Cyclops-Family Tree-History

Just a quick post to offer my praise to Cyclops who researched the paternal side of my family. The amount of detail is astounding, from news clippings from years gone by and Photos of late family members. 77 pages long, the information in the report is astounding and some of the things that he found out for me are funny, incredible and haunting! How he collates all of the information and puts it together is brilliant. A huge endorsement from Mr Widgery! :thumbup:

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Originally Posted by Tuerto

Just a quick post to offer my praise to Cyclops who researched the paternal side of my family. The amount of detail is astounding, from news clippings from years gone by and Photos of late family members. 77 pages long, the information in the report is astounding and some of the things that he found out for me are funny, incredible and haunting! How he collates all of the information and puts it together is brilliant. A huge endorsement from Mr Widgery! :thumbup:

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I've said 'Astounding' Twice, not great Grammar in the same Paragraph, although fully deserved in this one!

I’m in the middle of doing mine, really interesting stuff.
It’s amazing that the further back you go the amount of direct relatives you have.

Of my relatives that I can trace, my fathers family are from Cornwall and my mothers from Northumberland - but both sides we’re seafaring

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Originally Posted by Toadstool

I’m in the middle of doing mine, really interesting stuff.
It’s amazing that the further back you go the amount of direct relatives you have.

Of my relatives that I can trace, my fathers family are from Cornwall and my mothers from Northumberland - but both sides we’re seafaring

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Don't forget that such perceived lineages are not always consistent with bloodlines. Concealed births, unofficial adoptions and infidelity are some of the reasons that your great-great grandparents may not who be who you think they are.

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Originally Posted by Toadstool

I’m in the middle of doing mine, really interesting stuff.
It’s amazing that the further back you go the amount of direct relatives you have.

Of my relatives that I can trace, my fathers family are from Cornwall and my mothers from Northumberland - but both sides we’re seafaring

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My paternal side are either from the west country or Ireland. Hardly any Welsh Ancestry. Alot of people in south wales may be quite surprised that their family line isn't as Welsh as they think it might be. Lots of English came to south wales to work the docks and steel works.

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Originally Posted by Tuerto

My paternal side are either from the west country or Ireland. Hardly any Welsh Ancestry. Alot of people in south wales may be quite surprised that their family line isn't as Welsh as they think it might be. Lots of English came to south wales to work the docks and steel works.

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.....and in the coal mines. My grandmother's father was originally a copper miner from Tavistock (Devon) and he came to Mountain Ash in the 1870's to work in the coal mine.

Looking at doing this myself - have you got a link to the website? 😁👍🏻

my brother is doing his ( ours ) and my brother i law is doing his and his wifes ( my wifes sister ) , so it would be fairly easy to put ours together, my brother is always on about it and trys to drag me to get interested in it, its funny as i cannot think of anything less interesting, I knew my grand parents ( all dead now ) and of course my mum and dad, i couldnt care less who my great grandparents were ( unless they were royalty and i am rightfully the king of a country somewhere, the kingdom of disney would be good :hehe: ) i know its very popular so i must be in the minority with not caring who they were

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Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie

Don't forget that such perceived lineages are not always consistent with bloodlines. Concealed births, unofficial adoptions and infidelity are some of the reasons that your great-great grandparents may not who be who you think they are.

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Yes , I know what you mean - I’ve already discovered that my great grandfather was adopted, his biological father died when he was very young and a shipmate married the widow. Upshot is my surname is not from a biological line.

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Originally Posted by Tuerto

Just a quick post to offer my praise to Cyclops who researched the paternal side of my family. The amount of detail is astounding, from news clippings from years gone by and Photos of late family members. 77 pages long, the information in the report is astounding and some of the things that he found out for me are funny, incredible and haunting! How he collates all of the information and puts it together is brilliant. A huge endorsement from Mr Widgery! :thumbup:

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Thanks for this! :thumbup:

It was a tortuous and distressing journey, as you know. I was in tears at the thought of what happened to your greatx2 grandmother - ane the report eneded with a suicide.

