I have written a few poems, and a couple of them have been published. Have also won a short story writing competition, but have never seriously got down to writing, although I've always intended to do so. With my mum passing away a couple of months ago, I decided it was time to put the family's history into a book, so we could all have a copy. It has whet my appetite to go on to the next chapter of our history, and probably enough work to keep me going till I too pass on. Thankfully though I will leave a history behind. Mum started me on this journey, and it is to her I owe a great debt of gratitude. I look back on some of the ancestors I have included in the book and wonder what kind of life they led - exciting?, hard?, and I really don't know, but I wish I did. That gives me a motive for writing, so the history is not completely lost.