"A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams" John Barrymore
The Chris Hobbs Site
The above photograph is of the author and was taken at the side of Piazza del Campo in Sienna, Italy - August 2007. I wonder why Crookes, or even Sheffield, for that matter does not have a Palio or similar type of event?
The site is divided into sections that are listed in the Table of Contents.
The Genealogy Pages "Family History" are quite extensive. To facilitate the additional information I have created a Family History Index that should assist in the navigation of that section. I have also included in the index, a general section that contains articles that are associated with the history of my family. There is also a Family History News and Notes link that will keep visitors reasonably up-to-date with work in progress.
Nearly all the people who appear in the Family History pages are no longer living and so this section of the site is in effect a Memorial as well as a Resource.
I hope that you'll find the Family History Pages interesting and informative. I will of course be delighted to hear from anyone who can provide me with further insights and information with regard to my ancestors.
November 16 is my date of birth and so that section of the site deals naturally enough with the births, deaths and events that have occurred on that date. I have also provided an account of a murder that occurred on that day that ended in a judicial execution. School Days - incidentally they were not "the happiest days of my life" gives a personal view of what it was like to attend a provincial Grammar School in the 1960's as well as providing a counterbalance to many of the wild and inaccurate claims surrounding post war education in the U.K.
Britain and the World since 1953 is intended to put a perspective on the events that have occurred in my lifetime. It is in effect a chronology and almanac with links to other websites and areas of information. The content is continually being extended and it is hoped that it will become a useful reference tool when completed.
The Location Map is a directional guide for those visiting the area where I live. This section has also been extended to include a brief history of the road I live on (Spring Hill) and the area of the city ( Crookes - Walkley district ) I live in. I have posted to that section, details extracted from the various UK Census' for Spring Hill as well as excerpts from a number of Kelly's Directories - a full index of photographs and articles has been also been posted to the section.
There is also a link to the web-site of Biff Books and Records of Sheffield. I can thoroughly recommend the site and can assure you that will get a prompt and efficient service.
I have also added my acknowledgements to people who have spared me their time and effort in providing me with content and information. It is greatly appreciated. There is also a copyright notice which I hope will ensure that the information on the site is not sullied by crass commercialism. Any errors are of course mine and mine alone.
"To remain ignorant of what happened before you were born is to remain always a child" - Cicero
"One of the deepest impulses in man is the impulse to record, to scratch a drawing on the tusk or keep a diary, to collect sagas and heap cairns. This instinct as to the enduring value of the past is, one might say, the very basis of civilization" - John Jay Chapman
"To the living we owe our respect, to the dead we owe nothing but the truth." Voltaire.
"We are ceasing to regard smoke and filth as necessary evils and are striving after remedies. Perhaps our children will once again see roses blooming in Attercliffe and trout on the rise near Lady's Bridge". J.D. Leader (1891)
THERE ARE FURTHER ARTICLES WITH A SHEFFIELD CONNECTION ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE
Some cities love their antiquities, Sheffield has few to boast of, and therefore treats them with scorn. Someday it will regret it
Sheffield Daily Independent (1906)
This website has been operative in its various guises since 8th November 1999. After six years I decided to upgrade the Guestbook. Unfortunately due to the activities of spammers I have had to temporarily remove the feature. And so if you have any comments, suggestions and information relating to the Site, please contact me directly by EMAIL and where necessary, I will reply to any requests etc.
The old Guestbook has been relocated and is there for reference purposes only
"Each
Generation imagines itself more intelligent than the one that
went before it and wiser than the one that comes after it"
George Orwell
"Any life when
viewed from the inside is simply a series of defeats"
-- George Orwell, "Benefit of Clergy: Some Notes on Salvador
Dali