’s hot, really hot. Maybe when you read this the heatwave will be dusty memory but on the 18th July in the Angel Centre the temperature set to warm. This month we had some great stalls for people to buy from and help support local traders.

Talking of memories this evenings main meeting was about tracing your family tree. Sam Smith our resident expert led us in how she has been able to trace her own roots all the way back to the 16^th century via Germany. President Suzanne’s family tree also goes all the way back to the 1500’s – both were a really fascinating insight into how people lived their lives, their families, how war and the prospect of work will force people to move hundreds or even thousands of miles at times when most people never left the village they were born in.

Sam then showed us how the technology can help us find those connections more easily. By using on-line resources such as www.ancestry.co.uk  you simply type in your name, your parents’ and grandparents’ and start your search. Member Diane offered to be the guinea pig for a search and we were all surprised how much information a simple start reveal. But technology can only help you so far. Much of the joy of researching your own family is actually talking to them and sharing memories, funny stories, myths and family legends and the occasional skeleton in that cupboard!

Local History libraries, churches and records offices are wonderful resources to take your search further. Some members told us their journey had taken them far and wide to trace their roots, and they enjoyed discovering new places where their relatives had lived through the ages.

If you’ve ever seen the TV programme, ‘Who Do you Think You Are’, you’ll know you have to be prepared for some of the things you uncover to be unexpected, sad or even shocking. But that’s what makes life what it is and all those events combine to bring you where you are today – reading the Salford Advertiser in a very hot 2013! I wonder what genealogists of the future will make of how we live our lives today.