A family reunion

 Easter weekend saw 76 members of our extended family gather in Greymouth on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Home for the older generation of cousins and somewhere most of our kids had never been! 

On Friday afternoon we set up the hall. What could have been a big job was made easy when people just kept arriving and we ended up with an old fashioned working bee going. The men got to work putting  the tables up and the women got to work in the kitchen.  Some things never change :) When all was set up it was a quick dash back to our motels for a shower and change of clothes, then back to the hall for our 'meet and greet' evening.

We had hired a church hall and were very impressed with all the facilities provided. Because it was Good Friday we had fish and chips, hot cross buns and whitebait on the menu. This was supplemented with fruit platters and small cakes, with wine, beer and soft drink as well as tea and coffee. One sister, who shall remain nameless, ordered a slab of cake, thinking she would get something big enough for everyone to have a small piece each - it came in a wooden box and took up the entire back seat of her car! She'll take a while to live that one down.

We had a lot of fun that evening, meeting family we hadn't see for decades in some cases and also meeting their kids and grandkids. People had brought their photo's along as well as other articles of interest, the family bible, some iron ore from a mine our ancestors worked in England - the owner had smuggled it out of the mine when she went to see it. The family tree was there for anyone to take copies of and the family historian had interesting letters and other papers to look at. We decorated with daffodils and flags, Granma's favourite flowers were daffodils and Grandad's nickname was Flags, so we thought it was appropriate.

When people first arrived they took a balloon off the stage and had to find the person whose name was on the name tag. I was a bit iffy as to whether the men would take part but I think most of them found a kid and did it with them, that way it wasn't really them playing with balloons :) I loved seeing the big age range. I think the youngest was about 7 years old and my Aunty was the eldest at 86. At the dinner on Saturday night she told us all there was one week and one month between her and Mum, what she meant was one year and one month. We all had a good laugh over that. That's her below with balloons all over her wheelchair. We were all very proud of her as she had a stroke earlier in the year but managed (was determined) to attend most events for at least part of the time.

At 9:30pm when it was time to go everyone pitched in again and it only took about an hour or so to clear everything away and make our way to our beds. Well, those with kids headed to their beds, my branch of the family met up again in my youngest brothers motel and we spent a couple of hours reminiscing and catching up with each other. Two of us live in NZ and the other two who were there are living in Australia, and two didn't make it. My daughters and their families didn't join us either as they had to drive quite a way to where they were staying. We socialised with them later in the weekend. And that completed our Friday night.

Did I say it poured with rain all day and night on Friday? Well Saturday morning when we were due to go to the cemetery to put flowers on our grandparents grave we were still being blasted with torrential rain, the tail end of Cyclone Cook. Those of us who grew up on the coast weren't at all fazed as this sort of rain is quite normal for the area but I think one or two of the younger ones wondered what had  hit them. We had a good turnout of people at the cemetery, mostly the older cousins as we were the ones who spent time with our grandparents, but it was nice to see some of the younger ones there as well. And as you can see, although it was grey and cloudy the rain stopped and the weather continued to get better and better as the day wore on.

My eldest cousin (the family patriarch) said a few words 

and we had a minute silence before  we all went our 

different ways for the rest of the morning.

My GKB and my son and daughter in law and I all went down to the beach which was just below the cemetery. It was cold and blustery but it was nice to relax and take a walk before we all gathered again at Shantytown after lunch. My son takes some quite arty photos and I followed him trying to get the same shots - but mine are not arty at all :( 

And Shantytown is going to have a post of it's own, 

so I think I will stop here and continue another day.

That's more than five photo's and probably not quite

 five minutes of reading but I'd still like to take part in:

Five on Friday

********

I would also appreciate prayers for my little mother as she has been staying with me since Easter and is on complete rest. We travel to Hamilton on Monday for a CT scan (don't ask) and the plan at the moment is that they will send us home again on Wednesday then send us another appointment to go back for her heart operation. We are praying the operation will be done while we are in Hamilton without the need for another trip. We live in Dunedin in the south of the South Island, Hamilton is in the middle of the North Island and we will be travelling for about 4 hours. Many thanks.

preparing for a reunion

Just over two years ago my little mother's sister died and so of course there was a family gathering at the funeral. Afterwards we had a 'family only' gathering at one of the cousins homes where it was decided that we needed to get together for a happy occasion for a change and just enjoy each others company. Who to organise it we all wondered? 'Well Diana, you are the only one here who is retired so you could do it'. Silly me, in the excitement of the moment I said yes. 

