Brooke Shields WDYTYA

[Gay J Oliver]

I really enjoyed the programme last night and so did some of my American friends, but it is an ambition of most Americans to either be related to one of the pioneer families or to European Royalty.

I don't want to appear a teensy bit suspicious, but in 2006 I went to Boston for a New England Historical Genealogical Conference and one of the speakers I went to listen to was Gary Boyd Roberts - the man who gave Brooke Shields her Family Scroll.

His family are Texas Oil Millionaires and he has never worked in the family business, spending at least thirty years of his life studying the genealogical pedigrees of American Presidents and lines of descent from European Royalty. A very entertaining if rather eccentric speaker who kept gesticulating and losing his microphone. I was just a little suspicious when he seemed to imply that virtually everyone in America, if they traced their family back far enough, was descended from European Royalty -- Yeah!!!

[brian]

There was one interesting aspect, Gay, in that they appeared to be able to look at birth certificates on microfilm at a records office.
Now, we pay our taxes just as they do - -

Best wishes,
Brian

[Gay J Oliver]

The Bill to get registers over 100 years old transferred to archives for members of the public to view, fell through together with other bits and pieces of legislation covered by the Bill.

The parts of the White Paper which did not need primary legislation are being implemented, which means that the Family Records Centre in London closed to the public and the programme to digitise the indexes fell through because Siemans had underestimated the cost and complexity of the contract. They dropped out half way through.

What hope now with this cost cutting Government?