Hello all,
My name is Keith and I have been researching my ancestry since the late eighties, when nothing was available online and my only option was to visit my local library and record office. Fortunately, even then local family history societies were producing indexes and libraries had microfilmed parish registers!
A few years ago I retired moved to South Africa, and fortunately now there is lot more available online, otherwise I think I would have given up by now! I wish I could still go to local register offices to look at records that aren't online yet. And I wish BMD certificates were cheaper!
My family is completely working-class (actually mostly peasant class) and from England (one of my direct line ended up in Scotland subduing the Scots, but his son came back to England and that's where my family have been resident ever since, until me). My ancestors were mainly from Nottinghamshire (paternal line) and Somerset/Staffordshire via Yorkshire/Derbyshire (maternal). Some ended up in Canada, the US, Australia and even South Africa.
I've a couple of brick walls I may end up telling you about elsewhere!