The Third Annual iGene Awards, The Best of The Best!

Wow! This is a challenge but I'm going to take a trip down memory lane, trawl my archives and see if I can find any gems.

• Best Picture - Best old family photo that appeared on your blog in 2009. Tell us which you liked best and why.

For the Annual Swimsuit Edition of the 74th Carnival of Genealogy I posted a photo of a little girl on the beach in Ettalong, NSW. I love this photo as it brings back memories of wonderful holidays with an extended family that were especially relished by a sometimes lonely only child.

• Best Screen Play - Which family story that you shared in 2009 would make the best movie? Who would you cast as your family members?

Photos from 1956, 1965 and 2008 of the girls I attended school with and later met up at a school reunion were in the post Flowers and sunshine cheer our pathway.

Tina, Anne, Jackie, Gabrielle and myself were in each of those three photos. The life stories of these five women would make an excellent mini-series or docudrama. Between us we have been married, widowed or remained single, had no children or large families. Three were teachers as that was one of the few professions easily accessible to women in the late sixties. We have maintained the faith or turned our backs on the Church, we have lived in the city and the outback. We have been mature students changing careers in mid-life or have stayed in the one job for the duration of our working lives.

With the help of lighting, makeup and filters the girls have what it takes to play themselves in this series.

The real life stories of my classmates would show that Vinnie's girls are not Desperate Houswives but that each is a "Woman of Substance".

• Best Documentary - Which was the best informational article you wrote about a place, thing, or event involving your family's history in 2009?
  

When the Queen came to town gives a potted history of Elizabeth II's visits to Sydney interlaced with comments about my family's involvements in these visits.

• Best Biography - Which was the best biographical article you wrote in 2009?

The best biography that appeared on my blog was Last July's post "Frank Duncan - an ordinary bloke" about my grandfather, Frank Duncan. I did not meet Frank as he died before I was born but from stories recounted by my mother and aunts, who adored their father, I imagine that he was was a real Aussie larrikin.

• Best Comedy - Which was the best funny story, poem, joke, photo, or video that you shared on your blog in 2009?

A popular pasttime in Australia is the derision of public figures especially politicians in our nation's capital, Canberra. Although it did not elicit comments from any readers my post Christmas news from our nation's capital really tickled my funnybone.