Half of my family comes from Lancashire (one branch of which I managed to trace back to 1272), some from Northern Ireland, some from the West Country. Most were farmers or masons, apart from the Lancastrian branch, who were once a prominent noble family (one was a doctor of theology at the Sarbonne, another was involved in a plot to kill Piers Gaveston, who was the lover of King Edward II) with a penchant for being executed (found 4 so far; two were catholic martyrs, one of whom had his head stored in a cupboard for around 200 years, another was a witch, and the fourth was a plain old murderess). According to my cousin, I am distantly related to Tony Blair.
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. - J.R.R Tolkien