Mum on left and two of her sisters

There were six siblings in Mum's family, one boy with five sisters. Two families in a way as the first world war interrupted family life as it did for so many. Only my little mother and her younger sister are left and unfortunately they are both in indifferent health. Little mother will be unable to attend as we need to travel and my aunty will attend what she can, if she can. We are going back to where most of us grew up - HOME :)

Eventually we formed a committee of sorts which made decision making easier (and didn't leave me with all the responsibility).

So...where to start? Put up a facebook page someone suggested, then we can all chat. So I did and we did. It's been more and more fun as more people joined and started sharing some of their old photos and making suggestions. And contacting each other again. Some of us haven't seen each other for over forty years. And some of us are still to meet. 

 A venue was decided on and just a month or so back the menu was agreed. I made up a welcome pack and that was sent out a month ago. We have people coming from Japan, Indonesia and Australia as well as around New Zealand. We decided to try and get a group concession for Shantytown, which is a replica pioneer village just a few miles from where we are gathering. Family friendly and the kids of all ages can see how our grandparents lived, ride an old steam train through the bush and go gold panning. I think it will be a bit shocking for some of the youngest generation - no electricity, no ipads, long drop toilets :) Oh well. This is still a work in progress, the concession seeking, but I delegated that job to one of my sisters.

As a surprise I have printed off copies of the family tree and will give it to each family at the meet and greet on the Friday night. It dates back to 1775 and covers 8 generations with another 2 or 3 generations at this end to be added in. No I didn't research it, another family member did and I'll give her the credit on the day.

We have been sorting photos and asked people to bring their own or any items they might think will be of interest to the rest of us. My GKB has been making a photo board and this is him working on

 PB Mk1 or photo board mark 1. I think it is on it's third incarnation at the moment. That's okay, it'll be done in time. All we have left to do is print some photos and get ourselves over there with our carload of gear. 

 I'm looking forward to it but have to admit there have been times that I've felt quite daunted and overwhelmed, but that is all behind me now :) So it's almost time to relax and just go with the flow.

Enjoy your week,

Diana

World War One commemorated.

On this day when we are commemorating the beginning of  the First World War, 100 hundred years ago, I would like to honour all those men and women who went to war and fought in such dreadful circumstances. So many never came back, so many young men lost and who never really had a chance to live.

My Grandfather did come home, he told Granma he would be back, before he left, and he kept his promise. He sailed on T.S.S. Aparima on Feb. 16th, 1917, with the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces. He was a volunteer, he could have stayed home and waited for his call up papers because he was a married man with a family - but he didn't. I admire him and others like him so much. He fought in the trenches of the Somme, at Passchendale. They suffered unimaginable hardship that we can't really comprehend in this day and age. 

This was supposedly the 'war to end all wars', little did they know that in just over 20 years the world would once again be plunged into another devastating conflict.

 I honour them. 

Corporal H.B. Gifkins
before embarkation

St. Paddy's Day

I remember as a child quite a fuss 

being made about St Patrick's Day.

Especially about wearing something green.

Grandad especially used to have us on about it,

 just in a joking sort of way.

Maybe it's because we lived in what I always

 think of as the catholic part of town.

There was always a St Patrick's Day concert in 

the evening in the school hall which was just down the road,

 alongside the schools, the church,

 the convent and the Marist brothers.

We were one of three protestant families in the street 

but no-one cared, least of all the kids.

So tomorrow I will wear a little piece o' green...

and remember St Patrick, and  my Grandad...

 and think a little of my childhood days.

A happy St. Paddy's Day to you all.

Diana

a good GRAND weekend

Well spring is sprung and the spring flowers are beginning to put on a display, but only beginning to. The temperatures are still down there in winter mode - it is almost midday and only 7.5 at the moment. The jonquils have been out for several weeks and continue to put on a show, the trees are bursting into blossom and look lovely, I have a feeling I will miss the best of them while I am on holiday - we have a lot of blossom trees on the grass verges around town and they are beautiful when they come into flower together. I need to get out for a walk and have a look at peoples gardens in the next few days. If only the wind would drop, it's coming off the snow...

