Author: Deborah Castellanos
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School Log Books Are Astonishing Sources
I remember standing in the overgrown playground of the old St. Jude’s primary, the smell of damp concrete and rusted swings heavy in the air, wondering why the local council seemed so tight-lipped about its history. People will tell you… Continue reading
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Finding the Works That Used to Be Here
I remember sitting in a drafty community hall in 1994, watching a young consultant present a glossy, thirty-page report on “economic trends” that cost our small committee more than our entire annual budget. It was all jargon and empty charts,… Continue reading
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A Will Tells You What a House Contained
I remember sitting in a drafty community hall in 1994, watching a lovely elderly woman try to explain her late husband’s wishes to a room full of confused neighbours. She had the heart to fix the local playground, but she… Continue reading
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The Committee Member Everyone Dreads
I remember sitting in a drafty village hall in 1994, clutching a lukewarm cup of tea and watching two grown adults shout over the exact same three-inch strip of paving stone. It wasn’t just the noise; it was that heavy,… Continue reading
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Cancelling Without Losing Goodwill
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall in 1994, staring at forty lukewarm sausage rolls and a room that was entirely, deafeningly empty. We had spent six months planning the neighbourhood summer fair, only to have it swallowed by… Continue reading
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What Parish Registers Do and Do Not Record
I remember sitting in the drafty vestry of St. Jude’s last autumn, the smell of damp stone and old paper thick in the air, staring at a stack of ledgers that looked more like daunting obstacles than treasures. Most people… Continue reading
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Researching a Family That Never Left
I spent thirty years in local government, and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that people love to make simple things unnecessarily complicated. You’ll see websites promising you can unlock centuries of secrets with a single subscription fee,… Continue reading
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Comparing Quotes That Describe the Same Job
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’94, staring at a pile of handwritten estimates for a new community garden fence. We had three different contractors, and every single one of them had given us a number… Continue reading
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Checking a Builder Before You Pay a Deposit
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’98, staring at a pile of mismatched invoices and a leaking roof that had cost our community garden committee far too much money. We had hired a man based entirely… Continue reading
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Consent Forms for Oral History
I remember sitting in a drafty community hall in 1994, clutching a stack of legal papers that looked more like a mortgage application than a way to capture local memories. I was trying to record the stories of the old… Continue reading
