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"You're saying it's a falsehood and Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts to that" (Kellyanne Conway, 22 Jan 2017). But it isn't just presidential inaugurations which give rise to "Alternative Facts", we may find our own family research produces more than one picture of the story.

If you know anything about the Second World War on the home front, you will know about the blackout. You have probably heard the catchphrase "Put that light out!", but what if you didn't?

What became of those ancestors who just disappear from the records? Perhaps they died in a foreign field. Thousands died in the Crimea campaign of 1854-56 the considerable majority from illness rather than action. Could your lost ancestor be one of them?

What links a thought experiment created to illustrate a concept in quantum physics and the 1939 index? You have possibly heard of Schrodinger's Cat, but what about Schrodinger's Mother-in-Law?

I have watched the development of the website over many months and marvelled at the vast collection of archival material which we have assembled for the use of the family historians who will visit it. The commitment and ingenuity of many volunteers have combined to deliver a resource which I hope will become essential to thousands of researchers tracing Ancestors hailing from Manchester and further afield.

Imagine. It is 1995 and the world is facing a coronavirus pandemic. The country is locking down. You will be confined to your home for weeks. How are you going to spend your time? Well, not researching your family history for a start. Record offices and local studies libraries have closed and will remain closed for months.