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I know that people find family history a big turn off, but I assure you it can throw up some fascinating stuff. You learn a lot along the way. In looking for other people I have found out about early playing card printing, Bassett-Lowke trains, bondagers (try googling that!) in N.E. England and pirates, having had a far flung family member's ship being attacked by them and a subsequent trial.
I have bought one of my sons a DNA test kit for his birthday because in his father's Cornish family men were called Ferdinando from the early 17th -late 19th centuries. I suspect we might find he has Spanish blood. I have quite a lot of Scandinavian ancestry, which is quite usual for anyone with family from the NE. Some people hope to discover who their father was. On a recent TV program abiut foundlings they even heped three find some biological family.

Hi, Rusty!
Ah, yes, I see it now, Rusty!
Thank you.
I did not know that "soviet" was also a word for "council".
Btw, I thought that was a dreadful homophone at 24a?
To my ear, "kinda " does not sound like "kinder".



Hello, Ros!
Apart from its obvious advantages, I can see potential family disasters looming with such readily available DIY DNA kits.
Possible paternity problems ?

Elle

I guess you're right. When I had my DNA done, i was given such a wide spread of percentages eg 20-40% Scandinavian (it wasn't that but I can't remember what it was!) I doubt anything definite like paternity could potentially be said with the test I bought. Possibly, I suppose. But there are now Y chromosome tests and mitochondrial ones- these are passed almost unchanged through the female line. Also, another test (23and me) is more probing.
I shall tell my son if he doesn't like the idea he can chuck or sell the test. I'm not worried about his paternity and I know you weren't casting nasturtiums, elle. I believe at least one person found her supposed father was not; which was traumatic but led to her finding some half cousins. I understand they had to give up doing simple genetics like eye colour in schools because it was causing family strife!

Good morning, Elle!
Fine weather here to start the day!
The good weather continues!
I have read a biography on Stalin, so I knew "soviet"!
I read about Peter the Great in Michener's "Alaska" but can not remember if there were soviets in the story, or not.
I agree regarding "kinda/kinder".
Not a homophone to me, but I suppose it will be in some parts of the country.
I was slightly surprised that "kinda" was an "acceptable" word!
But it is in Collins Online Dictionary, for one.
That's another thing!
I am never sure if it is "online", "on line" or "on-line".
I suppose they are all acceptable, kinda?

kinda and kinder sound the same to me, rusty.
Apparently on-line is kinda outdated

Hello, Rosalind!
Yes, it depends on where you live and how you speak if these homothingys work or not.
Most don't work with me!
I reckon any of the "on-lines" are acceptable.
I kinda think you are correct with the hyphenated one being, or on the way, out of date.

Rosalind, one usage that kinda bugs me, is, "of" for "have".
As in "I would of" instead of "I would have".
This post may of/have been more appropriate on the Pedants thread, if it has not already been mentioned!

Good morning, Rusty!
It is an absolutely glorious day here - warm (15C already) and sunny, with a beautiful blue sky!
Have you been out?
Re "soviet".......I never got around to reading "Alaska".
I have it - or I did, I think it went to the church roofing fund - but I was so disillusioned with Mr M by then , that I didn't read it!
The other books by /about him followed the same route.......except for "Centennial".
That was by far my favourite, so I have kept that.
I think it possible that "would have" became contracted to "would've"?
Hence possibly the incorrectly used "would of"?
What do you think?




Hello, Ros!
Oops! Yes, I was of course generalising when I made my comments about suspect paternity!
It was, as thankfully you realised, in no way a reference to your having bought your son a DNA kit!!
My younger daughter bought one for both herself and her husband as she wanted to enlarge our family tree!
I find I am not very interested in ancestry, although I have enjoyed discovering the odd living relative that I did not previously know about!

I hate "Would of" too, rusty. I always want to correct people, whatever the origins of the mistake may be.

When I start on anyone's family history, I always warn them they may not like what I find. I discovered my own grandfather was imprisoned for 2 months with hard labour for GBH, so watch it, all!!

I have met a few somewhat remote relatives. I didn't feel any connections and the meetings have always been a let-down, for both parties I imagine

Hello, Elle!
Great day here, too!
"Alaska" was a great book, I learned lots about Peter the Great (he hated beards, for instance), Russia, and ship building, gold mining, the Inuit people, salmon and the canneries, and lots more, but I agree that while Michener wrote good books, he came up short as a human being.
His treatment of his adopted children was simply dreadful.
I think that probably "would of" is a corruption of "would have" but became widely known and used, with the advent of mobile 'phones and texting, and we are probably stuck with it now.
I treated myself to a freshly made apple pie at ASDA earlier and am about to have a slice with a coffee!