Welcome to Funny Where Life Takes You…
Life rarely follows a straight path. Plans change, opportunities appear where we least expect them, and sometimes the smallest coincidence sends us in an entirely new direction.
Families lose touch, lives move in completely different directions, and sometimes decades later the threads reconnect in the most unexpected ways. A piece of research can lead to a distant cousin, a wartime story can bring together people who never knew they were connected, and a small discovery can turn into an entirely new story waiting to be told.
“Funny Where Life Takes You” is about those moments – the coincidences, discoveries and unexpected paths that shape our lives and the lives of those who came before us.
Latest stories:
- A Smörgåsbord of Food Memories
Childhood meals remembered through everyday food, family habits and changing tastes – a glimpse into domestic life in the past - The Man Who Bent New York’s Broadway
Henry Brevoort (1747–1841) resisted change, influencing Manhattan’s layout while practicing Native American folk medicine - “Present at the Death”
Charlotte Mayhew (c1816–1899): a silenced life recovered through the records - Twins and the Paths of Poverty and Prosperity
Henry Mayhew (1812-1881) and Priscilla Mayhew (1812–1886): born together, lives apart – twins in an age of change - A Woman of Her Own Making
Catherine Dibben (1850-1934) rose from a poor Hayling Island childhood to running a successful boarding house and inspiring four generations of women - Discovering the Missing Mayhew Child
Lily Violet Dorothy Mayhew (1907–1942) vanished from the records as a baby, only to re-emerge as a young woman whose life was shaped by loss, work, and war - The Weight of Silence
A detour through Staffordshire leads to a profound encounter with history, humanity, and remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum. - Each Name a Story: The Lives Behind a Forgotten War Memorial
Fifteen young men, lost too soon, rediscovered from a forgotten Second World War memorial in Rochester. These are stories of courage, sacrifice, and the people behind the names - Luck of the Irish
Joseph Twohey (c1838–1913) an Irish-born soldier whose career spanned Crimea, India, and near-miraculous survival, honoured with Hayling’s first military funeral
You never know where the next story will lead – subscribe or say hello.
Recognise a name? Maybe we’re connected. Explore and find out!
