who do you think you are? two weeks ago

Atarah · 22-09-2011, 16:29

OMG! Cant believe I NEVER watched this.
Its the story of LARRY LAMB, known for being in East Enders and other TV programmes. Have just checked and cant find that anyone has posted about this.

Please watch the programme on BBC iplayer. Its amazing. This Larry Lamb's great great whatever was called DAY and was born HERE, in Accrington!!!!!
They were on Ellisons Tenement Accrington.
Wonderful programme!

flashy · 22-09-2011, 16:34

i love it too Atarah but i missed that one, the last one i watched was Alan Carr

Atarah · 22-09-2011, 17:07

Flashy, you MUST try and watch it. I have just watched it for a second time on iplayer. If you can't watch on your telly, "phone a friend" and try and watch it. I have to say, I think its the best one I have ever seen! Marvellous it is! The things they unearthed are brilliant!
The DAY's were travelling showmen and were on Ellisons tenement. The census they looked at shown that one of the DAY's was born here in Accrington.

MargaretR · 22-09-2011, 17:30

I watched it and it was very informative about the the life of people who ran travelling fairs and menageries.

The programme didn't dwell much on the Ellisons tenement connection because it was just a few days of stopover at a venue, and the birth just happened to occur at that visit.

Although it was interesting to hear Accrington mentioned, the Day family were not shown to have connections here other than 'passing through'.

garinda · 22-09-2011, 18:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by MargaretR

I watched it and it was very informative about the the life of people who ran travelling fairs and menageries.

The programme didn't dwell much on the Ellisons tenement connection because it was just a few days of stopover at a venue, and the birth just happened to occur at that visit.

Although it was interesting to hear Accrington mentioned, the Day family were not shown to have connections here other than 'passing through'.

Like Margaret, I watched it, and thought the same thing.

The Accrington connection was a suprise, but considering they were fair folk, it was just chance the birth happened here.

More interesting to me was Larry Lamb meeting his elderly mother's brother in the States. With neither family knowing of the other's existence, after Lamb's grandmother had ran off to America, to begin a totally new life.

mobertol · 23-09-2011, 08:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

More interesting to me was Larry Lamb meeting his elderly mother's brother in the States. With neither family knowing of the other's existence, after Lamb's grandmother had ran off to America, to begin a totally new life.

Those things happened a lot back then -not the same means of communication as we have now obviously. In the mid-70's an un-known cousin of my dads turned up to find the family from New Zealand. His mother had died and left written in her will who her brothers and sisters were and that she was originally from Accrington, UK. He had no idea! She was a sister of my paternal Grand-father and apparently ran off in disgrace in the early 20's as she was pregnant (she came from a good Catholic family!)

kestrelx · 23-09-2011, 11:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobertol

Those things happened a lot back then -not the same means of communication as we have now obviously. In the mid-70's an un-known cousin of my dads turned up to find the family from New Zealand. His mother had died and left written in her will who her brothers and sisters were and that she was originally from Accrington, UK. He had no idea! She was a sister of my paternal Grand-father and apparently ran off in disgrace in the early 20's as she was pregnant (she came from a good Catholic family!)

Watched bits of it - I wonder if they'll ever have a Jeanette Winterson one?

garinda · 23-09-2011, 11:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobertol

Those things happened a lot back then -not the same means of communication as we have now obviously. In the mid-70's an un-known cousin of my dads turned up to find the family from New Zealand. His mother had died and left written in her will who her brothers and sisters were and that she was originally from Accrington, UK. He had no idea! She was a sister of my paternal Grand-father and apparently ran off in disgrace in the early 20's as she was pregnant (she came from a good Catholic family!)

Sadly it did happen.

Mainly because only the wealthy could afford to divorce. So if a relationship broke down, it was easy for some to scarper, and start an entirely new life somewhere else, with a brand new family.

One of the saddest Who Do You Think You Are? programmes featured Kim Catrall, when this happened to her mother.

Catrall's grandfather left her mother and two aunts as children to a life of poverty in Liverpool. Whilst he played the doting daddy to his new family in the northeast, before moving the whole family to Australia.

Must be hard, hearing how wonderful a dad your father had been to a later child, after abandoning you without a backwards glance.

anzac · 23-09-2011, 16:22

I thought the Kim Cattrall episode was the best one I have seen and just goes to show how people could disappear in those days and not be traced as they didn't have access to the information we have today.

I don't really rate this current series and have only really enjoyed the Larry Lamb one but hopefully it will get a bit better soon.

kestrelx · 29-09-2011, 11:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

Sadly it did happen.

Mainly because only the wealthy could afford to divorce. So if a relationship broke down, it was easy for some to scarper, and start an entirely new life somewhere else, with a brand new family.

One of the saddest Who Do You Think You Are? programmes featured Kim Catrall, when this happened to her mother.

Catrall's grandfather left her mother and two aunts as children to a life of poverty in Liverpool. Whilst he played the doting daddy to his new family in the northeast, before moving the whole family to Australia.

Must be hard, hearing how wonderful a dad your father had been to a later child, after abandoning you without a backwards glance.

It only matters because she is a celebrity what about the family in Iraq who did not wrong who's father was bombed by Blairs lies! 100's of family's murdered by British Bombing!!!

MargaretR · 29-09-2011, 12:04

I watched the Richard Madeley one last night.
What a disppointment. He was so busy interrupting the people who were giving him info that I feel sure there was much to be told that wasn't.

We had many shots of him walking and driving in the snow which contributed nothing.

He just seemed concerned to construct a tree which went further back than most - he succeeded, but the info about those ancestors was sparse.

panther · 29-09-2011, 18:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by MargaretR

I watched the Richard Madeley one last night.
What a disppointment. He was so busy interrupting the people who were giving him info that I feel sure there was much to be told that wasn't.

We had many shots of him walking and driving in the snow which contributed nothing.

He just seemed concerned to construct a tree which went further back than most - he succeeded, but the info about those ancestors was sparse.

Have to agree on that one, does that guy never shut up?, also it only seemed to be about his mothers side

I have recently been trying to track down my family tree and i have to say i found my relatives way back to early 1800's and found cousins everywhere!, also some stuff which shock you!! lol , good stuff, interesting to know too

Bob Dobson · 29-09-2011, 18:57

I am sure that Richard Madeley has some nice relations too.I rate him as a broadcaster/.presenter/journalist. I diodn't see the beginning, but the town of Madeley is in Shropshire, near to Ironbridge, so I hope that came out.

MargaretR · 29-09-2011, 19:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Dobson

I am sure that Richard Madeley has some nice relations too.I rate him as a broadcaster/.presenter/journalist. I diodn't see the beginning, but the town of Madeley is in Shropshire, near to Ironbridge, so I hope that came out.

No it didn't.

anzac · 29-09-2011, 19:11

I think the programme makers Wall to Wall Media have lost the plot. What started out as a good and very interesting programme some years ago has now become really mundane. They were the team that had the idea and started to make the family history programme which I really enjoyed but jumping back 3 or 4 generations just to find something interesting (Which this series really lacks) is not good television.

I was involved with the research and actually appeared in one of the shows in the 2nd series and realised at that time that the production company were not the least bit interested in the family history side but just wanted to make sure that the "celebrity" broke down in tears whilst they were filming and that things were either blown out of proportion or dramatized to make it good television. It is such a shame as I have been involved with family history for many years and I always tell my students that it is not how far you go back it's finding out about the journey to where you are now.