On one side, there was a name change which was a challenge to untangle. Your direct family completely disappeared from view before 1871. I initially wondereed if they were travellers (as they adopted a known traveller's name and went into a common traveller's business). Then there was a guy with the same name, born about the same time in the same place who followed the same career path from Bristol to Cardiff - a red herring. Only by loads of lateral thinking over several days was the truth uncovered. New reports hint at three possible reasons for the name change, but we are still waiting on a will which may explain all.

@Blue Matt - perhaps you equate researching family history with names and dates, then you're missing out on something. That's like train spotting. The 'back story' behind the certificates and the censuses is what makes family history so addictive. Tuerto may confirm that one of his lines was a continuous tale of brutality, avarice and even with a whiff of incest. I defy anyone reading it not to be intrigued by the actions of one ancestor which incensed local women so much that twice they travelled five miles from their village to give him a good beating - particularly if the person was a direct forefather.

I only want to add that there are many pitfalls in the path of those researching their families who are inexperienced. There are a huge number of family trees on the internet which are either completely wrong or very incomplete. Only yesterday I read of a family who it was claimed went to Kingston, Pensylvania, USA - when in fact it was Kingston-upon-Thames, Surry.

One client's family had a published family tree which included an unusual name. The person married in Cardiff and there are at least six well-intentioned trees which are hang on that marriage. In fact, there were TWO marriages of people of this unique name in Cardiff within a few years of each other - and the second one (the marriage cert provides the names of the fathers) is the correct line to follow. This means that all the trees that depend on the incorrect marriage couple are totally wrong from that time back.

Would you trust an amateur plasterer to plaster your living room? :hehe:

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Originally Posted by blue matt

my brother is doing his ( ours ) and my brother i law is doing his and his wifes ( my wifes sister ) , so it would be fairly easy to put ours together, my brother is always on about it and trys to drag me to get interested in it, its funny as i cannot think of anything less interesting, I knew my grand parents ( all dead now ) and of course my mum and dad, i couldnt care less who my great grandparents were ( unless they were royalty and i am rightfully the king of a country somewhere, the kingdom of disney would be good :hehe: ) i know its very popular so i must be in the minority with not caring who they were

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No you're not in a minority. None of us care who your great grandparents were.


JOKE JOKE IT'S A JOKE!

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Originally Posted by lardy

No you're not in a minority. None of us care who your great grandparents were and even if you had any.......

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Is this a reference to Matt's refereeing exploits? :hehe:

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Thanks for this! :thumbup:

It was a tortuous and distressing journey, as you know. I was in tears at the thought of what happened to your greatx2 grandmother - ane the report eneded with a suicide.

On one side, there was a name change which was a challenge to untangle. Your direct family completely disappeared from view before 1871. I initially wondereed if they were travellers (as they adopted a known traveller's name and went into a common traveller's business). Then there was a guy with the same name, born about the same time in the same place who followed the same career path from Bristol to Cardiff - a red herring. Only by loads of lateral thinking over several days was the truth uncovered. New reports hint at three possible reasons for the name change, but we are still waiting on a will which may explain all.

@Blue Matt - perhaps you equate researching family history with names and dates, then you're missing out on something. That's like train spotting. The 'back story' behind the certificates and the censuses is what makes family history so addictive. Tuerto may confirm that one of his lines was a continuous tale of brutality, avarice and even with a whiff of incest. I defy anyone reading it not to be intrigued by the actions of one ancestor which incensed local women so much that twice they travelled five miles from their village to give him a good beating - particularly if the person was a direct forefather.

I only want to add that there are many pitfalls in the path of those researching their families who are inexperienced. There are a huge number of family trees on the internet which are either completely wrong or very incomplete. Only yesterday I read of a family who it was claimed went to Kingston, Pensylvania, USA - when in fact it was Kingston-upon-Thames, Surry.

