Why Didn't Gary Check Family Records?

[malcolm]

I suppose it would have caused more complications for the script writers if Gary had thought to go to St.Catherine's and Alexander House - not sure where the records are today.

Nevertheless the question remains in my mind. If I were Gary, I would have to have looked up Births, Marriages and Deaths, and the Street Directories which preceded the Telephone Books.

At least he would have discovered that Phoebe and himself had a daughter born in the post war years.

[jobsta]

I got the impression that Gary didn’t really want to know. The only time he looked anything up in the present was when it had a severe impact on the past. Examples of this include finding the war records of Mrs Bloss’ husband/brother in law and finding who he thought was Phoebe to check if she was still waiting for him, quite early in the series. I don’t think he had an interest in knowing what his future life in the past (if that makes sense) was just for the sake of it.

[malcolm]

It would be the most natural feeling to discover how long he and Phoebe would live. However it would be equally frightening to check it in the records.

We do know that he couldn't wait to go to the home of a Phoebe Sparrow when he heard the news report. In that case he thought that she was still living.

He was just as keen to see Reg when he found out that he was in a Retirement Home. The big disappointment then being that Reg had alzheimer's. I think I would have written that scene up differently, though very likely along the same lines.

Phoebe had mentioned a desire for Michael to have a little sister. Had I been Gary, I would have to have gone through the births register, or at least asked Michael when he turned up at the shop.

[tabs]

There would be no records at this time because what Gary would/wouldn't do in the past hadn't happened on his own personal timeline.

[malcolm]

I was thinking more about Phoebe, and Michael who already existed.