Missing Pieces, Lost and Found and now
David Lomas Investigates, this New Zealand produced documentary series not only helps people find missing relatives across the globe, but uncovers cultural identities and lost family heritage, helping people fill in the gaps they know they’ve had, often for decades.
One show last year had me particularly emotional when a 35-year-old woman discovered the story of the mother she was separated from as a baby. Tragically the French mother had committed suicide 10 years previously after being unable to cope with the grief of not being able to find her daughter for all those years. Her death had also led to the breakdown of wider family relationships in France.
The New Year beckons
Like most of you, I’m quite excited to see in a New Year. With all the craziness and change that 2020 brought to my life, waving goodbye to a year like no other feels different to any of the previous 50 New Years I have seen – admittedly I confess I cannot remember the first ten or so!
At the same time, I also know that there are no guarantees about what 2021 will bring to my life. Who would have thought that 2020 would be the way it was? And the COVID19 pandemic is far from over globally, even with the early stages of a vaccine being distributed in some countries. Here in New Zealand, we know that we are only one nervous step away from a 1pm breaking news broadcast that could usher in a cluster, or worse, restrictions that could hamper our complete freedoms right now (in NZ 1pm is when our Prime Minister and health officials make any announcements about latest cases and other updates).