Last year I (Gill) decided that I would like to research both sides of my children's family tree. I have spent many many hours sitting at the computer working through a number of family tree websites. However it is never possible to say 'I have finished' as there is always more to do. It is possible to become quite addicted! Peter's maternal grandparents came to New Zealand in late 1922 and his mother, Julie, was the only child born in New Zealand. The older three children were 12, 9 and 4 years of age. Prior to emigrating the family lived in Harlesden, Willesden which is in the north west of London. Today we went to look for the family home. We had both been woken by our 'phone ringing at 5.45 am (thank you to a Japanese call centre) and as our bodies have not completely adjusted to the time difference yet we were then wide awake so we headed off quite early for us. We took the overground train from Dalston Kingsland to Willesden Junction. We had no clear idea where Burns Road was but with the help of a friendly Royal Mail employee we set off on foot. On the way we found a couple of other places of interest. Firstly the Willesden County Court. It was here that Peter's grandparents had been married. Unfortunately the original Court building has been replaced. This is a repeating situation due to the bomb devastation in World War II. We continued to walk the High Street and came across the Harlesden Salvation Army. This was the church that the family attended prior to emigrating and was within walking distance of the family home. A short walk and we were standing outside 25 Burns Road. it was here that Peter's nana and pop, along with Frank, Lynn and Winnie had lived and prepared for their departure to Petone in New Zealand. Peter stood outside the house holding a photo of his Mum - we had brought Julie home for a visit. Even though it was 10 pm in New Zealand we put a 'phone call through and Peter was able to talk to his mum. Further along the road we found 101 Burns Road. It was here that Peter's great grandparents lived in 1911. Again the property was still being lived in. Lunch at a cafe in Harlesden and then we walked back to the station for our next stop - Kensal Green St John the Evangelist Church. It was here that Peter's grandfather, Richard Syar Smith-Ric******* was christened in March 1891 along with his two sisters, Daisy and Poppy. The church is in very good repair and we were able to go inside and look around. There is commemorative plague to the vicar of the parish from 1891 to 1916 (the year of Grandpop's baptism) and the clock between the towers was erected. We decided that it was time to head back to Hackney so back to the train. As we came down the station stairs a train arrived and on we got only to realise that we were heading in the wrong direction. Oh well, just get off at the next stop, swap platforms and get on the next train in the right direction. Just as well we don't have time restrictions on us. Time for a visit to the Ridley Road market which is a traditional East End working class street market and runs Monday to Saturday selling cheap food, clothes and household goods. Apparently the TV series "Eastenders" was originally based on this market. Nowadays there is a strong *****ian presence in Hackney, with many stalls and shops selling African fabrics, music and food. We were able to shop for food for dinner (including two large punnets of fresh raspberries for just £1) and eventually made our way home. We had walked a long way today, the sun had shone but it was still not very warm (I wore my jacket all day), but we had achieved what we had set out to do. We have visited some of the places that Peter's grandparents had known so well.