First of all let me explain why I wanted to do my family tree. I've always been interested in history and I wanted to know where my family came from. I always wondered if any of my family had been part of any major event.
I started by asking my grandma if she she knew anything about my Geordie roots. She then said my cousin Lindsay had done a family tree a few years back. The next time I saw her, she let me borrow what she had done (I still have it lol). I'd always assumed that most of the family were from the Newcastle area. However, my dads cousin Nigel had also done some research and found the Atkinson side of my family actually originated from a place called Kirklinton in Cumberland. Not only that, he found out that they were all Mormons. Just as important as finding this out, he also provided me with photos of my granddads side of the family which I had never seen before. The census records Lindsay provided also showed that my family were based all over the North East in places such as Prudhoe, Durham and their was even some Makem blood in there too. There was also some Scottish blood. And as I am writing this I am sure there is some French too. As you can tell the majority of my dads side of the family was done for me. However, my mums side was a lot harder to do as you'll find out.
This side was a lot harder to do for many reasons. First of all we have no idea who my Granddads father was. Also, my great grandma was adopted by her Aunty. With regards to my Granddads family all I really had to go one was the name Winifred Baker. I found a Winifred Baker born in 1909. I traced her paternal side of the family back to 1841 in Knutsford. I then traced one of my great great grandmas family back to 1798 in Lichfield. I'd done all the brothers and sisters families too. I thought I'd done really well and put lots of effort in. Then my uncle came to my house and I showed him the tree. With one sentence my work was undone. He said "who are these people?". That's right I'd worked hard for a month tracing the ancestry of the wrong family. He then rang one of his uncles asking for a bit of info so I could get started again. Eventually I traced the Bakers back to 18th century Derbyshire. We still have no idea who my Granddads father was.
My mothers maternal family was also quite hard to follow. This was because of my Great Grandmother and her mother. My grandmother was born in Newark in 1900 but raised in Spilsby, Lincolnshire. She was raised by her Aunty. So she had at least 2 surnames when she was young. I had no idea who her mother was until my mums cousin showed me a birth certificate. This showed her mother and fathers name. However at this time her mother was married and her surname would've been Wilson. The male on the certificate was called William Blatherwick. That's right, she had an affair. I assume because of this, her husband left her and she gave up my Great Grandmother. So not only had we found out her birth name, we also had the name of a father. However we don't have birthdates etc.
So far on my mums side of the family I have traced them back to mid 19th century Staffordshire, early 19th century Notts, mid 16th century Lincolnshire and early 19th century Newcastle. Thus bringing the tree full circle.
As for finding any people who've done something famous or been well known, well my family appear to have been very working class.
Wednesday 12 October 2011
Wednesday 14 September 2011
My Top 10 Underrated Guitar Solo's
10. NUNO BETTANCOURT - Flight Of The Wounded Bumblebee.
The best solo from the most underrated guitarist. Its fast, tough and really good. Its just a shame that Extreme's most famous song is an acoustic song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6DYsi9lBcI
9. MARK KNOPFLER - Local Hero.
Slow, rhythmic and classy from one of the greats. His style of finger picking is put to great effect throughout this whole song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqTXXOqIPts
8. LED ZEPPELIN - Rock and Roll.
For me this Led Zeppelin's most underrated solo. Whilst it may not be as great as Whole Lotta Love or Stairway To Heaven, most guitarists would kill to write a solo this good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeJkDewhTEw
7. IRON MAIDEN - Run To The Hills.
Just as good as The Trooper but doesn't get the same recognition. In short an awesome solo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9OAfOwTZaU
6. AC/DC - Let There Be Rock.
A solo that shows everything Angus is about. Fast playing, hard rocking and putting on a great show. As it says in the title LET THERE BE ROCK!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVLRKk0EJTI
5. SANTANA - Smooth
Santana's biggest hit was a collaboration with Rob Thomas. Whilst its a great pop song the guitar solo is brilliant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXp413NynFk
4. BUCKETHEAD -Jordan
Kind of hard to describe this solo so i'll just say one of the best solo's from one of the best guitarists.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTcg9JybEp8
3. THE KNACK - My Sharona.
Not an obvious choice but I just love this solo and don't think it gets the love it deserves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbr60I0u2Ng&ob=av3n
2. TOTO - Hold The Line
Hard to chose one specific reason for this. I think its better than the song Africa and think its a greatly underrated solo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9okL8JucF-o
1. MICHAEL JACKSON - Beat It.
Typical EVH solo. Fast, hard to play, involves lots of intricate fret movement, tapping, hammer ons and pull offs. Maybe not as good as Eruption, but still a perfect example as to why EVH is one of the finest guitarists ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym0hZG-zNOk&ob=av3n
The best solo from the most underrated guitarist. Its fast, tough and really good. Its just a shame that Extreme's most famous song is an acoustic song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6DYsi9lBcI
9. MARK KNOPFLER - Local Hero.
Slow, rhythmic and classy from one of the greats. His style of finger picking is put to great effect throughout this whole song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqTXXOqIPts
8. LED ZEPPELIN - Rock and Roll.
For me this Led Zeppelin's most underrated solo. Whilst it may not be as great as Whole Lotta Love or Stairway To Heaven, most guitarists would kill to write a solo this good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeJkDewhTEw
