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Enjoyed the Rory Bremner one, thought he was very lucky to have so much family information at his fingertips, his family already had loads of info, which gave him a head start I thought. Some poor souls like us have to start from scratch with next to nothing, perhaps coming from a well heeled family had something to do with it. Have'nt watched Fiona Bruce yet, got her on record. Watched Rick Stein last night, not very interesting, not a lot found out I thought, I think they probably did edit him searching for the childrens graves, because when he appeared back on camera he was quite puffed. He seemed like a nice bloke I thought.


Stephanie.

Mel,

I'm afraid it's not at all certain that the records of that graveyard must be somewhere. You're too young to remember the Cultural Revolution, but - as with most revolutionary movements - there was great destruction of records and books which were seen as some of the intelligentsia's "tools of oppression". Here's a quote from http://www.byub.org/Ancestors/records/glossary/ :

"Cultural Revolution - mass campaign in China (1966-1969), begun by Mao Zedong to revitalize the nation's revolutionary fervor and renew its basic institutions. Allied with the army, revolutionary Red Guards recruited from the youth attacked so-called bourgeois elements in cultural circles and in the bureaucracy. The movement resulted in widespread disorder and the destruction of many items of cultural significance, including family records"

It was mentioned in the programme that the church where Rick's gt-g'father was the minister had been completely stripped of any sign that it had ever been a place of worship - religion, of course, was another "tool of the oppressors".

(See also the entry about the Bolshevik Revolution - and nearer home, many Irish records were destroyed in the 1922 "troubles" as others had been earlier. There's an interesting article on this subject at http://homepage.eircom.net/%257Eseanjmu ... usmemo.htm )

Charon

I meant to say that the destruction in 1922 of the Irish Census records was probably not intentional, just an accident of war. The earlier destruction certainly was intentional, whatever the motives may have been.

Charon

You're right, I am too young and hadn't thought of destruction.

Thanks Charon.

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Mel

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We went to China a few years back on holiday and there was still quite a bit of repression then. We were told not to speak to the chinese about their past.
I remember the long line in Tiananmen Square of people going to see the body of Mao. It took 2hours from the end of the queue.

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

Yes, oppression increased rather than decreased after the Cultural Revolution, as usual with revolutions - think of The Terror in France after their 1789 Revolution, or Iran after they replaced the Shah with the Ayatollah Khomeini. Even revolutions with the best intentions usually increase suffering for at least as many people as they reduce it for, and often far more. Family records are a minor casualty compared with the human suffering.

Charon

Watched the Fiona Bruce WDYTYA last night, I enjoyed it, there were a couple of suprises for her, but she was given so much help, everything was ready and waiting for her. I know they only have an hour programme to put everything in, and cant show every little search, but they make it appear so easy sometimes.


Stephanie.

I enjoyed it very much last night. I do tend to feel though, that the actors/actresses amongst them to tend to "act it out" a bit more than is possibly normal, if that makes sense. I kept waiting for her to ask what her motivation was at one point, those long silences somehow don't seem altogether genuine. Maybe its just me being cynical.

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

There was a Q&A section about the making of the programs in one of the magazines. Someone asked how much the person is told prior to the filming. They (the production team) said they tell them nothing at all as they want the reaction caught on tape to be the natural reaction. Some of the the characters do ask what reaction is expected of them but they are told that the natural reaction is the one that is desired.

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Mel

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Very interesting about the "stars" not being told anything before they see the next discovery. Remembering how one of them reacted when told he was descended from Royalty (was it Matthew Pinsent?) I can believe it. As regards the apparent over-reaction to sad stories - I think that's just the sort of people who go in for acting! But not all: as I recall, David Suchet was very calm as well as very thoughtful. Patsy Kensit, though.......

I too thought about this after watching Zoe Wanamaker, and it occurred to me that people like us who've done a bit of ancestor research are probably much more used to the facts of life and death than people who haven't. After all, we may have thousands of ancestors and relatives in our files, and probably 95 percent of them are dead. And for many of us in this forum, some of our ancestors will have died in very sad circumstances. I know some of mine did.

I don't mean that we've become hardened to sad deaths, but it's less of a surprise for us. How many actors have any idea of the lives of the working class in the 19th Century? Even if they've been in a play or film about it, they haven't lived the real life as our (and their) ancestors did.

Charon

Well, Kevin Whately proved my theory wrong last night re the acting on the programme. I thought it was really interesting, and he got totally immersed in it. What a family of entrepreneurs they were, and such risk takers to go where they did at such young ages. One young man went east, another west, totally unrelated and both did exceedingly well. I think it was one of the best. Pity they only did five, the series is over too quickly.
The site where he found the Thompson lady's burial in 1770's, I think was the FFHS, but I have been on it and cannot see the link he found, it didn't appear to be a pay to view site. Any ideas??

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

I have three of these recorded and not yet watched. Better get into catch-up mode!

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Mel

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I watched Kevin Whately last night and have to agree, one of the best of this series, really enjoyed it and so I think did Kevin, what an amazing family he had, he must be proud of them, even though he just classes himself as an ordinary Geordie lad. I wish there were more than five.


Stephanie.

I can't believe none of you have picked up on it!
I am just watching Rory Bremner. One of the archivists he met with to look for an obit was called Di Stiff!

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Mel

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Age Mel, that is my excuse.

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.