This article is not about any of the "normal" topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, I offer it as a public service to the millions of folks planning flights:

Google has apparently amassed enough historical data to pinpoint when tickets for a large crop of routes are at their cheapest.

Google is trying to solve a problem that has long vexed travelers everywhere: When is the best time to book the cheapest flight? Starting this week, the company will answer that question through Google Flights.

The service is already designed to help you find the cheapest airline tickets from third-party providers. It shows you the cheapest flights for a given day and destination, and can show you how the fare compares to past price averages for the same route. 

But whether you should buy a plane ticket now or wait for prices to go down is something that has eluded Google Flights until now. 

The tech giant has apparently amassed enough historical data to pinpoint when tickets for a large crop of routes are at their cheapest. “For searches with reliable trend data, you’ll now see when prices have typically been lowest to book your chosen dates and destination,” Google wrote in a blog post on Monday.  

You can read more in an article by Michael Kan at: https://www.pcmag.com/news/google-flights-will-tell-you-the-cheapest-time-to-book-a-ticket. 

The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

Norfolk Memorials

Local resident Louise Cocker has been hard at work, photographing Norfolk headstones to both preserve them for the future, and make them easier to explore. A further 30,149 new additions have been added this week. The information you'll find does understandably vary from headstone to headstone, but typically, you can expect to see a first name, last name, and year of death, alongside a confirmation of which cemetery the grave was found in. However, you could be lucky enough to also find information such as a full date of birth or death, clues to the cause of death and even information about any relatives also buried there. 

Irish Army Census 1922  

Improvements have been made to this existing collection. The transcriptions have been expanded to include information such as rank, address, attestation dates, marital status, next of kin and other extra details from the original records. What's more, you can now also search the collection using some of this information, allowing you to narrow your search even further. 

Newspapers 

Three new titles, updates to a further 31, and over 265,138 new pages make up this week’s newspaper release. 

New titles: 

·         Skelmersdale Reporter, 1963, 1965-1972, 1976-1978 

·         Sutton & Epsom Advertiser, 1908-1914, 1916-1928 

·         Western Echo, 1899-1903, 1906-1915 

Updated titles: 

·         Atherstone News and Herald, 1887-1888 

·         Bath Journal, 1772-1773, 1775-1776, 1779-1783, 1786-1789, 1791-1798, 1800-1809, 1813, 1815-1816, 1820-1821 

·         Belfast News-Letter, 1957-1958 

·         Cambridge Chronicle and Journal, 1770-1812 

·         Cambridge Daily News, 1908 

·         Cornishman, 1990-1991 

·         Frome Journal, 1989 

·         Gloucester Citizen, 1991, 1994, 1996-1998 

·         Hinckley Echo, 1901-1902, 1904-1905, 1907-1908, 1913, 1916, 1918, 1942 

·         Holyhead Mail and Anglesey Herald, 1921-1929, 1931-1950 

·         Huddersfield and Holmfirth Examiner, 1864 

·         Ilfracombe Chronicle, 1879 

·         Leeds Evening Express, 1860-1861, 1865-1870 

·         Macclesfield Times, 1933, 1943, 1952 

·         Manchester Evening News, 1977-1979 

·         Medway News, 1993 

·         Paddington Mercury, 1995 

·         Portsmouth Evening News, 1960-1961 

·         Rochdale Observer, 1972, 1979, 1983, 1986, 1991 

·         Royston and Buntingford Mercury, 1990 

·         Runcorn Weekly News, 1979, 1983 

·         Sherborne Mercury, 1749-1750, 1752-1758, 1760, 1763-1764, 1766, 1772-1777, 1798, 1814, 1819, 1821, 1826, 1828 

·         St. Ives Weekly Summary, 1911 

·         Stalybridge Reporter, 1914-1916 

·         Streatham News, 1909-1916, 1931-1937 

·         Sunday Sun (Newcastle), 1926 

·         West Surrey Times, 1919 

·         Westerham Herald, 1882 

·         Widnes Weekly News and District Reporter, 1964-1971, 1973-1979 

·         Wokingham Times, 1945 

This is a quick note to announce that I think I am back in operation from my recent hospitalization and recuperation. I am not back to "my old self" but I do feel better than I did for the past week or so.

I want to thank everyone for posting the "get well soon" comments. There is no way that I can reply to every one. However, I have read everyone and I want to say a heartfelt "Thank You" for each.

I will add one comment. Several folks suggested I seek medical help. Indeed, I did just that. I lost count but think I saw at least a dozen different doctors, most of them specialists of one sort or another. It is because of their excellent care that I am back within a week. I cannot offer enough "thanks" to all the excellent medical care I had.

I do think my return to writing this newsletter will be a bit slow to begin with but I hope to be back to full speed before long.

Again, thanks for all the well wishes.

 - Dick Eastman

I am delighted with the comments from yesterday's announcement that I am offline for medical reasons. There is no way i can write individual replies to each person. But they are welcomed and I want to say a heartfelt "Thank You" for each.

