Earlier in the week I was teaching a course about the history of poverty in North-West England between 1600 and 1900 and the wealth of material which we could use to investigate the subject was impressive.

With spending cuts in central and local government now topping the agenda, the axe will inevitably fall on record offices, libraries and museums. So will heritage and local history become another victim of the financial crisis?

The issue of bigamy was raised in the Kim Cattrall's episode. It’s a very familiar theme to me – not personally, I hasten to add, but from my own family history.

Family history has become a very competitive business in the last few years – and it seems to me the big players are getting ready to square up to each other.

I’m glad to say the Society of Genealogists is in the position to do something positive to help family historians and relieve pressure on staff at TNA. Anyone who needs personal help with starting their family history can book a free session with our community officer.

This week's Radio Times runs an interview with Michael Parkinson, who reveals that the Who Do Think You Are? production team politely declined to make a programme about his ancestors because they weren't interesting enough.

I was in South Wales last week, visiting a wide range of historic sites, and I was very impressed with the work of those who are the guardians of our heritage. The sites, such as Kidwelly Castle, are beautifully maintained and a smelly latrine chamber beats any online resource.

I am entirely in favour of wider access to the National Archives (TNA), and I am no less in favour of family history. But I am gravely concerned by what is happening at there.

I think Alan Crosby is being harsh about the National Archives (TNA) supposed bias toward family historians. All statistics show that family historians comprise by far the biggest group of users of archives. 

There’s nothing like a bit of enforced rest to get you thinking. Since I've broken my foot I've been thinking about my ancestors and how they would have coped with missing work.