Girmit · Family stories · Stories · Questions
Family across countries · sample family
Ask the family, wherever they are.
Post one question. Relatives in Durban, London or Perth answer in their own time, with a voice note, a short video, a photo or a few lines, and everyone can read and hear the replies in one place.
Start a thread
Post a question to the family.
One question is easier to answer than a whole life. Nobody has to answer, and nobody has to answer today.
A thread · sample
“What did your street smell like on a Sunday?”
Asked by Leela in Durban on Sunday 4 October, 15:05. Five replies so far, from three countries.
Kamala London, UK
Voice
0:48Sample player. No audio file is attached, so it runs in silence to show how the transcript follows along.
“Sundays smelled of onions frying, and then of the wet grass when the rain came. I can still tell you which house the onions were coming from.”
Selvan Perth, Australia
Video
Sample frame. No video file is attached.
1:12Sample player. No video file is attached, so it runs in silence to show how the transcript follows along.
“I filmed this in the kitchen so you can see my hands. This is how Mummy turned the pot, and this is how I do it badly.”
Devi Durban, South Africa
Photo
The Sunday pot, about 1966 “No smell in a photograph, but here is the pot.”
Anand Durban, South Africa
Written
Cut grass and something sweet from next door. I was small. I think it was the neighbour’s baking, but I have never asked.
Mohan Durban, South Africa
VoiceForwarded from WhatsApp
0:31Sample player. No audio file is attached, so it runs in silence to show how the transcript follows along.
“Petrol and curry leaf. Do not ask me why those two together.”
Sample thread, invented for this sample. The players are silent: no audio or video file is attached.
Add your reply
Answer from your phone, in your own time.
Choose how you would like to answer. You can record a voice note, film a short video, share a photo or just write a few lines.
Drop a reply here
Voice note, video or photo. Many at once is fine.
Nothing added yet. In this sample files stay on your device and nothing is sent.
Recording a live family call
The call is easy. Keeping it takes a little planning.
Family calls are some of the best stories there are. Here is what works, and what does not.
What works
- Hold the call on Zoom or Google Meet and switch recording on. Recording needs a plan that allows it, so check yours before the day.
- Everyone agrees first. Say it aloud at the start: “Is it alright if we record this call so the family can keep it?” Wait for each person’s yes.
- When it ends, download the recording file and upload it here. Then type up what was said, or ask someone in the family to.
What does not
- WhatsApp has no built-in call recording. There is nothing to switch on.
- Screen recording on a phone usually does not capture the call’s audio. You tend to get a silent video of the screen.
- Recording someone without their agreement is not something Girmit will help with, and the speaker can always ask for their part to be removed.
Privacy · for every story
Private by default. Yours to take back.
Stories are some of the most personal things a family keeps. The rules below apply to every recording, photo and written story, and none of them can be switched off for you.
Only your family
A story can be seen only by the people in this family, once they sign in. Nothing is public.
The speaker says yes first
Every recording notes that the speaker agreed. The speaker can ask for a part to be cut, or the whole story taken down, at any time.
Everyone can add
Everyone in the family can add stories and photos. The person who started the family can undo or delete anything.
Delete, for real
When you delete a story or a photo, the file is removed from the server. It isn’t just hidden.