It was a good reunion. Really good. There weren't as many people as we hoped for but those that were there really had a good time and ate a lot.
It was wonderful to see the youngest generation getting to know their cousins and to be able to introduce our beautiful cousin Katherine (Granddaughter of Val) to some of the family was great. She has inherited that aura of serenity that Val had and it soothes and calms people around her. Fascinating to watch the effect and so lovely so see so man family traits passed on. What do I mean? Well, Katherine walks like us. NO really, she has the same walk that Aunty Muriel had and Cousin Pat walks that way as do Yvonne and her daughter Michelle. I am told that I have the same walk and so does Andrea, and now Katherine has too!The first picture shows you the cake you missed - a Costco Celebration cake. There is a beautiful sponge hidden under that frosting and aren't the flowers just superb?
Cousin Colin is NOT doing the actions to the song Y.M.C.A and I don't think he was describing the fish that got away either but it does look really funny. The white-haired person facing him is Cousin Andrew. My Colin is tickling our grandson Matthew, the son of my Michael who is sitting on the floor. Next to him is his youngest boy, Joseph.The fat lady is not singing, honest. I am simply cuddling my new great grandson - Bleddyn Francis - who is just 13 days old and is just so scrumdiddlyumptious. The baby clothes they have these days are just fabulous. Those jeans are so soft. Isn't he just a peach?
The last picture is Cousin Leonard and a decidedly biblical Cousin Andrew putting the world to rights before we packed up all the picture albums and the family history files and adjourned to our house where we sat around the table and talked and ate and drank cups of tea and coffee.
Leonard's daughter Debra managed to join us this time and immediately became overwhelmed with information as the names of relatives long departed were tossed and parried across the table. It was so good to be able to introduce her to Katherine and to little Bleddyn too.These reunions are such a good idea because we don't have to maintain a sombre face, like you do after a funeral and it is good to just sit and talk and revive the old stories. To listen to Cousin Pat as she remembers things her mother told her - Pat is the oldest of us. The only disappointment was that Cousin Colin's laptop took ill and we didn't have the means to Skype our relatives in America or Australia.
All in all a really enjoyable afternoon, made so special by the people who managed to be there. A thank you to
Colin and Ann, Andrew and Jayne, Leonard and Brenda and Debra, Pat and Tony, Andrea and Simon and Emily, Michael and Jane and Matthew and Joseph, Katherine and her lovely baby Michael, Mark, Kerry Ann and Rory and Anwyn and Bleddyn, and my lovely Colin.
I have just realised that while it seemed that there weren't as many people there this time, the numbers are pretty close - 26 including me and that's about the same as last time, so that's even better than I thought. Well done us!!!