In case you are interested: I spent lastnight in a local emergency room and today am in the hospital. I have had 2 cat scans and expect a 3rd and maybe more. In short, I am in good hands.

Sooner or later, I'll be back.

I had a small accident over the weekend and it looks like it will require several days to recuperate. In the meantime, posting new articles online (such as this one) seems to require a Herculean effort. So please excuse me if I crawl off to a quiet corner and heal.

Last Friday, after a long, long road trip. I arrived at the home of one of my passengers. When I went to get out of the automobile, I either tripped or slipped or stumbled (I don't know which) and then fell to the driveway pavement, hitting my head on the pavement in the process. 

It hurt. Big time. I saw stars and lightning and lots of other flashing lights. I stumbled back to my feet and tried to carry on as normal. But things weren't normal.

For the sake of brevity, I won't list everything that happened after that. But the short trip to my home was difficult. When I got home, I fell to the ground several times while walking from the garage to my bedroom. Dizziness was the primary culprit, aided by double vision, and various other impediments. 

It is now 48 hours later and I have improved significantly, but not completely. My vision is still somewhat blurred and even typing this brief message is arduous. I think I need a few more days to recuperate. So I'm going remain in a quiet corner and let things heal.

Unfortunately, I run this web site as a one-person operation. There is nobody waiting in a backup role to step in when I am out of commission.

I'll be back...

The following announcement was written by Find My Past:

Norfolk parish records 

13,795 new original images and transcriptions have been released to help you discover more about your Norfolk ancestors. There are 3,853 new baptisms from 1923, 9,703 marriages and banns from 1939, and 239 burials from 1998. 

Wales parish records 

For Wales, a total of 15,428 baptism records have been added from 1923, with the largest updates to Glamorganshire and Monmouthshire. You can also delve into 10,236 marriages and banns records, covering the year 1938 and 13 Welsh counties. All include transcriptions and original images.  

Newspapers 

One new title, updates to a further five, and over 783,245 new pages make up this week’s newspaper release. 

New titles: 

·         Farnworth Chronicle, 1906-1917 

Updated titles: 

·         Belfast News-Letter, 1952-1953 

·         Campbeltown Courier, 1987-1988, 1990-1994 

·         Hoylake & West Kirby News, 1988 

·         Sheerness Times Guardian, 1975-1978, 1980 

·         Suffolk and Essex Free Press, 1949-1958, 1965, 1974-1975, 1979, 1981 

Muncie Public Library (MPL) recently received a $100,000 grant from The Patricia Schaefer Foundation Trust and a $30,000 Historic Preservation Fund grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The grants will be used for the restoration of the Carnegie Library in downtown Muncie. Carnegie Library was built with funds from industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and opened in 1904. The building has continuously operated as a public library and now serves as the Local History & Genealogy branch of MPL. It is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Indiana.

The goal of the restoration project is to make the necessary repairs to the iconic Carnegie Library building to protect the structure and its contents from the elements while preserving the building’s historic integrity. A professional assessment by Arsee Engineers in 2022 identified several priorities to be repaired, including the concrete curb at the base of the limestone facade, failed seams in the roof, water collection issues in corner gutters, spalled limestone masonry, failed mortar joints, failed sealant joints in limestone and at the perimeter of windows and wall openings, and damaged plaster. According to MPL Library Director, Akilah Nosakhere, a series of fundraising events and opportunities will be planned in the near future. “These initial and generous grants will allow us to begin work almost immediately to save this community treasure,” she said, noting that project details and specifications will be publicized and made available to those interested in submitting bids for the project.

According to Sara McKinley, Local History & Genealogy Supervisor at Carnegie Library, the goal is to maintain the building as a library offering access to unique collections and educational opportunities while also preserving the beauty of a rare and iconic historic structure for future generations. “Preserving historic places supports a community’s sense of belonging, legacy, and pride of place,” she said.

The Patricia Schaefer Foundation Trust was established by Patricia Schaefer, a former Director of the Muncie Public Library from 1959 until 1986. Schaefer remains a dedicated MPL supporter. In 2011, she donated the beautiful Sonata glass sculpture created by glass artist Christopher Reis that is on display at Kennedy Library.

This project has been funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.

A homicide victim has been identified 26 years after his body was found in Flagler County.

According to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, deputies found the man's body in the intracoastal waterway in Flagler Beach on Sept. 10, 1997.

Deputies determined the male had been bound, shot and stabbed multiple times before being dumped in the water.

"The male had been bound, shot and stabbed mutiple times," Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said.

The victim was unidentifiable until 2021, when his bones were submitted to Othram, a private forensic genetic genealogy corporation.

With the help of their genetic genealogy team, the victim was identified as Robert Bruce McPhail, who was 58 at the time of his death. He went by Bruce. 

The ID is a huge step, but the sheriff says there is much more work to be done.

You can read more at https://www.wesh.com/article/flagler-county-cold-case-robert-bruce-mcphail/44838951.

Dropbox, a provider of online data storage, is ending its unlimited option, saying a small handful of customers were using massive amounts of resources that had the potential to degrade the cloud service for the rest of its clients. From a report: