10 Ways to Uncover Your Forgotten Memories

Do you want to make a start on writing your personal or family history but have difficulty in remembering events or people from your past?

Here are 10 practical tips to get you started:

1. Draw up a timeline - a note book is good, with a new page for each year. Fill in the events/people you remember under each year's heading.
2. Carry a notebook with you to jot down the thoughts that percolate up into your consciousness, once you start your project. Write them down and add them to the timeline book.
3. Dig out old photographs and ask yourself the who, where, when, what type questions as you look at the picture. Write your conclusions down, in pencil, on the back of the photo.
4. Select a family object (the family teapot, Gran's lace fan) and hold it in your hands, trying to recall the first time you saw it; who was holding it, what were they saying about it, where did it come from; how many other people have owned it? Write your answers down.
5. When trying to recall a certain era, why not play some music from those days? Put on the music, close your eyes and let the music release the memories of where you were, who you were with and all other associated memories.
6. How about using your sense of smell to uncover old memories? Open a bottle of Vanilla essence and remember Nan's baking days; or perhaps the smell of Dettol reminds you of when you broke your leg and went to hospital.
7. Think about the first time you tasted something, maybe eating an ice cream. Was it in a cone or a dish? Did mum make it, what flavour was it? Did you buy it at a shop? How much did it cost?
8. Do you remember the texture and feel of some things from your past - Dad's scratchy face in the morning, the swish of Mum's taffeta evening dress, the snuggly wamth of your eiderdown?
9. Think about some of the personal things you associate with certain people: Dad's gold watch, Nana's apron, Mum's black handbag and then remember special times associated with each object.
10. Family memorabilia - cards, letters, post cards from holidays past, passports, luggage labels, school reports or books - all of these have a story to tell to add interest, texture and depth to the fascinating story of your life.
    

I Save Lives, One Story at a Time

Does your family tree look bare and uncared for - just names, dates and places?

Let me add the buds, flowers and leaves to it by preserving the stories associated with the members of your family.

History from the Heart can help you in the following ways:

• Teach you to write your own personal/family history in a face-to-face workshop;

• Offers you a 12 week on-line Personal History for Beginners course, where you can work at home on your own computer;

• Will interview, record and transcribe your relative's story and present you with the transcript, or lodge it in your private personal cyberspace vault via the Treasury of Heritage, where you can also store photos, MP3 audio files and video clips.
  

As a Personal Historian and Professional Story Keeper I will provide you with the knowldge, skills and experience to preserve your family history legacy for future generations.

Grab and Go File

In view of recent natural disasters world wide, I began thinking about what I would grab if such an emergency hit my home. These thoughts led me to develope a 'Grab and Go' File, which I have put together and have stored in the bookcase near my front door. My file, a poly-urethane file case, includes the following:

• Copies of our wills, Bank details (numbers, branches, and other account details), copies of our passports, mortgage details and copies of other legal documents.
• Copies of our degrees and other professional documents, marriage certificates and other personal documents for both my husband and myself.
• A small photo album of each child and some significant photos of us as a couple, some family documents of our families eg family tree, diaries, letters and other similar papers.
• Photographs of any family heirlooms including furniture, jewellery etc.

All of these documents are sealed in the airtight file box and I will check them each year. All family members have been notified of both the box location and the documents inside. By thinking about this situation in advance, and being prepared for it, I hope that it never occurs. However, if disaster falls, we are prepared and can grab the file and flee, knowing that all of the important papers and documents are intact, even if we have nothing else.

Espresso Minutes

In an attempt to try various marketing ideas to introduce the people of Perth, WA to the concept of personal history (how to write and preserve it for future family generations) I am offering, for the cost of a cup of coffee, a free 10 minute consultation.

I will be at the Coode Street Cafe, Coode Street, Mt Lawley tomorrow (26th September) from 10-11am and will be happy to answer any question you may have about your own personal history.

The idea is that you buy me a cup of coffee (a strong cappucino) and we'll talk about the problem you are facing - how to get started, how to rediscover long buried memories, do I need to draw up a timeline, should I reveal a hidden family secret....................?

I'd love to see you there.

Annie

Don't leave it too late to preserve your personal stories

I am a personal historian and am currently commissioned to record the personal history of a 92 year old lady, who is in hospital. Although I sent information about my services to the lady's family some time ago, they waited until she had experienced several bad falls, resulting in her speech becoming jumbled and confused. Her mind is quite clear and her memory of many events in her youth and early married years is excellent, however she is unable to articulate her thoughts in a clear manner.

If you have elderly parents or relatives who have memories from the early 1920 or so, please take every effort to sit down with them and encourage them to tell you their stories. Try to write down their responses or use a small digital recorder to capture their memories, then transcribe the words into a document to preserve on archival quality paper.

This is a priceless heritage legacy to leave for future family generation - start saving lives now, one story at a time!