I had intended to post an update on this platform much earlier, and indeed had written drafts for several updates that I had never completed because I had felt that they were too insignificant to be worth publishing.
Nevertheless, with restrictions now easing at a steady and speedy pace, and with no sign of liberties regressing back into their former condition, I have decided to publish an update comprising everything worth mentioning in regards to the last six months of activities, including the drafts which I had originally intended to post.
October 2020:
Heritage Sessions, Book Writing, Laura Towler and more…
Its been a busy 3 or 4 months since I last posted a comprehensive update on the progress of my work, and though there have been some serious challenges and restrictions due to the current situations, the general trend continues to drift in a positive direction for myself and for the movement.
The pushback against the “Black Lives Matter” power grab has hardened its resolve, and achieve a heartening level of grassroots support. One would be hard pressed to find a single person of European descent anywhere outside of metropolitan bourgoisie circles that has taken the side of the enemy. People are feeling more comfortable in vocalising their objection to the way in which the indigenous majority is now being treated as the agenda of the Great Replacement accelerates. We are reaching the critical mass necessary for a political solution to be tenable.
Patriotic Alternative continue to do excellent work, and at present I can comfortably say I have no qualms in supporting and collaborating with them. They’re everything I stand for and have pushed for in nationalism: polite, pacifist, relatable, well-dressed, well-presented, articulate and most importantly pragmatic. They are doing things differently to groups that have come before, and have (thus far) not fallen into all of the common traps.
Unfortunately, the PA autumn conference has been postponed and its up in the air as to whether there will be one this year. Restrictions against mass gatherings make this unlikely.
However, we have sought to bolster our online presence, and what better time to do it? Laura Towler and I are collaborating to launch Heritage Sessions via Skype which will be webinars geared towards genealogy. The Chester Traditionalist Guild continues to pull in grassroots support and has had its subscriber base increases by 75% since the BLM riots and unrest began. This website has had its 10’000th view and continues to grow. Momentum only continues to gain, motivating and pushing us forward. There’s not much that can stop us now.
I have a book on Genealogy which should be out early next year, ultimately dependent on how long it takes me to research. It has been very difficult to schedule trips to Record Archives this year and therefore the work I was doing has had to slow. I also ordered a DNA test to assist with my work but that was also lost. Its very difficult to uncover the lives of people who lived in the 1700s are there are very few resources, particularly for working class people, which are who I am focusing on. The problem intensifies when researching people with common names. One of the worst aspects of the English naming convention is its limited variety of names and surnames and its tendency to reject including personal qualities into names which would assist in identifying the unique individual (which, if anything, should be the primary purpose of a name). If a name ceases to be a unique identifier, it ceases to be useful for much. The best way, and perhaps the only way to break down brick walls caused by common name individuals like “Thomas Jones” and “John Williams” is to study DNA matches. It is a positive innovation, in my opinion, that modern names display significantly more variations than names in the Early Modern period.
November 2020:
I have been largely immersed in writing my book, which has taken up the majority of my free time this year. The hard work has paid off and I have about 100 pages of content written up and ready to go, with quite a bit more in the woodwork yet. Some of my my grander plans for the book included interviews with the old folks of Cheshire about bygone times and things, but this will obviously have to wait until the age of COVID is over. I will likely include these in a second edition whenever this is possible.
There is some good news, as I have managed to organise some online activities via Skype, which include the online heritage webinars.
April 2021:
Positives have abounded this month, though progress on the book on the history of the people of Chester has slowed significantly over the winter, due to restrictions now being eased, it is time to reflect on the tremendous success that has been the Heritage Webinars, which have been a source of enjoyment and catharsis for myself during these periods of otherwise profound isolation.
Our online family history sessions, organised by myself and promoted by Laura Towler and many others, have reached thousands via YouTube and Skype, and have enabled us to stay connected and continue to keep some level of momentum. There is now over ten hours worth of free, informative genealogy-related content, including tutorials and Q&As, now up on YouTube which should enable prospective family historians to get the start they need.
We are also in the process of transitioning the Heritage Webinars into the real world and intend to run free drop-in sessions for people interested in learning about their family history, where all the resources they need will be allotted and free assistance provided.
Other in person activities have now resumed, and with James Goddard, a gracefully reformed civic nationalist, now at the helm of the North West region of Patriotic Alternative, team and community building activities have been in full swing, as have leafleting, countryside and urban cleanups, and banner promotion. James clearly has zeal and alacrity when it comes to street activism has brought that pragmatism into the work PA are doing in the area. I am also pleased to say that there is now a healthy growth of activities and community in Cheshire, which has been historically underrepresented.
James Goddard recently brought to my attention an heritage-related issue in Manchester, which is the decrepit state of Hough Hall, one of the oldest buildings in Manchester, believed to date to 1502 in its present form. It is privately owned and has exchanged hands many times. None of its owners appear to be interested in carrying out any conservation work, and in its present condition it seems unlikely that the building will survive for much longer if action is not taken. I and several others are trying our utmost to research possible avenues towards the preservation of the building, and updates will soon follow as we gather more information.

Finally, with museums reopening very shortly, this will also afford me the access I require to the Liverpool Maritime Museum’s archives in order to continue my book research, which will be welcomed as I had initially intended this book to have been boxed off quite a while ago. I am also now able to interview locals and relatives for my book which is a necessity.
All is well and looking into the next few months, we can have hope that the future may well be even brighter.