Catching up with the Family...

Sometimes, you wait to see friends and family. Sometimes you don't. Sometimes, it's years before you see them, and this is my case

I haven't seen some of my family (my mother's side) in just over 30 years. And it's been several years (14 years if you don't count Bali) that I have been overseas. So when these two facts come together in a jam packed European Tour,

Kelly!

there are definitely some surprises.

I first met my cousins when they came to Australia, or I went to the U.K.. I can't actually remember which one it was, but the last time I saw my second and third cousins (I'm staying with my cousin Brian in Harlow, Essex) was in 1985. That's over 31 years ago! And I was very excited to see them, their lives and their families.

So here I am, at Heathrow Airport, and I have a big smiling, the "I can't believe that he's here" face on (just like I had on!) and I saw here grow up in front of me. Same smile, same voice, just older, like I was. Big hugs, walk to the car, then the hectic drive from Heathrow to Harlow.

Lindsay!

The plan was surprise the rest of the family at a dinner the next night if I'm correct. And I think that this did happen. I am writing this in the past tense because it's been quite a while since I actually did something on this blog! The rest Sarah's immediate family came over her house for dinner. I had been communicating with her mum and her sister for the past few weeks, but never actually told them that I would be coming over.

Here I am in the backyard, with Sarah's boys (Ben and Louis), checking out their homegrown foods (tomatoes, greens and the like) when Sarah's mum and dad walk in. A surprise happened, and then her dad realised who

Young Benjamin and I pulling faces

I was. Another bunch of handshakes and hugs. Then her sister and her husband popped in, and the similarities started to flood back. Same faces, just we were all a bit older and wiser (well... with me, I'm not so sure I'm wiser...)

Having a tonne of memories flooding back, with a great home-cooked dinner, and stories of old that are new to you, was quite an experience. I honestly didn't think that I would see these people again, but if I did, it would have been with walking sticks, pushers, and maybe a wheel-chair or two.

Louis and Sarah! And me making faces at them!

After meeting Rachel (Sarah's older sister) and her hubby, and seeing their mum and dad after so long, I felt (and still do) very blessed. To see my cousins, grown up and doing well. It made my heart smile

That was the first two... The second two were a couple of weeks down the track.

Kelly and Lindsay were another two female cousins (7 in total, all girls, which is quite the opposite from the family in Australia, as we had 5 boys) that I enjoyed spending time with when I was over in 1985. Walking to their mum's house, I turned to Brian and asked if I had been here before. Unbeknown to him, he didn't know that I actually did come to the house of his sister June in 1985. I was walking up to the house, thinking "I remember that wall...? I think we nearly all fell off the damned thing when we were kids..." I was told a certain "no, I didn't bring you here...", which was true, but HE didn't bring me here, his mother did - and then I walked into June's place...

I couldn't turn this the right way up, but...
Emma, Kelly, Lindsay, me, Rachel
Sarah and Sally...
30 years ago

BAM! I recognized the place immediately. Then I saw a little girl who I could've mistaken for a younger Lindsay, but was actually Kelly and her husband's little daughter Connie, and her younger brother William was running around with her. Memories flooded back again. Lindsay, Kelly, my younger cousin Brett, all running around screaming, being nuisances to the older family members (well we WERE 10 years old or so!). I looked at Kelly and saw the little girl. Her husband actually lived in Mandurah (where I was staying before I left to go on my wild adventure)

So... after some interesting chit chat to find out what they are doing now, what they have been doing the LAST 30 YEARS, we had a light lunch, and I then had a sweet little Connie come up to me and say "your my Australian..." and then going up to her cousin Charlotte and saying "this is my Australian!". After a bit of a explanation, I then heard "oh Charlotte, he's your Australian too!!!"

It was wonderful to see them. All of them young and old. I still have a few other relatives to catch up with, and I am sure I will catch up with them over the next few weeks... or months. I have another 3 to catch up with later. 

Keiran and Nicola!

I did catch up with my cousin Steven and Deb, who both have 2 wonderful kids each. Steven and Gail have Keiran and Daniel, and Deb and Ian have Oliver and Georgia (funny story there, let me tell you!) So I caught up with Steven first when he came over with his youngest Daniel. Jeez, you could tell that Daniel was his! Good looking blokes! They invited me a bit earlier in the piece for a good look at some beer inside their cricket club, and a view of the rugby, in which their English Rugby Union team whitewashed us on our home turf in Australia. After a few pints and a good ribbing of sports, we retired and I came back with Brian (Steven and Deb's dad, where I was staying) to hit the old sack. 

Later on in the week, we went to Steven and Gail's to say hi, just before I had to head out to the Beat-Herder Festival in Sawley the next day. I got to meet Keiran and his lovely girlfriend, who both live in Belfast. Again, very like his dad, a big fine strapping lad. Loved a good joke and a good laugh.

Keiran, Gail, Steve, Nicola and Daniel

Ver' Lads!
Brian, Keiran, Steven, me and Daniel

I also went and met Deb and Ian, after 30 years, and I had grown up. The last time I saw them, they were just married I think. Now I met Oliver and Georgia. Good looks run in the family I tell ya! Oliver is a good looking lad, smart too, and his gorgeous younger sister Georgia, who, I found out to her description, is a very "high maintenance" girl, who loves what most young 21 (now 22 years old) like. But this is where it gets a bit awkward, and I am going to rib them on this whenever I can...

I get told that Oliver has a long time girlfriend... Called Georgia...

And then I get told that Georgia has a long time boyfriend called... Oliver...

Confusion reigns. A bit weird for me, but they seem pretty comfortable about it. I was recently talking to Deb and Brian, and they had to put a letter behind each of their names, or say "our Oliver" or "our Georgia" or something like that, which I cannot get my head around. Luckily I don't have any brothers and sisters... I don't know... In the throws of passion... screaming out your sibling's name??? How about if they are in the next room, like on holidays or something? And how about in emergency situations? When you have a partner, and their name gets yelled out, you kinda look around too, right? So in this case, you would get four heads turning around and looking at you!!! But all four of them are very good looking and doing very well for themselves... Smarty pants!

Now if you four are reading this - sorry! I'm an Aussie and I will poke you forever more! HA! But I did say you were smart!

So until my next blog... 

Cheers!

Waz