Exhausting day – very mild for the time of year. Quite a bit of Christmas shopping, plus a last visit to the university before Christmas: finally I have everybody’s work – and I’ve marked all but the four pieces on which I have to consult with the photography man.

Back on the ancestor trail, the picture is of my father’s father, Charles Frederick Lenton, born in Norman’s Cross, Northamptonshire, 1879. I have very few memories of him, but I remember a family gathering at Poringland where he gave me a hard-backed exercise book to write in. I remember distinctly being thrilled at this. He was once a railway lampman, but he had various other jobs, including working in the shoe-trade and – so I am told – helping to build the road over Mousehold Heath, Norwich, in the early 20th century.

Sorry about the gap. Christmas looming, university essays to mark, wife retiring… Speaking of which, here she is (right) at her “surprise” retirement do on December 16, being presented with a bottle of champagne by Sue Eagle, head of Tuckswood School in Norwich, where she had been deputy head for four years and taught for many years more. Sue called her an unusually gifted teacher, which shows how astute she is. Also speaking were Fred Corbett, Norfolk’s education number two (assistant director of children’s services), and Bill Russell, senior primary adviser, who had interviewed her – extremely rigorously – for the post of head at Alburgh with Denton School six years ago.

The party had been organised by Kim and Karen, reception teacher and secretary respectively. Cake by Marion, the magic cake-maker and classroom assistant. Wonderful evening, excellent buffet, great atmosphere. Dot was given a stunning gold bracelet studded with garnets.

Busy time at the moment. Son and grandson came up at the weekend to fix up my wife’s new Apple computer. Well, grandson was not too involved in that side of it, but he was pretty busy what with one thing and another. Took him over to the station to watch some trains, but it was bitterly cold.

This is an old picture of two families – my father’s and my uncle’s. My father David is at the back on the right, and next to him is his older brother Reg. In front of them are me and my cousin Jonathan (right). My mother is in the middle, and to her right at the back are Ruth and Brenda (left), Reg’s two daughters – both older than Jonathan. On Brenda’s lap is my younger brother, Andrew.

I guess this picture was probably taken at Kettering (maybe Wickstead Park) probably in about 1951. If so, my mother may be pregnant. The picture was probably taken by Reg’s wife, Dorothy.

When my father died suddenly in March 1955, Reg drove over in the fog from Kettering to be with us.

My mother, born Phyllis Maud Brown in 1911 at Eaton on the outskirts of Norwich, is seen here with fellow-teachers at Rackheath School. She is on the left. She used to cycle there from Eaton every day.  I guess the picture would have been taken in about 1933 or 1934.

My father used to drive to meet her on Thursdays, so I am told by Philip Basey, a former pupil who used to admire his car, an MG.

She died in 1994, having been a widow for nearly 40 years.

Today I have been teaching at university. A rather mixed autumn day with elements of sogginess and sun.

This is East Haddon Church, now with a smooth grass graveyard and with the tombstones at attention behind, out of sight but not out of mind.  William and Mary Archer are buried here.

Today I discovered that a Robert Lenton was born about 1635 in Fife, Scotland (Delvin or Kincaple). He married Anne.  Could there be a connection?!

I discovered last night by consulting the Archer family tree that this is my great-great-grandparents’ grave. I photographed it near the door of Harlestone Church in Northamptonshire a couple of weeks ago. The family tree confirms the names, the place of death and the rough dates. The non-family shrub just clouds the issue.

William and Elizabeth (nee Benson) were the parents of Jane Archer, the 13th of 15 children. She married my great-grandfather Henry Lenton.  The grave also contains the remains of  Jane’s brother Henry and his wife Sarah (nee Child).  They had five children, of whom the oldest, John Henry, married Mary Child. Clearly the two families were close.

I saw the grave of another brother, William (fifth of 15; Henry was number three), at East Haddon. He was buried with his wife Mary Anne (nee York). The graveyard is unusual in that the area in front of the church has been grassed over, apart from a couple of old and indecipherable tombs, and the tombstones have been placed in rows behind the church. William and Mary had nine children.

William senior (my great-great grandfather) was the oldest of  eight children.  His father John Archer was born at Winwick in 1755. I visited one Winwick (near East Haddon), a tiny dead-end village which has picturesque houses and a stream running through the centre of it, alongside the lane. No trace of an Archer in the churchyard, but the graves were very weathered. I noticed after arriving home that there is another Winwick further to the east and still in Northamptonshire.

John died at East Haddon in 1837: I shall have another look for a grave next time I visit. His wife Martha (nee Davies) was born at Harlestone and probably died at East Haddon. The two villages are only a few miles apart.

These are my wife’s parents, Oliver and Dorothy Cousens. Not sure if they were married at the time. Their daughter, Dot, is 60 today and doesn’t look a day over 40. Remarkable.

Yesterday I went to see my Uncle Paul, now in his 80s, and he told me that his father, Charles Frederick, had been in the Army during the Boer War, which may explain how he met my grandmother. Another lead to follow up. Paul and his brothers and sisters apparently never met any of their grandparents, and Paul can’t remember any uncles or aunts, though it seems a couple of female cousins once came to stay in Norwich. At a time when travelling was infinitely more difficult, the miles that separated Charles and Rosa from their families were a huge barrier.

This is my wife Dot on the approach to the summit of Lochnagar. I am merged somewhere into the background with Barbara, the wife of Roger, who took the picture. They are old friends who were visiting Scotland with us for the first time from Canada in 2003. They hit a series of beautiful warm days, unlike today when, although it’s sunny (with an occasional shower), it’s bitterly cold. I have spent most of the day marking interview profiles written by my students at the University of East Anglia.

Dot and I have visited the Lochnagar area almost every year since about 1990 and climbed the mountain (1155 metres) four or five times. The whole area – Glen Muick, Ballater, Braemar, Corgarff etc – is stunning.

It’s winter. Icy showers as I walked to university this morning, and temperature has dropped suddenly. In the back garden now (6pm) it’s 5C. This is a picture of four generations of our family: I’m on the left (awful picture) and my wife Dot is front right. Her mother is in the centre (her 85th birthday and, sadly, her last). The others are my son David and his wife Victoria, with children Oliver and Amy. Taken at Cromer last January.

Today I made an appointment with my uncle Paul to talk to him about our family history. 

First ice of the winter on windscreens this morning, but a beautiful sunny day. The picture is of a large part of the Lenton family taken in the late 1950s. I am at the right in the front line, complete with cap. Matriarch Rosa Dorothy (nee Booth) is in the centre standing.  Next to me is my lovely cousin Barbara. Her brother Adrian is on the left, and between them are Stephen and Patricia. Their mother Thelma, standing on the left, is holding her third child, Mark. Her husband Paul is behind her.  The  always delightful woman sitting next to them is Dorothy, Paul’s sister. Others in the picture are Ken and Eve (Barbara and Adrian’s parents) and Frank and Mary. On my grandmother’s right is Ruth, eldest daughter of Reg, who is not in the picture. He may have been holding the camera, because I believe the picture was taken at Brenda’s wedding. Brenda is Reg’s second daughter; he and his wife Dorothy (also not in picture) had a son, Jonathan, as well.