Who you will be talking to
I'm Alastair. I read every request, and I lead every conversation myself.
How little I could tell them
I started Remarkable Lives when my own children began asking about their grandparents, and I realised how little I could tell them.
I knew the set pieces, the stories told the same way at every family lunch. I knew much less about the rest: the houses, the jobs, the choices, and how any of it felt at the time.
Unhurried, and at their pace
Every conversation, myself
The same person from the first short call to the last conversation, so nobody has to start again with a stranger.
Their words, their choices
A portrait is their account, in their own voice. They choose what to share, they read it first, and nothing is corrected or tidied into someone else's version.
A portrait they are proud of
After the conversations, I write the portrait: choosing the stories, shaping them into chapters and keeping their voice, so it reads the way they would want their family to hear it.
Start with a short conversation
Tell us a little about who the portrait is for. We will arrange a short call to answer your questions, and begin whenever suits them.