A Transcript Biography Sample
We were driving north with the goal of getting to Arran Island, off the northwest coast of Scotland. That’s where my mother’s ancestors came from. I remember reading some of my grandmother’s memoirs about how they had left during the Clearances. We weren’t in any hurry. I remember B saying, “B we missed that turn off” and I said, “We have time.”
We drove on the M4/M6 or something and eventually we got to the coast to take the ferry to the island. But it wasn’t running because the weather was rough. So we just spent the night in an uninhabited mansion that I think was used as a tourist spot.
The next day at the ferry we met two women, H and I, who were also going to the island. So we left our car on the mainland and we went in their car. We stayed together for 2-3 nights on the island at a bed-and-breakfast. The owner was a former chef on the P&O line so he was an excellent cook. I went to the Department of Records – births, deaths, marriages – and saw a lot of our family history. We also drove around on the island exploring, it was a lot of fun.
Soon we returned to the mainland and said goodbye to H & I. We drove on through Scotland, up to Inverness. That’s as far north as we got. Driving through the countryside of Scotland was so much fun. There’d be a flock of sheep on the road and we just had to stop and let the shepherd get them across the road. We ended up in Edinburgh and went to the castle, taking in all the history. I loved taking pictures and still have the slides.
The Scottish brogue is just… I remember thinking I better change the oil and so I pulled into a place and I was watching them change the oil. A guy standing next to me was talking to me and I had to look at his mouth to understand what he was saying. And this was when my hearing was good!
My favourite memory of travelling through the UK was meeting H and I. They were on vacation and in good spirits and we were in good spirits and we fit together beautifully. E was a big part of that because people felt that must be safe since we had a young daughter with us.