About me

Hello! I'm Sheridan Parsons. I live with my husband Mike and my youngest son, by Glascote Locks in Tamworth. I'm a bit quirky, in fact I'm quite public about the fact that I am 'neurodiverse', although I’ve never been officially diagnosed. Far from being a disadvantage, it gives me selective hyperfocus, excellent research skills, and a straight talking, honest approach, which many people find quite refreshing, although I'm sure that some find me a tad annoying!

Canalside Homes

Over the years I have helped many people to buy their perfect canalside home. I thoroughly research the whole market and share everything I find with my subscribers. As far as I know, I am the only person in the UK providing this service. To enjoy a free trial, just click the subscribe button on this page and select "Start 7-day free trial". This will give you access to all my past posts, and all the posts I publish over the next seven days. For more information, see this post.

Property Services

I provide 360° virtual tours for houses and narrowboats, EPCs (Energy Performance Certificates), and other freelance estate agency services such as viewings, floor plans, inspection reports, and photos. Many of my appointments are booked through a platform called Viewber. Please contact me if there's anything I can help with.

Books

My books include: a narrowboat log book, my mother's memoirs, a series of history books about the history of Wootton Bassett, and a family history record book. My husband has written two canal themed murder mysteries. You'll find them all here.

Teasmades

I'm considered to be the world expert on the history of teasmades and I used to have the world's largest collection - 172 teasmades. I run the biggest teasmade collectors' and enthusiasts' resource on the internet: www.teasmade.uk. I have appeared on TV several times talking about teasmades, most famously in Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention! I frequently add new research about the history of teasmades and I'm gradually digitising all my instruction manuals.

Find a Grave volunteering

I enjoy exploring cemeteries, and I'm a Find a Grave volunteer. My local cemetery sits right next to the Coventry Canal, so it's just a short walk up the towpath from our house.  I take photos of the graves, respond to photo requests, and plot the locations with GPS; I identify unmarked grave sites where possible; and sometimes I research the stories of those who are buried in the graveyard.

Canal volunteering

I used to volunteer as a 'greeter' on The Admiral, the Canal and River Trust's widebeam visitor boat, moored at Caen Hill Locks in Devizes. Here in Tamworth, I used to volunteer with the local Towpath Taskforce. I'm pretty handy with a windlass, a litter picker, or a paintbrush!

Genealogy, house history, and archives

I am an experienced and qualified local historian, house historian, and genealogist, with a particular interest in the WW1 era. I have a Post Graduate Diploma in Local and Family History which included house history, archive management, palaeography, public history and oral history.

I have researched literally hundreds of houses and families. My many achievements include correcting and adding to Commonwealth War Graves memorials, and reuniting family members.

I am proud to have worked on several contracts for the Royal Voluntary Service Archives, digitising over 7,000 narrative reports, answering internal and external enquiries, cataloguing, appraising and accessioning new material.

Click here to see my posts about my own family, here for my history posts (many of which are conected with canals).

Teaching English as a Foreign Language

I am qualified to teach English as a foreign language and I have the following certificates and diplomas:

• Diploma in TEFL / TESOL Level 5
• Advanced Certificate in TEFL - Exam Preparation
• Advanced Certificate in TEFL - IELTS Exam Preparation Course
• Advanced Certificate in TEFL - Online Teaching
• RSA Cert TEFLA (Cambridge)
• OET Knowledge Certificate (for teaching English to international nurses)

Older qualifications

• BA Hons Social Psychology
• Suzuki Violin Teacher
• Shoe Fitter