I don’t always intend to write an editorial, but on this occasion I will – firstly, to fill up an extra page; and secondly to introduce myself properly – for better or for worse – as the new editor of Longshot. Alan deserves a well-earned rest after nine years of doing a magnificent job.
I must make a bit of an apology for the overwhelmingly horticultural flavour of this issue. But I do hope you will find the rather technical diversions into the qualities of seaweed and growing mushrooms to be of interest! There are also articles from Mary Offer and Eric Linfield, whilst Alan Lindfield reports on the ideas recently discussed at the AGM on June 30th for a grand reunion and exhibition next year to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Lin(d)field One Name Group. This promises to be an exciting occasion for everyone and we hope to see all of you there (although we do excuse our overseas members – nevertheless we would be delighted to see any of you who can make it!)
Ten years is perhaps a good time to reflect on our achievements and the future. Alan’s database now contains some 30,000 names (not all Lin(d)fields but including names related by marriage) and we have identified several different branches; but there is still much to do if we are ever going to find the links between these branches. I can confidently predict there is enough work to do for at least another ten years, and probably many more years after that! Family history, however, is not just about connecting lists of people together in some enormous jigsaw. It is much more than that; the real fascination is finding information about the people concerned, where they lived and worked, what motivated them and how they were affected by events which impacted on their lives. In other words, the interaction of social and local history is just as important to the overall picture as the pure genealogy.
In many ways, Longshot is a manifestation of this process. Many of the articles, which appear, are often the culmination of a piece of research, telling us about an individual or a family. Hopefully the articles are interesting and enjoyable to read as well.
Unfortunately, we are not being sent enough material to enable this journal to appear more regularly so I am making a plea to all our members to please put pen to paper. It would be nice to have a letters page with any comments or queries you may have.
I await your articles and letters with eager anticipation!