I've just noticed that one of my posts has dropped out of the system so I've had to insert it here, out of order. Oh, well!
As always, I enjoyed the train trip down to Blackpool and waiting for me at the station were Gavin and Shiela. I was pretty confident that I would recognise Gavin, at least, because he had sent me a photograph some time ago. Of course, you can usually suss out who is looking for whom and a little eye contact confirms the connection.
I suppose I hadn't anticipated their accent. Somehow, in my mind, I had expected Gavin to have some relic of his Scottish heritage, which is naive as I have no trace of mine when I speak. Sheila, especially, is quite broad Lancashire. Still, we managed to communicate without too much trouble.
Today, we drove to Heywood to meet my Aunt Nettie and her other two children, Janet and John. My aunt was a delight. We sat and talked for hours, and went through a box of old photos. It was interesting to hear the family history from another perspective and it started to occur to me how much I had missed by living so far from these close relations for most of my life.
I thought Janet was fantastic. She is the glue which holds the family together and I got on well with her husband, Peter. My cousin, John, is the youngest. He has some health issues but worked for 31 years for the same company before being retrenched. He has a girlfriend, also Janet, and I was delighted to meet her as well.
It's true that family relationships are very special and I feel content that I have at last met my three first cousins, and re-acquainted myself with my father's little sister.
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