7. IRON MAIDEN - Run To The Hills.
Just as good as The Trooper but doesn't get the same recognition. In short an awesome solo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9OAfOwTZaU
6. AC/DC - Let There Be Rock.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVLRKk0EJTI
5. SANTANA - Smooth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXp413NynFk
4. BUCKETHEAD -Jordan
Kind of hard to describe this solo so i'll just say one of the best solo's from one of the best guitarists.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTcg9JybEp8
3. THE KNACK - My Sharona.
Not an obvious choice but I just love this solo and don't think it gets the love it deserves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbr60I0u2Ng&ob=av3n
2. TOTO - Hold The Line
Hard to chose one specific reason for this. I think its better than the song Africa and think its a greatly underrated solo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9okL8JucF-o
1. MICHAEL JACKSON - Beat It.
Typical EVH solo. Fast, hard to play, involves lots of intricate fret movement, tapping, hammer ons and pull offs. Maybe not as good as Eruption, but still a perfect example as to why EVH is one of the finest guitarists ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym0hZG-zNOk&ob=av3n
Tuesday 13 September 2011
My Life With Muscular Dystrophy.
First of all, let me explain what Muscular Dystrophy is. Muscular Dystrophy is a lack of Dystrophin being produced by the body causing the muscles to break down. There are many types of MD including Duchenne MD, Beckers MD, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Limb Girdle disease plus many other types. Duchenne is by far the most common of all Muscular Dystrophies and is fatal in every case.
I have Beckers Muscular Dystrophy. This is similar to DMD however it is much milder. It affects around 3-6 of every 100,000 boys. Both my brother and I have the problem. The disorder is inherited with an X-linked recessive inheritance pattern. The defective gene is located on the X chromosome. Only females can be carriers of the disease. It usually only affects men as we only have 1 X chromosome whereas women have 2. There is more information about it in this link:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001725/
The first sign that I had the problem was when it took me until I was 18 months old to walk. To find out what I had, a piece of muscle was taken from me. It was then we found out.
My legs are the worst affected area of the body but my arms are still affected. When I was younger I would get severe cramps in my legs. To get rid of these cramps I had to use an electric wellies machine which would increase in pressure to get my blood circulating again. Of course my brother would always turn the pressure up when no-one was watching. I also had to wear splints for the first 10 years of my life. I hated those things. To get them made I had to have Plaster of Paris all over my legs to get the shape. I had to wear them at school. I also had to wear them at night. However I always ended up taking them off as I would get too hot. It was the same when I wore Gators too. I also had to have physio once every week. When at Primary School it was done at home, but when at Secondary School it was done there, meaning i could skive off for a bit.
I have to visit the Hospital every year so I can have an Ultrasound and Lung Function tests. This is because my Heart and Lungs will eventually become affected. I also have a curved Spine which will cause some problems later in life. I also have especially big calfs. Because so much muscle has been wasted I can't run or walk particularly far. Neither can I stand for hours or lift heavy objects. By the age of 25-30 BMD may find their ability to walk severely hampered. In a worse case scenario I may end up in a wheelchair.
However, recently great gains have been made in the fight against MD. For example just this year an exon skipping clinical test showed encouraging results in the fight against DMD. These results can be viewed in greater detail here:
http://www.muscular-dystrophy.org/research/news/4180_encouraging_results_of_uk_duchenne_exon_skipping_clinical_trial_published
Essentially what is showed is that by skipping exon 51, the drugs used showed increased Dystrophin activity with the people who were tested. It may only be a start, but its the biggest break through we've had since the discovery of the recessive gene.
Anyway, thats my life coping with MD.
I have Beckers Muscular Dystrophy. This is similar to DMD however it is much milder. It affects around 3-6 of every 100,000 boys. Both my brother and I have the problem. The disorder is inherited with an X-linked recessive inheritance pattern. The defective gene is located on the X chromosome. Only females can be carriers of the disease. It usually only affects men as we only have 1 X chromosome whereas women have 2. There is more information about it in this link:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001725/
The first sign that I had the problem was when it took me until I was 18 months old to walk. To find out what I had, a piece of muscle was taken from me. It was then we found out.
My legs are the worst affected area of the body but my arms are still affected. When I was younger I would get severe cramps in my legs. To get rid of these cramps I had to use an electric wellies machine which would increase in pressure to get my blood circulating again. Of course my brother would always turn the pressure up when no-one was watching. I also had to wear splints for the first 10 years of my life. I hated those things. To get them made I had to have Plaster of Paris all over my legs to get the shape. I had to wear them at school. I also had to wear them at night. However I always ended up taking them off as I would get too hot. It was the same when I wore Gators too. I also had to have physio once every week. When at Primary School it was done at home, but when at Secondary School it was done there, meaning i could skive off for a bit.
I have to visit the Hospital every year so I can have an Ultrasound and Lung Function tests. This is because my Heart and Lungs will eventually become affected. I also have a curved Spine which will cause some problems later in life. I also have especially big calfs. Because so much muscle has been wasted I can't run or walk particularly far. Neither can I stand for hours or lift heavy objects. By the age of 25-30 BMD may find their ability to walk severely hampered. In a worse case scenario I may end up in a wheelchair.
However, recently great gains have been made in the fight against MD. For example just this year an exon skipping clinical test showed encouraging results in the fight against DMD. These results can be viewed in greater detail here:
http://www.muscular-dystrophy.org/research/news/4180_encouraging_results_of_uk_duchenne_exon_skipping_clinical_trial_published
Essentially what is showed is that by skipping exon 51, the drugs used showed increased Dystrophin activity with the people who were tested. It may only be a start, but its the biggest break through we've had since the discovery of the recessive gene.
Anyway, thats my life coping with MD.
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