2015: The year in preview

This post was meant to come a few days after my review of 2014. Clearly it didn’t, so I will start with a review of the year so far and a preview of the rest.

January this year was much smoother sailing than January last year. While last year started with a very sick little daughter, this year kicked off with a family cruise to New Caledonia and Vanuatu. I’d put a genealogy spin on it by comparing and contrasting it with the voyages of my ancestors but to be quite honest, I really didn’t think about that at all while on board! The ocean really was as calm as in the picture below, and it really was that blue. No cooking, no cleaning, relaxing days at sea interspersed with tropical island adventures. I could get used to that.

Getting back on topic….

2015 will see me making my way through more courses with the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. I signed up for my first intermediate level course, Australian Newspapers, at the start of February. I have been able to whizz through that course already as I have been using newspapers as a resource for a long time, even before the Trove binge existed! I’ve only the exam left to do. I’m not sure I will manage a course per month all year, but I do expect to complete more of the courses this year and would like to mix in a few overseas topics with the Australian topics.

March brings the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations Congress 2015. This year it’s in Canberra. I’ve bought tickets for three of the four days and am thinking about taking a day off work to go on the Monday as well. I’m looking forward to hearing the speakers and also looking forward to meeting in real life some of the people I have “met” online. Do say hello to me if you are there!

I would like to follow up on John Lee’s Merchant Seaman’s records by engaging a researcher with expertise in and access to mariners records.

I have two Family Tree DNA kits ready and waiting for whoever I can talk into taking them!

I’m still keen on the idea of an annual research trip to Melbourne. I haven’t made plans for my 2015 trip yet, but I will. I really must sort out the papers I obtained from my 2014 trip first! I want to write up more posts about those, and about the Allsop family papers I found at the National Library.

With work and family commitments that is all I can commit myself to for the coming year. I am sure more opportunities will present themselves during the year – they usually do!