One client's family had a published family tree which included an unusual name. The person married in Cardiff and there are at least six well-intentioned trees which are hang on that marriage. In fact, there were TWO marriages of people of this unique name in Cardiff within a few years of each other - and the second one (the marriage cert provides the names of the fathers) is the correct line to follow. This means that all the trees that depend on the incorrect marriage couple are totally wrong from that time back.

Would you trust an amateur plasterer to plaster your living room? :hehe:

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So how does it work with you? If I wanted to do this in the future do you charge a flat fee or does it depend on the time you spend on it? Sounds interesting

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Originally Posted by delmbox

So how does it work with you? If I wanted to do this in the future do you charge a flat fee or does it depend on the time you spend on it? Sounds interesting

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I don't charge a fee based on an hourly rate. I worked on Tuerto's FH for five weeks - using so many hours a day. It came in at 77 A4 pages and included family trees, copies of census returns, parish records, birth,marriage and death certs, maps, photos of family homes, a laminated sheet of the tree (to assist with getting bearings - essential IMO), photos of ancestors and dozens of press cuttings (one occupied a whole page of one newspaper).

My usual method of working is to send/deliver the report and ask what clients think it's worth to them. And then there is an exchange of messages. The objective being to arrive at price that is acceptible to both parties. I want clients to be delighted with a personal report at a reasonable price. Usually, it works out at far less than I am offered. I'm not in it to make money, but to offer a service and keep the grey cells working. I also enjoy the detective work and the thrill of the chase.

If there are any charges for certificates, wills etc, then they are extra.

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

One client's family had a published family tree which included an unusual name. The person married in Cardiff and there are at least six well-intentioned trees which are hang on that marriage. In fact, there were TWO marriages of people of this unique name in Cardiff within a few years of each other - and the second one (the marriage cert provides the names of the fathers) is the correct line to follow. This means that all the trees that depend on the incorrect marriage couple are totally wrong from that time back.

Would you trust an amateur plasterer to plaster your living room? :hehe:

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I initially fell into this trap but when some of the dates didn't make sense I asked someone directly who'd done the previous research how they got the information, only to be told the website "suggested" possible relative which they then added to the tree and others behind them accepted that as truth.

After the initial working of the tree, I've now gone back to look at the links to ensure that the information is correct - I'm probably gong to have to request birth and marriage certificates to ensure the info I have are facts.

One of the most interesting things I've seen is the information in Censuses - in terms of occupations, who lived in the house and whether those houses still stand.

I'd also be interested in what your services are and what you charge.

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

I don't charge a fee based on an hourly rate. I worked on Tuerto's FH for five weeks - using so many hours a day. It came in at 77 A4 pages and included family trees, copies of census returns, parish records, birth,marriage and death certs, maps, photos of family homes, a laminated sheet of the tree (to assist with getting bearings - essential IMO), photos of ancestors and dozens of press cuttings (one occupied a whole page of one newspaper).

My usual method of working is to send/deliver the report and ask what clients think it's worth to them. And then there is an exchange of messages. The objective being to arrive at price that is acceptible to both parties. I want clients to be delighted with a personal report at a reasonable price. Usually, it works out at far less than I am offered. I'm not in it to make money, but to offer a service and keep the grey cells working. I also enjoy the detective work and the thrill of the chase.

If there are any charges for certificates, wills etc, then they are extra.

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I don't expect you to tell us how much Tuerto's was but say something that you worked on for 4 weeks, and 50 pages, what's rough idea? I genuinely don't have a clue, it sounds like a hell of lot of work which should be compensated fairly but also will never be high up on my personal financial priority list so it's difficult to answer the "what is it worth to you question"

ONE MILLION POUNDS AND NOT A PENNY MORE

I should add that anyone can do what I offer if they have access to Ancestry and Find My Past and have the time and patience to sit in front of a computer screen for hours.

I'm reminded of being in a bookshop at Hay and overhearing a conversation between a couple. Faced with tens of thousands of books with no indexing - and having one book they wanted, the woman said, 'I can't be doing this!'.

Well, I 'do it' with family history.

But my speciality is overcoming brick walls or correcting wrong history - I give full explanations of my thought processes. I like to think I go the extra mile.

