PIECES IN THE JIGSAW

a beautiful may day
trees of pink blossom swaying in the breeze
spring flowers blooming
good to be alive...
today a rare family get-together takes place
round at john n sheila's
to celebrate their fiftieth annie-versary
married since 1958
cor blimey guvnor!
back in the days when everything was black n white
and rationed
back when nobody knew what a hoody was
and certainly never entertained the thought of hugging one
'happy families are all alike
unhappy families are all unhappy in their own way'
so remarked trotsky
at the beginning of anna karenina
as for the wattons-olivers
we are a family less unhappy than unacquainted
as kids me n my little bro
didn't see a great deal of mum's rellies, the olivers
as they lived across the city
and my parents have never been great socialisers
since then
i've lived away from brum for 20 odd years
and our kid feels uncomfortable at such gatherings
steadfastly avoiding them over the years
so it's always been a struggle for us
to remember everybody's name
let alone what they do
their family relationship
or anything significant or memorable about them
now i'm finally getting to see them a bit more often
it's a case of slowly starting to piece together the jigsaw puzzle
for instance
i knew that grandad oliver and his partner mr price
started a builder's merchants back in the thirties
price and oliver (p & o)
which mum bought out of some time ago
leaving us 'disinherited'
i knew that uncle john (oliver) inherited the business
and morphed it into a architectural ironmonger's
which i always thought sounded a bit dull
what i didn't know is that the firm supplies bespoke items
to architects working on prestige projects
like restorations of posh country piles like compton verney
or doorknockers for the posh london flats of movie stars...
vos, husband of my cousin jane's
(very nice bloke)
lives in bromsgrove and commutes 100 miles every day
in his company car
that's 25000 miles per year
the circumference of the earth...
anyway john n sheila are gracious hosts
accommodating twenty or so people in their bungalow
and taking the catering in their stride
'don't listen to what politicians say' john tells me
'watch what they do'
we sit outside in the sun sipping wine
and playing 'hide the teddy' with the woodle
ah - that things could be so laidback
in the watton household!