Family

 Gosh, it was wet. It was raining heavily when we got up, and that was destined to last well into the afternoon. We had a quiet start to the day, but we had an event to attend at lunchtime.

Dressed and presentable, we climbed into the car (though a canoe might have been more appropriate) we headed east. The rain was unrelenting and made the conditions deeply unpleasant. We arrived at Cousin Simon and Marie-Claire's after about 80 minutes, at exactly the same time as Jane and Trevor, and then a minute or two later, Sarah and Lucy arrived. We all gathered in the hallway and shed our coats as we greeted each other, along with Alex, Harry, and James, who were already there. 

As we went through to the lounge, we were greeted by Simon and Marie-Claire and the next hour was spent with everyone circulating and catching up with the latest news from each side of the family. The event was to celebrate the (posthumous) 100th birthday of our twin Dad's, John and Peter. (Sarah and Lucy were Dad's younger brother, James' girls).

It was great to hear how well everyone was doing, and nice to see that everyone was looking fit and well. Marie-Claire had laid on an absolute feast. We queued, buffet-style, to. help ourselves to Dauphinoise potatoes, beans, freshly carved ham, salad, cous cous, and heaven knows what else. 

We then settled around their huge dining table to chat and eat. It was a riotous affair with everyone in great form. Simon showed us some photos of himself guarding His Majesty, the King, at an event earlier in the week. He also went on to explain that his son Charlie is putting himself forward for selection within his regiment for some special duties. Sarah told me how well her gallery exhibition went last week and how nice it was to show alongside Gilia.

Jane had brought the Ancestry book that I had prepared for her birthday. This created a great deal of interest, and Marie-Claire would like me to prepare one for her. I agreed, but asked her to provide me with updates regarding her Charlie, Annabelle, and Lizzie.

We finished the luncheon with the mandatory group photo of the cousins. (Now I would point out that Dad also had a sister, and Angela's boys weren't present, so there are six further cousins missing).

After lunch, we gathered back in the lounge. Seats had been brought through, and the TV had been rigged up to a laptop. For the next hour or so, we watched a collection of old Cine and Video films that Uncle Peter had taken over the years. There were clips from our childhood, from various weddings and holidays, and even some brief clips from our wedding.

From a genealogy perspective, Simon is obsessed with our Irish link, and we discussed getting a genealogist who specialises in Irish records to try and crack the current research block we have. I said I would be more than happy to help.

We carried on chatting until people started to drift away and get back on the road. It was about a quarter to six when we left. The rain had stopped, and the sky was clearing. We had a much better drive home than this morning's adventure. We pulled onto our driveway just before seven and settled down for a quiet evening.

It really had been a superb day.