Don't ignore the postman!

[Phoenix]

Had an email from my coz yesterday, asking if I'd received a letter from my aunt. Nope, but I had a "please pay the excess" card. Which I'd ignored, as the last time I had to pay on a catalogue.

Trotted round to the post office. Brought it back to the office....

And it's full of old photos! A cabinet print of gg grandfather & family (I only have a scruffy carte de visite) and lots of people I can't identify!

I have invited myself back to see my rellies as I'm not trusting Royal Mail with the return of these!

[Heather Positive Thinker]

How lovely Brenda - I wish I could get a stack more photos - Im sure they must be in someones loft somewhere waiting to be thrown out.

[Margaret in Burton]

How lovely Brenda - I wish I could get a stack more photos - Im sure they must be in someones loft somewhere waiting to be thrown out.

Don't talk about photos in the loft

My cousin has all the family photos on my mums side. They must be in her loft somewhere she says and she will search for them sometime.

That was about 7 years ago she told me that and I'm still waiting. I reckon she has thrown them out.

[Phoenix]

What is heartbreaking is the fact that my aunt has never been too interested in family - as opposed to Mum, who was nosy all her life. Now she's gone, and we can only deduce who all the photos are of.
There are some amazing ones of soldiers, a wedding group, and a family whose house looks decidely colonial. It is so sad that we don't name these - and I am just as bad.

[Little Nell]

It's often the sad case that the custodian of family records is the person who cares least about them.

My uncle was a keen amateur movie-maker. He took lots of film of family, including some of me at a wedding when I was about 3 or 4, which I've seen once. He's dead now and my aunt has never handed the film over to my Mum, even though its of no use to her and doesn't feature anyone she knew (uncle married her way after this event). I think she's probably ditched it but can't admit it. Sore point.

[Helen Smith Too]

My paternal nan gave most of the family photos to her daughter's only son - the only member of the family who left the area - and he died several years ago. One day I'll try to investigate the return of some of them - if only temporarily to scan them.