January 2023
Hopes, plans and dreams revisited.
01/01/23 22:40
In the first week of January last year I make my 'hopes, plans and dreams' for 2022. How did I get on?
Hopes
Well these welt well…
1. To finish transcribing and cleaning the 1901 and 1911 census for Springhill and the surrounding area, and (even more hopefully) do some population/employment/migration analysis on the results. - no
2. To (finally) finish transcribing the will of Joshua Nuttall. This means getting my eye back in for c17 handwriting. - no
3. To complete an 'in depth' report for Newlands (my other one-place study, which attempts to research a place for free) for the Society for One Place Studies (SOPS) - no (but I did start it)
4. To continue volunteering at the local museum - that kind of fell off, sadly
5. To sort out a tree for the Springhill study, either Ancestry, Wikitree or ? - no
Whilst i'm disappointed that the volunteering has probably come to an end, I did take part in the National Library of Scotland footpath transcription project so gave back in that way.
Plans
I plan to continue to work with the committee of SOPS to develop the profile of One-Place Studies in the local/family history world.
Despite not particularly wanting to develop a speaking role, I have ended up with three talks to different groups in the first 6 months of next year, plus have somehow ended up leading a session on #HouseHistoryHour on Twitter using Springhill House as a worked example of a house history.
Did rather better here. I have continued to work with the fabulous people on the committee of the Society for One-Place Studies which has gone from strength to strength over the last 12 months - thank you everybody.
The three talks went well, as did #HouseHistoryHour. The talks were on One Place Studies to the Kilted Ancestors group on Facebook, on Springhill to the South Pennine Archeology group and on Meaning-making and understanding to SOPS. In addition I spoke on 'Putting your servants in their place' to THEGenealogy summer show and co-led a workshop at the Family History Federation Really Useful Show in November. The SOPS meeting was also written up for 'Destinations', the SOPS journal.
Dreams
These are probably mutually exclusive but there are two main dreams:
1. Finally to undertake the Oxford University Advanced Undergraduate Diploma in Local History. This has been on my wish list for ages.
2. Begin and chip away a little at a potentially huge piece of work about the connections between Springhill and the conscientious objection movement in the area in WW1. One resident was a peace activist after the war, the minister of Sion helped train people to appear before the tribunal and a near-resident was the military representative so nothing to go on there at all!
I did indeed sign up for the Oxford Diploma, am currently drafting my third assignment and am really enjoying it.
A non-history project is to take recognisable half decent photographs of 100 British birds in attempt to improve both my photographic and bird identification 'skills'. Coming hopefully soon to a Flickr site (or similar) near you…
Actually this is on Smugmug (https://jimbarrie.smugmug.com/Birds/100-bird-project) and is standing at 158 species with a number represented as males/females/juveniles. This has been great fun and my #My200BirdYear list stood tantalisingly close at 197.
So what about 2023?
1. Hope, plan and dream of finishing the Oxford Diploma, then think about what next.
2. 'What next' may include unpacking my thoughts relating hermeneutics (the study of interpretation and meaning-making) to One-Place Studies. I have no idea exactly (or even vaguely) how this will look but it combines two of my main areas of interest.
3. Continue to work with the SOPS committee
4. In the medium term I'm hoping to complete at least an in-depth report about Newlands and also to produce either a webinar or an article for Destinations about the project. Not sure how much this will progress in 2023 however.
5. Continue the '100 birds' project and maybe start a photography project on mallards - under-rated and beautiful birds which are everywhere.
Hopes
Well these welt well…
1. To finish transcribing and cleaning the 1901 and 1911 census for Springhill and the surrounding area, and (even more hopefully) do some population/employment/migration analysis on the results. - no
2. To (finally) finish transcribing the will of Joshua Nuttall. This means getting my eye back in for c17 handwriting. - no
3. To complete an 'in depth' report for Newlands (my other one-place study, which attempts to research a place for free) for the Society for One Place Studies (SOPS) - no (but I did start it)
4. To continue volunteering at the local museum - that kind of fell off, sadly
5. To sort out a tree for the Springhill study, either Ancestry, Wikitree or ? - no
Whilst i'm disappointed that the volunteering has probably come to an end, I did take part in the National Library of Scotland footpath transcription project so gave back in that way.
Plans
I plan to continue to work with the committee of SOPS to develop the profile of One-Place Studies in the local/family history world.
Despite not particularly wanting to develop a speaking role, I have ended up with three talks to different groups in the first 6 months of next year, plus have somehow ended up leading a session on #HouseHistoryHour on Twitter using Springhill House as a worked example of a house history.
Did rather better here. I have continued to work with the fabulous people on the committee of the Society for One-Place Studies which has gone from strength to strength over the last 12 months - thank you everybody.
The three talks went well, as did #HouseHistoryHour. The talks were on One Place Studies to the Kilted Ancestors group on Facebook, on Springhill to the South Pennine Archeology group and on Meaning-making and understanding to SOPS. In addition I spoke on 'Putting your servants in their place' to THEGenealogy summer show and co-led a workshop at the Family History Federation Really Useful Show in November. The SOPS meeting was also written up for 'Destinations', the SOPS journal.
Dreams
These are probably mutually exclusive but there are two main dreams:
1. Finally to undertake the Oxford University Advanced Undergraduate Diploma in Local History. This has been on my wish list for ages.
2. Begin and chip away a little at a potentially huge piece of work about the connections between Springhill and the conscientious objection movement in the area in WW1. One resident was a peace activist after the war, the minister of Sion helped train people to appear before the tribunal and a near-resident was the military representative so nothing to go on there at all!
I did indeed sign up for the Oxford Diploma, am currently drafting my third assignment and am really enjoying it.
A non-history project is to take recognisable half decent photographs of 100 British birds in attempt to improve both my photographic and bird identification 'skills'. Coming hopefully soon to a Flickr site (or similar) near you…
Actually this is on Smugmug (https://jimbarrie.smugmug.com/Birds/100-bird-project) and is standing at 158 species with a number represented as males/females/juveniles. This has been great fun and my #My200BirdYear list stood tantalisingly close at 197.
So what about 2023?
1. Hope, plan and dream of finishing the Oxford Diploma, then think about what next.
2. 'What next' may include unpacking my thoughts relating hermeneutics (the study of interpretation and meaning-making) to One-Place Studies. I have no idea exactly (or even vaguely) how this will look but it combines two of my main areas of interest.
3. Continue to work with the SOPS committee
4. In the medium term I'm hoping to complete at least an in-depth report about Newlands and also to produce either a webinar or an article for Destinations about the project. Not sure how much this will progress in 2023 however.
5. Continue the '100 birds' project and maybe start a photography project on mallards - under-rated and beautiful birds which are everywhere.
