Here and there

Barefoot in the wilderness
in search of understanding

« Taxation and theft
» Freecycle again

Here’s a fun thing – a site that will show you where in the country (UK only, I’m afraid) people with your surname live. It’s based on 1881 and 1998 census returns, so you can even see how your family’s moved around over the past 100 or so years. The ethnicity and social indicators are interesting, too. My family name is staunchly British, and generally working class (“Shared staircase” is the commonest social grouping, which means living in low-rent blocks of flats).

If you’re interested, here are the results for my surname:

1881