For all the cousins who couldn't be at the reunion. These are a few of the quieter moments.
Most of the time we couldn't hear ourselves think let alone hear what anyone was saying. Cousin Andrew looks like he is putting a message in that water bottle - perhaps he was...
I look like I am giving Cousin Colin - better known in my blog as Admiral Lord Onassis Bluefunnel - a bit of a telling off. I think I was just asking if he had seen one of his nephews yet. Sitting facing him is John Stewart, the son of our dear departed Cousin Jacky. Colin and Jacky are the children of Mary Gibbon who was the daughter of Mary Clode, second wife of Frederic Gibbon. Still with me? Good
Alma Cassandra Serenity Rogers made her debut with the family age three weeks. I'll just say now how proud I am of her Momma for bringing her and facing what was quite an overwhelming crowd. They stayed long enough for everyone to coo a little over such a sweet little cutie but the increasing noise was disturbing her and Momma was worrying. We were all delighted to meeti her and look forward to her seeing us properly in the future. She is the daughter of Hannah Smith who is the Daughter of Mark Smith who is the son of ME, Ann Macey, who is the daughter of Bernard Gibbon who is the sone of Frederic Gibbon and his first wife Margaret Annie Guilfoyle.
Anwyn Elizabeth Geran has nearly the same lineage as Alma but Anwyn's Momma is Kerry Ann Smith, Hannah's sister. Winnie, as she likes to be known had a lovely time meeting all her cousins and doing some colouring. She was really very good, and very polite and well mannered. This is always a good thing as far as I am concerned.
Rory Geran is Daddy to Anwyn and to Bleddyn. He is a good and caring Daddy and he looks after my Granddaughter very well. This is a good thing because I would have to "tell him off!" if he didn't
Richard Williams is the son of Jacky Carlson. I think he thought it was just a kid taking the pictures so it didn't matter. He didn't know that even though she is just ten years old Miss Emily Roberts was the official photographer - and she did really well considering that some of the adults didn't take it seriously - next time eh Richard?
Emily is the daughter of Andrea who is the Daughter of Ann Macey you know the rest of that line eh?
Martyn Jeffry Smith drove down from university in Liverpool specially to be at the reunion. He got to see all the cousins he hasn't met before and to look at the charts and trees - harder than exams is what he muttered to his Momma.
Martyn is the son of Michael Smith, who is the son of Ann Macey
Colin Macey came because he is the driver and we needed someone to help carry all the folders and scrap albums - at least that's what he said. He enjoyed sitting and talking to the familoy he married into although he had no idea how big that was because I told him I am an only child. This is true, I just come from a big family
Some of the younger generation had never met their cousins. Ava Holloway is one of those. Her Momma is Sophie who is the daughter of Amanda, who is the daughter of Bernard Baggott, who is the son of Muriel Baggott, who is the daughter of Frederic Gibbon and Margaret Annie.
Sometimes a wee boy needs a moment of contemplation - or perhaps he was just waiting for the stars to stop circling his head. Bleddyn spent his afternoon crawling under the tables then trying to standup and banging his head on the metal framework. This made him see stars and deafened us because he screamed for his Momma. Once he had done this twice he realised he had his Momma's undivided attention. He probably had a real headache when he got home. He is brother to Anwyn
Kelly Alicia Smith is sister to Martyn. She rearranged her shifts in work to make sure she could be at the reunion. We all like this dedication to family.
Rhiannon and Danielle Williams are the daughters of John Stewart - see paragraph two for the lineage. With them in this picture is Hayley - I believe it is Hayley who is the partner of Kristian who is the brother of Rhiannon and Danielle.
Rebecca Chambers is the daughter of Kathryn Chambers who is the Daughter of cousin Jacky. This makes Kathryn the sister of John Stewart and Richard. There are small people in this picture but I am a little muddled with their names. They are all on the family tree and if anyone wants a copy of the details then just email me
MAndy is the wife of John Stewart and I think that the pretty young lady sitting next to her is Emily, one of Mandy's grandchildren
The little gentleman on the right of this picture is Zac, I know this because he told me. He is a grandson of John Stewart so is descended from Frederic Gibbon and his second wife Mary Clode
Even though cousin Katherine Susan Powell couldn't join us because she had tonsilitis we still had a cake to celebrate her birthday. We send get well soon messages to Katherine
Bernard Baggott showed us that even great grandfather's still have the knack of soothing babies to sleep. He is holding one of his great grandsons. Bernard is the son of Muriel Baggott as I said above.
Here Admiral Lord Bluefunnel photo-bombs Pat White, daughter of Muriel Baggott and Annette Jeffrey Smith, mother of Martyn and Kelly.The lovely hair in the foreground belongs to Charley Baggott, granddaughter of Bernard.
There were 50 people in that room and we didn't manage to get clear pictures of them all. Next time we will set up a group photograph and then try and get everyone looking at the camera at the same time. It was a good day even if the Skype didn't wotk. We are now exploring the intricacies of Skype software so that next time ... next time it will be HUGE, you'll see.
