THE SEALWOMAN'S GIFT

MUSIC IN THE DARK

Jamesina Ross is long finished with men. But one night a stranger seeking lodgings knocks on the door of her tenement flat. He doesn't recognise her, but she remembers him at once. Not that she plans to mention it. She has no intention of trusting anyone enough to let herself be vulnerable again. A lifetime ago Jamesina Ross was bent on becoming a writer. She had a facility with words. She made up songs about the Highland glen where she lived and the kin who had worked that land for generations. When her community was threatened with eviction, she gave voice to that too. The women stood together, defiant and determined, but Jamesina's music was no match for one of the most brutal confrontations of the Highland Clearances. Jamesina has borne the disfigurements of that day ever since, on her face and inside her head. It marked the end of a life of promise and the beginning of a very different one. Her lodger thinks that if she would only dare to open the past, she might have the chance of a future.

TRACING YOUR ROOTS

Tracing Your Roots explores one of the UK's most popular pastimes: researching family history. Bestselling author Sally Magnusson follows the genealogy trail back in time uncovering facets of social history through personal stories and giving you the information you need to add branches to your own family tree. With the right tools you can not only find lost ancestors but discover what they did for a living what their lives were like and maybe even what kind of people they were... Accompanied by resident genealogist Nick Barratt who offers insider tips and ideas she talks to professional and amateur researchers revealing the wealth of resources available and how to make the most of them. In these six series the duo determine what clues can be gleaned from photographs diaries and DNA analysis learn about unravelling wartime secrets investigate how stories handed down through generations can offer a new slant on history and hear how the manner of an ancestor's death can offer clues to the life they led. They also explain why shady characters are good news for family history hunters tackle the issues of illegitimacy and immigration track down relatives who vanished without trace and probe mysteries surrounding name changes and adoption. Fascinating family stories are unearthed as they talk to families including one woman who believes her grandmother may have been the illegitimate daughter of Louis XVI another whose ancestor was locked away indefinitely on the Queen's orders and two correspondents with Caribbean roots who suspect there is slavery on their family tree. Two follow-up episodes see Sally and Nick revisiting their favourite Tracing Your Roots tales finding out what families did next and unveiling new information and lasting repercussions... In addition a themed show tied in with the British Library's 'History of the World in 100 Objects' project investigates family heirlooms and four special episodes mark events including the 90th anniversary of World War One Scotland's Homecoming Year and the 2011 Census.

WHERE MEMORIES GO: WHY DEMENTIA CHANGES EVERYTHING

Scottish broadcaster and author, Sally Magnusson, cared with her two sisters for her mother, Mamie, during her long struggle with dementia, until her death in 2012. This moving and honest account of losing a loved one day by day to an insidious disease is both deeply personal and a challenging call to arms.