Last weekend was a weekend for catching up with all of my gorgeous grandchildren - all those who live in the vicinity anyway. A bit hard to catch up with the two based in Wellington and Japan but it was still a good GRAND weekend. Friday afternoon brought a text, C. wants to go to youth group tonight, can you pick her up please and can she stay the night. So of course I said yes and went in to town to pick her up about 4 in the afternoon. In the car we had a good old chat about what she is doing  and how she is enjoying her first year at secondary school.

  The next morning youngest grandgirl was playing netball and had her prize giving a couple of hours after her game so she arrived with her mother to have lunch with us before they went back up to the hall. I have to confess I haven't been to the games so much this year, what with everything else I've had going on. Sometimes Saturday is the only time to have a lie in.

On Sunday morning it was time to go up the hill and pick up the two youngest grandboys and bring them over to Sunday School. Then to Granma and Grandads for lunch where we are always joined by Great Granma as well. Grandad (the GKB) always makes hot scones for Sunday lunch in the winter and always checks on who is likely to arrive at lunchtime before I leave for church, so that he makes enough There could be up to 10 or 11 if everyone decides to come. Hot scones and 'red' jam, yuuummy. The grandboys get very disappointed if by chance Grandad decides to do something different. Then after lunch we settle down for some family news (?gossip or sharing?), watch some telly and play some games with the two wee boys. Since Granma and Grandad do NOT have any electronic games they have to amuse themselves, either by watching telly, or playing outside when it is warmer, or not so warmer as the case may be. Lately though they have discovered the joys of board games and are really quite enjoying things like snakes and ladders, pick up sticks', old maid and draughts just to name a few. It has been fun teaching them, although old maid is not much fun when you have just turned 5 and somehow you keep ending up with THE card at the end of the game. 

On Sunday afternoon another text, can I give C. a lift home because blah, blah. I have to say I didn't receive this text with a lot of grace but as it turned out it gave me an opportunity to catch up with beautiful eldest grandgirl and her boyfriend. Of course I had to then be introduced to the newest additions to her menagerie - she now has a couple of rats and several mice, having sold her rabbits and guinea pigs. Oh, there are also a couple of cats in the household and previously there has been a young dog who bounced around all over the place and who now lives on a farm!  All of the grandkids have had a variety of pets over the years and eldest grandgirl has also helped with riding for the disabled. So a really good grand weekend it turned out to be.

I see a daffodil from my kitchen window!

oh well, back to work again ...

Holidays are over and it's back to work again, oh well, that's life.

I did a lot of walking while on hols, also did a lot of sitting on the bum getting from here to there and back again. We ate a lot of rich food as well, yummy. Night one, out for a meal with the rellies, chicken casserole and fresh veges then fresh fruit sponge pudding and ice cream. Night two, out with more rellies, whitebait patties and salads followed by cream cake and strawberries. Night three a barbecue with another set of rellies - home grown venison, chicken legs and nelson oysters with the usual salads to go with it. Fresh fruit and cheese and coffee or tea. And those who wanted it washed everything down with a wine or beer of their choice each night. Lots of fun and laughter all around.

It was a wonderfully relaxing time, we detoured off the main highway and visited the little village under the mountains where Grandad was born and where his father ran a wool scour. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we had hoped to get into the museum there as there are quite a few family artifacts there but unfortunately it was closed. Still we took some photo's anyway.

At our destination we visited the old family home, well where the old family home used to be, it is now a block of pensioners flats and the street has become really rundown and needs a bulldozer through most of it. Sis met a girl who she played with as a pre-schooler and now they are going to keep in touch, they were good friends for years.

Back home again and sis and I went walking along the Silverstream one morning, it was so hot we were pleased to get back to the house for a refreshing drink. We talked so much we didn't really notice how far we were going but turned around at the main road and came back again. She's away back to Aussie now, via Wellington.

I have also been back on the bike again but the GKB keeps putting it back in the bedroom, especially if he thinks we are going to have visitors. Not good. Not good at all if I am to ride it - it can't make me feel guilty if I can't see it.