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

I should add that anyone can do what I offer if they have access to Ancestry and Find My Past and have the time and patience to sit in front of a computer screen for hours.

I'm reminded of being in a bookshop at Hay and overhearing a conversation between a couple. Faced with tens of thousands of books with no indexing - and having one book they wanted, the woman said, 'I can't be doing this!'.

Well, I 'do it' with family history.

But my speciality is overcoming brick walls or correcting wrong history - I give full explanations of my thought processes. I like to think I go the extra mile.

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I would give up immediately :hehe:

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Originally Posted by delmbox

I don't expect you to tell us how much Tuerto's was but say something that you worked on for 4 weeks, and 50 pages, what's rough idea? I genuinely don't have a clue, it sounds like a hell of lot of work which should be compensated fairly but also will never be high up on my personal financial priority list so it's difficult to answer the "what is it worth to you question"

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Of course it's difficult.
But remember, I haven't a clue how much I'm going to find - or how far I'm going back - or how many newspaper reports I'll find - and how many puzzles have to be unravelled. So a price for a family history report is frankly impossible to quantify.
Surely the basis of any transaction is what is it worth to each party to pay for a service/product.

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Of course it's difficult.
But remember, I haven't a clue how much I'm going to find - or how far I'm going back - or how many newspaper reports I'll find - and how many puzzles have to be unravelled. So a price for a family history report is frankly impossible to quantify.
Surely the basis of any transaction is what is it worth to each party to pay for a service/product.

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I think my worry is that when you emailed me going "how much would you like to pay" I would have absolutely no idea of a figure and would be worried about either offending you or Seth Johnsoning myself :cry:

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Originally Posted by delmbox

I think my worry is that when you emailed me going "how much would you like to pay" I would have absolutely no idea of a figure and would be worried about either offending you or Seth Johnsoning myself :cry:

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That is exactly what clients say.
But anyone with nous and a copy of the report should be able to work out a starting figure.
To illustrate my position, I have produced reports for some posters and City fans as personal presents.

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

@Blue Matt - perhaps you equate researching family history with names and dates, then you're missing out on something. That's like train spotting. The 'back story' behind the certificates and the censuses is what makes family history so addictive. Tuerto may confirm that one of his lines was a continuous tale of brutality, avarice and even with a whiff of incest. I defy anyone reading it not to be intrigued by the actions of one ancestor which incensed local women so much that twice they travelled five miles from their village to give him a good beating - particularly if the person was a direct forefather.

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Oh dont get me wrong, i wasnt knocking what you do, ive heard from someone on here ( a while back ) you do a outstanding job
i guess for me the past is the past in my family, look forward not back and any other cliches that is apt here

my brother is fascinated by it, it would be funny as hell if he had spent so much time on it and gone on a wrong path ( being a amateur ), that might be my twisted sense of humour though

Just to say, i'm nothing like my Ancestors-Honest :hehe:

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Originally Posted by Tuerto

Just to say, i'm nothing like my Ancestors-Honest :hehe:

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P'raps Mrs Tuerto might be consulted for a second opinion? :hehe:

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

P'raps Mrs Tuerto might be consulted for a second opinion? :hehe:

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Yup, she's got enough ammunition for the rest of my days, every time we have a row it'll be 'You're just like you Great, Great Grandfather' It goes back further than that, i can't win, it's actually a job to come 2nd..... Thankyou for your fantastic work. :thumbup:

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Originally Posted by Tuerto

Thank you for your fantastic work. :thumbup:

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Although being somewhat unsure that you really mean this, I can think of only one way for you to meet fire with fire...:hehe:

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Originally Posted by Tuerto

Just to say, i'm nothing like my Ancestors-Honest :hehe:

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Yeah you've gotten away pretty lightly for someone who's just been outed as coming from a long line of incest lovers

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

I should add that anyone can do what I offer if they have access to Ancestry and Find My Past and have the time and patience to sit in front of a computer screen for hours.

