WDYTYA Exhibition NEC, Birmingham, 6-8 April 2017

[Lisajj]

Actually I've just looked and if you park at Canley Station, it's free and a return off peak ticket to B'ham international is £2.20. There's also a free car park at Tile Hill station.

[smudwhisk]

A number of the local Birmingham stations also have free parking but depends what day you are attending as they are generally full by about 8am on weekdays.  Weekends are usually OK.  I think I paid about £5.50 or something similar last year for a return ticket from Northfield to the NEC, having to change at New Street.  Took about 50 minutes but depended on when the connecting train was due.  Northfield being on the cross city line and south west of the centre.  It would have cost me far more to have driven to the NEC and parked, and would not have been that much quicker.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Yes, parking is £12 at the NEC.

The local history society's really cannot offer a huge amount of help on the day. Naturally they are there to hopefully gain new members. It is worthwhile to join one's covering the localities you are interested in.

Cheers, Ade. 

[nanny jan]

My info is probably out of date as my last visit was about 6 years ago but the talks were about 45 minutes and included examples from archives, websites etc. but no opportunity for personal research apart from a Q&A session at the end. My son booked a couple for me so I had a guaranteed seat and also booked a short time (10 minutes?) with a researcher but I can't recall which organisation was offering that.
I also took a couple of old photos and got a lot of help and advice from our very own Scrimnet!

Time spent researching all the available talks is advised, as is booking them if possible.

[ankerdine]

Taking all this information on board I have come to a conclusion. Isn't it better just to post personal queries on Rootschat; as I have done now for many years? The friendly help and detailed information I have received has been so accurate and plentiful.

I have some time though before I need to make a decision.

Thanks so much for your free advice.

Judy

[AntonyMMM]

Going to WDYTYA Live is very unlikely to break down a brick wall or solve a research problem for you, that isn't what is is for really. It is about finding out what is happening in the genealogy world, meeting people and getting pointers to what new resources might be available to help you in your searches.

There is the "Ask the Experts" section, run by the Society of Genealogists where you can book a 20min slot to talk through your problem with  someone. But the chance of that solving something you may have been working on for 20+ years  is slim ! What the "experts" aim for is so send you away with something new to think about, or maybe to recommend an approach you may not have considered. But occasionally people do achieve a sudden breakthrough in those 20 mins - I've seen it happen a few times, so you never know.

It doesn't change that much from year to year so a visit every 2 or 3 years is probably enough for most people !

[Guyana]

Having read through the list of exhibitors, there is even a transcription error there;
"Nuneaton and North Warminster (should be Warwickshire) F. H. S.

[ankerdine]

Well spotted Guyana! I had looked through the list and thought that I might stop at this exhibitor's stand and never noticed the error.

Judy

[weste]

It's useful to see some of the available software and also things like certificate holders etc if you find you actually need to see them first. I'm hoping for a discounted livingdna kit! I'm not the only one. You can take ancestrydna kits away with you at a discounted price usually. Ftdna you can do a test there and then. Do be aware that if you want a drink or something eat in that exhibition hall you probably need to seize the chance when you ca. Also your feet get very tired as you find yourself keep walking around and to get a seat later in the day, I sat in on one of the free talks. I usually buy a couple of CDs or something else save waiting for them to come through the post.