It is indisputable that many of us are fascinated by the past. Films, books and television programmes abound, as we learn more and more about our ancestors.

Celebrities seem to be queueing up, to find out if they have royal ancestry, or if they are descended from the village idiot.

We have a thirst for knowledge of our past, which goes beyond who our great grandparents were, we want to know what they did and how they lived. We want to know who has lived in the house before us and so it goes on.

I speak as someone who researched his family history in the days before computers and the internet, a time when leafing through hefty tomes was the only way to learn more and back then it had its limitations.

Science in this area has improved enormously and so much more research can be done from the comfort of your own home.

My wife and I have often watched television programmes, steeped in envy, that some celebrity was going to get a whistle stop tour of their own family history, guided by experts.

If you, or someone you know has similar interests, then AncestryDNA may well have the perfect Christmas gift suggestion.

A small kit with easy to follow instructions (even for someone like me, descended from the village idiot)

To begin with I had to log in to Ancestrty.Com to set up a password. This is free, as it is all part of the kit. Remembering not to eat, drink or smoke for 30 minutes was probably the hardest part.

Now for those of a nervous disposition, you may wish to skip these next few lines.

You are required to spit into a test tube, but don’t worry, this is contained in the kit and the test tube has a funnel attached. The test tube also has lines to measure the amount of saliva and we are advised and indeed instructed not to measure the bubbles, which is my favourite instruction, ever.

 

The funnel is replaced with a cap which also contains a stabiliser, so that when the saliva turns blue, we can be sure that it is working.

The test tube is popped into an envelope and posted to the pre- paid address.

Also included is a rather smart note book, with a black rubberised cover, useful for recording all those notes and I rather suspect that AncestryDNA know that once you start digging into your background, you will be hooked and wish to find out more.

Currently there is a special offer price is £59.00, normally £79.00, plus postage from https://www.ancestry.co.uk

‘Give the gift of family’ they say, and who knows, this time next year we could be sitting next to each other in the House of Lords.