Dear Paul

As an avid reader of Family Tree and a lover of the Dear Tom/Karen pages, for longer than I can remember, it feels somewhat strange to actually be sitting on the opposite side of the ‘metaphoric desk’, as I present to you the first, of what will hopefully be many, ‘Dear Paul’ pages.

I’m hugely aware of the ‘big shoes’ that I am filling and I know how popular these pages are amongst Family Tree readers, so please continue to provide the funny stories, anecdotes and general family history miscellany, that makes these pages so popular. Without you, there would be no ‘Dear Paul’!

So, without further ado, let me start with a weather report. I hope that, even if you’ve been on lock-down, that you’ve managed to enjoy at least a little bit of spring sunshine. Earlier this year, when I was