Ironing - a Geneactivity

I usually watch TV while I iron but, as the TV in my geneacave is on the blink, I decided to listen to the latest Genies Down Under podcast from Maria Northcote while I got rid of all those creases.

I selected the latest Episode 55: Some messages for genies in May  which turned out to be rather short as Maria has been recently snowed under at her day job. I got a huge surprise when I heard Maria mention my name and a blog post of mine, A Flea in my Ear, which I wrote in response to  a post from fellow geneablogger, Jennifer Jones. I was delighted to hear Maria expand on something I referred to in my post. Thanks, Maria.

As I had only ironed a few handkerchiefs and a shirt by the time episode 55 finished I fired up another session I had missed, EPISODE 50: Genie Fiction stuff for genies: Family history themed books and stories from December 2015. This was right up my alley as it satisfied two of my interests, genealogy and reading.Maria made some excellent choices of books to share, most of which I had read, but it was interesting to revisit those works through the eyes of a family historian. 

Maria mentioned Catherine Bishop's book, Minding Her Own Business: Colonial Businesswomen in Sydney, that I was tempted to buy when I heard the author speak at Hawkesbury FHG recently. If the book is half as good as the author talk it will be a ripper. Unfortunately the $40 price tag put me off. I must reserve it at my local library. 

Also on the list was The Timeless Land by Eleanor Dark, a book I read fifty years ago. Perhaps it's time to read it again. I think I can afford $2.50 for the eBook version.

Ironing tonight was a painless activity thanks to the two podcasts I heard. As I usually catch up on Maria's podcasts when I travel, I must download those I haven't heard to my phone before I next take off. 

Maria has been delivering her podcasts for over four years. If you aren't a regular listener May I suggest that you check out Genies Down Under.

The Podcast Queen of Australia

One of the most knowledgable, modest and  gentle presenters on the recent Unlock the Past Cruise was Maria Northcote who has done so much for genealogy in Australia through her Genies Down Under podcast series.

I thoroughly enjoyed Maria's presentation on the cruise not only because of the content but because I gathered a few tips on presenting through observing Maria in action. I am certainly going to incorporate her BINGO activity in some of my future presentations.

While on the cruise Maria conducted for a future podcast a few audio interviews with cruisers and I was privileged to be interviewed together with my blogging mate Pauleen Cass from Darwin. Gathered around a table in a lecture room late one evening  with Dot Elder and her sister Cathy for company we had our interview. The atmosphere was informal and great fun with lots of friendly banter and laughter.

Last night Maria emailed that she had published her latest podcast "Episode 30: Cruisy stuff for genies: Genealogy news from aboard the 4th Unlock the Past History and Genealogy Cruise (Part 1) (March 2014)" and that the Interview with Pauleen and I was included. In this session she also interviewed Alan Phillips and Chris Paton.  It was no surprise that Maria did a super job by interspersing the various interviews she posted with  relevant commentary.

You can listen to Maria's podcasts on your computer, if you are an iPerson you can download to your device via iTunes. As an Android user I use the Doggcatcher app to download the podcast recordings to my tablet. These podcasts are a wonderful resource for all genealogists.

Thank you, Maria, for featuring me in your podcast.