From my heart to yours... “Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhaoibh!” ~ Happy St Patrick's Day to you all" with a Blessing and some unexpected and delightful surprises for me!

On this special day... I am remembering my Irish/Celtic Ancestors... their lives, loves, hopes, dreams and stories... with love and gratitude.

Does this day have special meaning
for you and your family? 

Like so many Australians, my Ancestors before me arrived in this wild and beautiful country in another century and so very far away from their homelands, family and friends... I can't begin to imagine what that separation and journey would have been like for them, nor the many challenges they faced in creating their new lives here.

Although grateful to have some  treasured family photographs and basic information, sadly I know very little about these pioneers and their lives. Now they are gone and there is no one left to ask or share their stories...
However, my determined curiosity to remember and discover more about these people by searching, finding and gathering pieces of my family jigsaw puzzle is a constant source of joy and satisfaction in my life.

Even better are the occasional exciting and heart-warming new finds such as a couple of wonderful photo gems from long ago which I discovered by accident via a local history page on Facebook last night just before heading to bed!

I had originally been looking on the internet at some beautiful scenic photos of a small town in British Columbia called Enderby because I have always known that my Maternal Grandmother's Scottish Aunty had married and bravely gone to live and raise her family in this wild frontier in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

As I have always been the "keeper of the family photos" there are a few precious images I inherited of this family and I have always wondered about their lives back then and how life would have been way over on the other side of the world in the land of mountains, snow and bears!

As I sleepily clicked from one photo to the next of this Museum's fascinating historical collection in the hopes of possibly finding a scrap of information or even a mention of our family name, I never imagined that I would actually not only see one of the photos in my own collection, let alone some brand new ones. However it was when I found myself gazing into the living room at the children and their brightly lit Christmas tree that I swear my heart actually stopped and then skipped a few beats! There they were! Isobel, Barbara wee Richard "Dickie"- partly appearing at the far right of the photo. This is the image that delighted me so... (unedited or touched-up)

The Grahame-Moore Family Xmas Tree, ca 1913
- photo from Enderby & District Museum & Archives

So my message to you, my fellow travellers and Ancestor Seekers is this...

Firstly, please take every opportunity to talk to your family ~ especially your elders ~ about their lives and stories. Write things down and collect copies of photos and memories!

Do this while they are still available to ask! I know that it seems like our beloved family will be with us forever... and if only they could be... but sadly, the hands of time are always turning and one day they will be gone from our worlds and any un-asked questions shall remain forever unanswered mysteries.

From my experience, photos and historical details are very interesting and essential for our collections however in all honesty, nothing can compare with the magic and power of their own lives and personal stories.

So then, allow your curiosity and love of family to take you on an unknown voyage of discovery and inspiration into the past of those who paved the way before us. I think you will find this journey to be enriching and empowering as you grow an even deeper sense of belonging, I know I most certainly do! Plus you just never know what unexpected treasures you may find in your travels!

Thanks to my Nan (uncannily who, like my son today, was also an avid photographer) this photo below is from my inherited collection and which I also excitedly found in the Historical Archives online. Here in the centre of the photo holding the lambs, you can see the same girls as were in the Christmas photo taken above, except a few years older.

Photo taken at Enderby Farm - "Woodcliffe" - Left to Right: Agnes "Margaret" Louise Moore,  Lilias Edith "Isobel" Grahame Moore, "Barbara" Helen Grahame Moore and Richard "Dickie" John Archibald Moore.

I will leave you for now with the other wonderful new surprise family photo which I found last night in the Enderby BC Historical Museum Archive and also a beautiful Irish Blessing to carry with you....

Washing J.F. Moore's first Ford - ca 1920

I shall share more of my treasured photos and family history stories in the blogs to follow! So please come back and visit often!

If light is in your heart you will find your way home.

~ Rumi

Níl aon tinteáin mar do thinteáin féin (There's no hearth like your own hearth) 

“Beannacht / Blessing

On the day when

the weight deadens

on your shoulders

and you stumble,

may the clay dance

to balance you.

And when your eyes

freeze behind

the grey window

and the ghost of loss

gets in to you,

may a flock of colours,

indigo, red, green,

and azure blue

come to awaken in you

a meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays

in the currach of thought

and a stain of ocean

blackens beneath you,

may there come across the waters

a path of yellow moonlight

to bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,

may the clarity of light be yours,

may the fluency of the ocean be yours,

may the protection of the ancestors be yours.

