I have followed the recent threads with great interest. I am a Leicester expatriate having lived in Canada since 1968. I was born and grew up in the North Evington district of Leicester. Went to Medway Street and City Boys. I share many of the memories especially those about Gallowtree Gate and the Market. I have accumulated a large amount of mementoes, photos and later movies and videos, much of it with a Leicester content. I am trying to weed out and organise this collection so that it might be more interesting to my family after I am gone. However my children were born in London and grew up here and my grandchildren were born here. They have no connection with and little interest in old Leicester. (My oldest granddaughter has emigrated to Australia so her children if any will have even less connection to my roots !) I am wondering if anybody could suggest a way of dealing with this material. My paper mementoes go back to the early 20th century and include old letterheads and bills and programmes of concerts and competitive music festivals where my mother sang, although a large part is more personal - letters , cards etc. I also have a photo of the last tram outside City Boys School. In 2004 this list had a spell of Christmas reminiscences in which posted I a couple of times about mince pies and pork pie. This provoked some discussion about whether a genealogy site should devote time to memories. A little while back somebody asked what businesses were on the west side of Gallowtree Gate. The directories in the Historical Directories website only go up to about 1919. I wonder of the Leicester Libraries have later directories and if somebody on the spot could have a look. Before I stop, some of my favourite memories - trainspotting on Swain Street Bridge and the adjacent "Jitty"; The air raid shelters on Chesterfield Road; A sign "Land Mine" on Gartree Road or somewhere near, guarded by a policeman (I thought it meant that this was his land); a POW camp on ?Shady Lane; trams on East Park Road; Bradgate Park and Old John; Allens buses grinding up Mowacre Hill; and of course the market - especially a man selling crockery with an impossible display precariously balanced on his arm. My main genealogical lines that have Leicestershire roots - Cort (Market Harborough); Scott (Markfield); Wale; Poynor; Cartwright; Lee. My Hurd line goes back to Norfolk. Regards Don Hurd, St John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

Hi Donald I would strongly suggest that you join the Record Keeping Methodology group ... http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/other/Genealogical_Computing/RECORD-KEEPING-METHODOLOGY.html It's only quiet (so you won't be inundated with emails) but once a question like yours is posted, there will be soooo much experience and advice freely-given :-) Heather On 15/02/2012 16:23, Donald Hurd wrote: > <snip> > > I am wondering if anybody could suggest a way of dealing with this material. My paper mementoes go back to the early 20th century and include old letterheads! > and bills and programmes of concerts and competitive music festivals where my mother sang, although a large part is more personal - letters , cards etc. I also have a photo of the last tram outside City Boys School. > > In 2004 this list had a spell of Christmas reminiscences in which posted I a couple of times about mince pies and pork pie. This provoked some discussion about whether a genealogy site should devote time to memories. > > <snip> > > Regards > Don Hurd, St John's, Newfoundland, Canada. >