I was once told that family history was second only to pornography in the list of most visited websites. I'm not sure of the truth of this but if the popularity of the BBC 2's 'Who do you think you are?' is anything to go by, I wouldn't doubt it. I must admit to being drawn to the most recent series of celebs earnestly tracing back their ancestors and uncovering their humble and impoverished origins. For those of us who agonise about painting a 'bloody awful' version of the past to children, the series did serve as a reminder that, even going back one generation, life for most people was grim, monotonous and relentless, invariably punctuated by illness, war and premature death. However, it was the programme on Julian Clary...