And so may a slow

wind work these words

of love around you,

an invisible cloak

to mind your life.”

~ John O'Donohue from Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

Oh and if you live in the Southern Hemisphere as I do,
St Patrick's Day is also the time to plant your Sweetpeas!

Quw'utsun' Made © Be A Good Ancestor

Electric Edwardians:
The Films of Mitchell and Kenyon

Probably the most exciting film discovery of recent times, the films of Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon take us on a tour of everyday life in Edwardian Britain.

Electric Edwardians - The Lost Films of Mitchell & Kenyon - DVD

In the earliest years of the twentieth century, enterprising travelling showmen in the north of England hired pioneer film makers Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon to shoot footage of local people going about their everyday activities. These films would be shown later at nearby fairgrounds, town halls and neighbourhood theatres. Workers, school children, sports fans and seaside vacationers all flocked to see themselves miraculously captured on screen!

The astonishing discovery of the original Mitchell & Kenyon negatives in Blackburn, England — in a basement about to be demolished — has been described as film’s equivalent of Tutankhamen’s tomb.

Preserved and restored by the bfi National Film and Television Archive in collaboration with the University of Sheffield National Fairground Archive and featuring a hauntingly beautiful score by In The Nursery, this treasure trove of extraordinary footage provides an unparalleled record of everyday life in the years before World War I.

Mesmerising scenes of trolley cars and crowded streets, soccer matches, temperance parades, throngs of workers leaving the factory and a myriad of simple pleasures transport us to another — lost — world. The effect is as if H.G. Wells’ marvelous time machine had come to life.

The films are grouped into five sections: Youth and Education, The Anglo-Boer War, Workers, High Days and Holidays, and People and Places; a total of 35 full-length films in all, plus five ‘hidden’ items. They are set to a specially commissioned score by Sheffield-based duo In The Nursery and presented with extensive extras offering much background material.

Here is a sample:

THE MUSIC:
The specially commissioned score for Electric Edwardians was written and performed by In The Nursery - the Sheffield-based musical project formed by twin brothers Klive and Nigel Humberstone. ITN's musical history spans more than two decades.
This wonderful DVD is available from Milestone Films:
https://www.milestonefilms.com/products/electric-edwardians

DVD BONUS FEATURES:

• Optional Voiceover Commentary by Dr. Vanessa Toulmin, National Fairground Archive, University of Sheffield
• Filmed Interview With Vanessa Toulmin
• “Pictures of Crowd Splendour” video introduction by Tom Gunning, University of Chicago
• Featurette on the restoration of the films
• “Diving Lucy” and additional shorts by Mitchell and Kenyon

Some more film footage ~ this time accompanied by the
hauntingly beautiful music of Dirty Three. 

This track: "Long Way To Go With No Punch"

I hope you have enjoyed discovering these remarkable, time-capsule footage treasures from the past as much as I have!

Quw'utsun' Made © Be A Good Ancestor

"Those whom we love and lose are no longer where they were before.  They are now wherever we are." 

~ St John Chrysostom

Within You Without You

"We were talking, about the space between us all

And the people, who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion

Never glimpse the truth, then it's far too late when they pass away

We were talking, about the love we all could share

When we find it, to try our best to hold it there, with our love

With our love we could save the world, if they only knew

Try to realise it's all within yourself, no-one else can make you change

And to see you're really only very small

And life flows on within you and without you

We were talking, about the love that's gone so cold

And the people who gain the world and lose their soul

They don't know, they can't see, are you one of them?

When you've seen beyond yourself

Then you may find peace of mind is waiting there

And the time will come when you see we're all one

And life flows on within you and without you"

Songwriters: George Harrison / John Lennon / Paul McCartney

Within You Without You lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Listen deep to the old stories...

and go seeking your lost songlines. They are already singing you.

Diana ~ from Sara K Byrne's Multi-Layered Portraits

Listen deep to the old stories and you will hear the rumble of your roots, the flap of your wings, the cries and shouts of joy of your ancestors.

Listen deep to the old stories and hear them whir within your DNA and resound in the world around you, from deepest ocean to most distant star, in every form imaginable.

Listen deep to the old stories and hear your wisest voice of guidance and your most innocent foolish chatter.

Listen deep to the old stories and they will map a path that is sure to lead you to a well, which quenches every thirst.

Listen deep to the old stories and be transformed from the duck you thought you were to the swan you know you are. Such recognition! You are a story being told yourself!

~ Niki na Meadhra

Photo by Edouard Boubat