Yesterday we filled in our census. I filled in the part about the house and my details and then got everyone else to fill in their sections. I wanted it to be them speaking in their own words for the future. I wish I hadn't bothered! When Tom got in from work he moaned about it and said you fill it in. I just ended up asking him the questions "Would you like to be known as British or English" "Either I don't really mind" "Qualifications?" "I can't remember that far back!" and so it went on with frankly no interest at all! Youngest daughter took it much more seriously wanting her descendants to know exactly what she was like and pondering on how every word would be interpreted in the future. She spent so long on her job description I had to remind her she wasn't actually filling in a CV! Then at 10 o'clock at night when everyone else had finished along came youngest son.
Now youngest son is very opinionated and if there is a "bolshie" gene in the family then he has definitely inherited it. He has however inherited a family sense of humour. There is no situation that he doesn't crack a joke about. He is so witty he has a funny aside to add to every conversation. A night out at a pub ends up with tales about every minute of the evening which are always hilarious, he can keep us entertained for hours.
When he sat down at my laptop there was a look in his eye that worried me. "Now remember you can be fined if you aren't serious on this" I said. I'm not actually sure if that is true. "Remember your descendants will be scrutinising this in 100 years" "I couldn't care less what they think of me, I won't be around to see it" Oh dear. Although he reassured me he was just messing with me as he was loving the look on my face, I just know there will be something. One little thing he will have to add to stamp his personality on it. When he finished he said "All done then, I'll press submit." So that is it, it has gone. I'd just like to say to our descendants if there is anything odd on our census, it's nothing to do with me!
The other exciting thing that happened was an anonymous packet was delivered to me. Now when I say anonymous there was a note inside saying they hoped I would find the photos useful, but no address or signature. I have two work websites and one is a photo and social history one full of photos of people and things. A bit like with a census, I feel that every tiny detail in a photo or every little item is a moment in history that should be preserved for the future. So many photos that other people would throw out I scan and store on the website. I usually buy the photos at car boot sales or auctions but some kind people have donated photos to me that they no longer want. These photos that arrived yesterday are so lovely. A mixture of family photos and 1960s holidays. I spent the evening (between census filling) scanning them and I'm really looking forward to adding them to the website. The site is totally free to browse and enjoy the photos, if anyone wants to have a little look UK Photo And Social History Archive
