Hi folks,

Apologies for the lack of a newsletter last week, my workload has seriously escalated in the last couple of weeks, as I prepare for my Australian trip in just over a week, and as various assessments have kicked in for my Gaelic course at the University of Glasgow – not to mention all the genealogy work I am still doing! This is a much shorter newsletter for the same reason, and it won't likely be until after my Oz trip that I get back to normality again, from mid-December.

I have been involved in a few talks over the last fortnight, including hosting Dr. Sophie Kay's session for Family Tree magazine on the 5th, and speaking to the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Family History Association on the 13th – thanks to all who came along! Tomorrow evening, Monday 18th, I am speaking to Glasgow and West of Scotland FHS about Researching British Civilian POWs in WW1 (https://www.gwsfhs.org.uk/events/event/british-civilian-pows-in-wwi-chris-paton/), and on Tuesday 19th I am hosting a session with Laura House from Ancestry.co.uk for Family Tree magazine (https://www.family-tree.co.uk). And of course, Saturday 23rd sees the next Scottish Indexes conference (https://www.scottishindexes.com/conference.aspx), where I will be giving a talk, twice in the same day, on Using the Internet and PRONI for Northern Irish Research, as well as participating in the general Q&A sessions. I hope you can join us for some or all of the events!

On the news front, probably the biggest development has been to see that DNA company 23andMe appears to be in serious trouble, laying off forty per cent of its workforce - you can read more on this at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp9z7m2nljyo.

There has also been a massive migration over the last couple of weeks from genealogists to the Bluesky app, which acts very much like Twitter. I quit Twitter almost 18 months ago, as I found it was becoming much too right wing for my liking, and far too intolerant and angry – the change to X as its name was the queue for me to X-it the site. Having signed up to Bluesky in the past week (Sophie Kay gets the credit for suggesting it!), it has been an absolute breath of fresh air, and I am now tweeting like a bird again, on matters both genealogical and Gaelic (writing in both languages). It's definitely worth a go, so if interested in signing up, visit https://bsky.app to register – you'll also find me there on @chrismpaton.bsky.social...!

Another big event for me personally is that my next book, Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland, is now available for pre-order in the UK at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Researching-Ancestral-Crisis-in-Ireland-Paperback/p/51770 (release in February 2025), and via the United States at https://www.penandswordbooks.com/9781036110376/researching-ancestral-crisis-in-ireland/ (April 2025).  

Don't forget also that I have a range of books on Scottish and Irish topics that can hopefully help with your family history pursuits, you can find these on the Pen and Sword websites, and from other distributors worldwide – and if you can get in quick, that's potentially a Christmas present for yourself sorted, or for a relative or friend!

I'll hopefully touch base again next week before I head off down under, but finally, I went to one of the best ever concerts in my life last night, the Hebridean band Niteworks, with guests, including the band Sian. I know members of both bands through my course at Glasgow, and this was Niteworks' last ever performance after 17 years, and an emotional night for everyone there. Here's a few pics, and a wee clip (featuring Sian on vocals), of a cover of the Runrig classic An Toll Dubh. Mòran taing a chàirdean!

Until next week!

Chris

Forthcoming Pharos Tutors courses:

The following are forthcoming 5-week long courses that I will be teaching online through Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd over the next few months - I hope you can join me!

Scottish Research Online
January 6th 2025

Progressing Your Irish Research Online
February 17th 2025

Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers
March 10th 2025

Researching Scottish Ancestral Crisis
May 12th 2025

For further details on these Pharos courses, and others, please visit https://www.pharostutors.com/courses

Chris Paton Genealogy Books:

For my various Scottish and Irish themed titles, check out the Pen and Sword website at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Chris-Paton/a/1799  in the UK, and https://www.penandswordbooks.com/search-grid/?keyword=Paton for the USA.

Reviews on Amazon or elsewhere are always appreciated!

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