who do you think you are

Fascinating episode tonight with the very brave and amazing journalist Gardner.

Ah - but there has to be an excuse to fly someone out to Australia! Nothing better to spend our licence fee on!

I was surprised that she didn't grasp that his parents in law were equally her ancestors and that she should be very pleased that they were there and able to look after the children when he was totally irresponsible.
It is a shame that the present series latches onto one individual and doesn't give the broad picture. I would have liked to know more about the children, the wife and the in-laws of John Reid. Had we had that I think that Anne Reid might have come to very different conclusions.

Well I have just watched the Anne Reid episode and I thought she was bit stupid to be honest.

The fact he forged his FIL signature and got caught was his fault, he was an alcoholic and yet she thought he walked on water.

No. He was a drunk who didn't look after his family and was a criminal which in turn caused him to be removed from his children. As mentioned he did it to his own family , which were her family too. She didn't seem to grasp that point .

A bit of wally to me and I thought when she said she was a person who looks for revenge I thought hmmm, I can see that in you.

Still feel the same as I posted before, this series and the last are not as good as when it started.

And it was just about one person - again.

It's not that unusual to have a relative who was transported, although perhaps more unusual if he/she was a direct ancestor.

I expect the producers found it very exciting to travel to Tasmania at our expense.

I have just watched WDYTYA and I was gobsmacked at Anne Reid's reaction to her GGGF being a convict. She is old enough to appreciate that punishment was different in those days and to say that she wanted to kill the people who punished him was just infantile.
She really has not done herself any favours appearing on the programme, I think the BBC should have pulled out of this one.

Yes, surprised the historian wasn't sentenced to 14 years in Van Diemen's Land!

All I can say is that I would not like to get on the wrong side of Anne Ried. I felt so sorry for the historian who dared to tell her that her ancestor had been found guilty of forgery and transported.

I did think it was that Lona
Perhaps the producers didn't know the difference either

roseq Because she should have said 'descendant'!

However, I did find her reactions to his early drunken life quite puzzling. I suppose one could giggle through sheer amazement/horror though.

And her remark about 'dying a horrible death' was absolutely awful.

Am I right in thinking that at the end she said " I'm so proud to be the ancestor of a convict." Really?

Did you mean because she should have said 'descendant' Lona, or because of her pride at being the ancestor (sic) of a convict?

Having recently spent quite a lot of time with many Australians who were new acquaintances I found they were all extremely proud if their ancestors were convicts. A complete change-around to the shame they used to feel not so long ago!
Especially if they went out on the First or Second Fleet.

She did Lona!! I would have expected them to edit that out and do a retake!!!

I thought the Gareth Malone one was more interesting as he appeared to be doing much of the research himself, showing people watching how they can do it. I kept trying to see which programmes he was using, rather than looking at the information itself, to see if he was using one that I hadn't used.

I agree Alea, she came across as ignorant and nasty!
I thought it was an interesting episode regarding the transportation to Tasmania though.

Am I right in thinking that at the end she said " I'm so proud to be the ancestor of a convict."
Really?

I thought Anne Reid came across as rather vindictive and unforgiving (my DH said to me 'she's like you' charming! I found the Gareth Malone one rather interesting in that his ancestor founded the Olympia Theatre in Dublin where we have been to concerts in the past.

I found her sympathy for the man rather odd and the condemnation of the man who took in the children and cared for them seemed rather unfair. It also seemed obvious to me that the son, who listed his father as a clergyman on his wedding certificate, had probably never been told about his father and believed he had died.

I actually found myself shouting at the TV, the man was a drunk and a crook. £49 may not seem a lot now but then it was a lot of money, and to blame his FIL for ruining his life was just stupid. He committed a crime and that was the punishment of the times. She did not even consider how this would reflect on his wife and children, I think someone said his wife had died just one year after he was transported, of shame perhaps.

I thought that although it was very interesting in places, (there was some quite factual details about the transportation of criminals,) Anne Reid was rather 'theatrical' about it all. Perhaps she is like that all the time, but it spoilt the story line for me.

She annoyed me last night. I agree with Alea she came across as naive.
I wanted to slap her when she got the giggles I don't think the historian she was speaking to at the time was amused.
I actually fell asleep towards the end. I've never done that during an episode of WDYTYA I love the programme.

I do agree that her remarks regarding people dying horribly were unpleasant - but I think she was just being "actressy" and flamboyant.

I still think it was entertaining and interesting.

She should not be judged entirely on her role in Last Tango - she is, I think, a very fine actress who has played parts far removed from her Halifax role.

I was taken a back at how almost nasty she was when talking about the court officials who sentenced her ancestor, particularly as she had laughed at the idea of him being a drunk and causing a public nuisance.
She can't have it both ways.
Yes it was a harsh punishment but that was the awful times they lived in.

I was very impressed by the level of documentation that was available to give such a good a good idea of the story. In Scotland and in Tasmania.

Alea: sadly I must agree with you. Very disappointed. Anne Reid seemed to think her ancestor's problem with alcohol and incompetence as a schoolmaster all a great joke. She had no grasp of how his behaviour would have offended the local people and reflected upon his family. Shallow and trivial programme in spite extensive documentary evidence in both Scotland and Tasmania.
This series has really gone off, previous ones were far more thoughtful and interesting.

We thought this episode was very interesting, I don't think they've done one with a transported ancestor before. But Anne Reid seemed not to realise that John Reid's father-in-law was also her ancestor. Very odd!

Agree with you Alea.
Isn't it strange how people differ.I thought Ann come over as a really nasty person.