I'm reminded of being in a bookshop at Hay and overhearing a conversation between a couple. Faced with tens of thousands of books with no indexing - and having one book they wanted, the woman said, 'I can't be doing this!'.

Well, I 'do it' with family history.

But my speciality is overcoming brick walls or correcting wrong history - I give full explanations of my thought processes. I like to think I go the extra mile.

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Good job the screen was working :thumbup: (oh god, I hope it's still working)

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Originally Posted by delmbox

Yeah you've gotten away pretty lightly for someone who's just been outed as coming from a long line of incest lovers

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It's out there now..and it was bad...The west country lot-Devon-Not surprising really if you've spent any time down there.

Cyclops is the man regarding such things. :thumbup:

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Originally Posted by Tuerto

Just a quick post to offer my praise to Cyclops who researched the paternal side of my family. The amount of detail is astounding, from news clippings from years gone by and Photos of late family members. 77 pages long.....

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I reckon he made it all up.

:wink:

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Originally Posted by Michael Morris

Good job the screen was working :thumbup: (oh god, I hope it's still working)

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Yep - working just fine (as long as I hold it in place with one hand :biggrin:)
Even have the impression the new screen has a sharper definition.
Good job, mush!

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Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman

I reckon he made it all up.:wink:

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In 1895, Herbert Davies was employed by a Colonel Shipway to trace his pedegree at 6/- a day. As he came to the end of the trail, to remain in work, he latered parish registers, forged wills, excavared coffins to add false identities and carve an 18thC inscription on a beam of a church belfry. He was found out after giving interviews as the 'Principal Genealogical Specialist' in 1897 and served three years hard labour.

There by the grace of God etc etc

Spookily, this evening just had word that your ancestor's will is now available, so we may now know why you are not a Widgery....

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Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman

I reckon he made it all up.

:wink:

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Now that would be funny.....

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Spookily, this evening just had word that your ancestor's will is now available, so we may now know why you are not a Widgery....

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Whatever it is, it's not going to be good...:hehe:

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Originally Posted by delmbox

I don't expect you to tell us how much Tuerto's was but say something that you worked on for 4 weeks, and 50 pages, what's rough idea? I genuinely don't have a clue, it sounds like a hell of lot of work which should be compensated fairly but also will never be high up on my personal financial priority list so it's difficult to answer the "what is it worth to you question"

ONE MILLION POUNDS AND NOT A PENNY MORE

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I will probably get told off by Cyclops for saying this but I don't care, he charges much less than he should :hehe:

The two books that he kindly did for me as a gift would probably have cost me about a grand knowing the hours he put in but he wouldn't charge anywhere near that if he had to put a price on them, it's not about the hours, it's about the thrill, he's a family history terminator.
I have talked to him about the "What it's worth to you question" before and I agree it's not easy to answer, especially when you don't know how much work goes in to it, mine is priceless now I have it though. :thumbup:

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

I should add that anyone can do what I offer if they have access to Ancestry and Find My Past and have the time and patience to sit in front of a computer screen for hours.

I'm reminded of being in a bookshop at Hay and overhearing a conversation between a couple. Faced with tens of thousands of books with no indexing - and having one book they wanted, the woman said, 'I can't be doing this!'.

Well, I 'do it' with family history.

But my speciality is overcoming brick walls or correcting wrong history - I give full explanations of my thought processes. I like to think I go the extra mile.

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I don't agree with that, I couldn't read half of that squiggly writing even after you have told me what it says :hehe: you need a really good eye for all that :hehe:

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Originally Posted by Mrs Steve R

I will probably get told off by Cyclops for saying this but I don't care, he charges much less than he should :hehe:

The two books that he kindly did for me as a gift would probably have cost me about a grand knowing the hours he put in but he wouldn't charge anywhere near that if he had to put a price on them, it's not about the hours, it's about the thrill, he's a family history terminator.
I have talked to him about the "What it's worth to you question" before and I agree it's not easy to answer, especially when you don't know how much work goes in to it, mine is priceless now I have it though. :thumbup:

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My one eye is welling up here....

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

My one eye is welling up here....

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:hehe: