Meeting up with relatives

3 January 2015

It’s Saturday. Yes, I know…. you all knew that. But sometimes it’s good to start with the blindingly obvious. At least then we are all on the same page. It is amazing the number of times I find myself saying ‘what day is it?’ in a week. People look at me rather oddly but running your own business sometimes means that you either working 99.9% of the time, or you work a very different schedule to what is deemed ‘normal working hours’. Often weekends are not really all that different to any other day of the week. If the day ends in a Y, I work…. that kind of mentality.

However, on this particular Saturday, it is different. For many people, Christmas is a time for family gatherings. Well, mine are going to continue throughout 2015. This first weekend in the New Year, me and Mr FWL are driving 100 miles (each way) – for those who work in kilometres, that’s 160 (each way) – to meet up with Ma & Pa FWL, my uncle ‘Pedro’ and his good lady, ‘La Belle Marie‘, and my cousin (Andrew) and his partner (Sue). We last gathered late in 2013, from memory, at the same fine hostelry in the PO18 area, shortly prior to my visit Down Under to see Andrew’s sister, Lucy in Sydney. Lots to catch up on and really looking forward to a good ol’ natter.

On my ‘must do next week’ list, I have a note to call a distant Maunder (my maiden name) cousin, who happened to stumble across my blog about George Maunder of Mary Tavy (on 2 February this year – part of the #52Ancestors Challenge). Keith Maunder lives in the next county (Somerset) and I was amazed to receive his call yesterday morning in between my ‘get
back into work mode’ tasks. He kindly invited me to a celebratory event in 2014 but I was unable to attend and so, on Friday 16th January, we have arranged to meet for the first time. Fifth cousins, once removed, or something along those lines…. it will be lovely to meet up with another Maunder relative.

So, who will be next on my list for this year? February holds a visit to/from my best friend from school days – both busy people, we haven’t seen each other for nearly two years – and the diary looks manic in between times with webinars, Hangouts, courses, lectures, articles to write and lord knows what else. Ah well – would I swap back to my old life? Erm, no…. I think I’ll stick with this one, thank you!

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