Story-telling Sunday

Sian from From High in the sky hosts this bloghop every month. I have seen it around but never joined in in the past. Sian's post this month was titled Some days are diamonds and this got me thinking about the days that stand out for me.
When I was a child, my father and his brother had a huge argument and didn't speak for many years (maybe another story telling Sunday post.) As a result we spent very little time with my fathers family, my grandparents would visit us but we never went to my uncles home. That, coupled with the distance they lived from us meant I grew up almost entirely influenced by my mothers side of the family. My mothers father had come to South Africa with his brother in the 1930s leaving the rest of the family in the UK. As a result we were a relatively small bunch, but very tightly knit. We would get together with the extended family periodically, but the main event of the year would be a big family party on the Sunday between Christmas and New Year. Held by my great aunt at their farm, my grandparents, our family, my aunt and family, as well as my mums cousins and their families would all be invited and I guess it was expected for us to attend. Being from a small farming community there were also a few non-family regulars that attended as well. We would always stay at my grandparents the night before & I was very impatient for everyone to get up and get going in the mornings. I was very young, but I remember that there was always so much to do for us kids. Pony rides, tennis, swimming, snooker, darts, they had a slide and climbing frame, we would run wild through the nearby woods and all in all just have an amazing day. There were always lots of kids ranging from babies to young adults. Somebody would always start either a cricket, rugby or soccer game and we would all join in. There was usually a buffet meal and we would just help ourselves whenever we wanted. Of course, being the 70s we were told not to bother the adults and definitely not to eat before the adults. But, I can clearly remember that my great uncle would always give me sneak portions of my aunts divine meringues with cream. Needless to say to this day I am a sucker for eton mess, pavlova or any dessert with meringues in! Unfortunately eventually the older generation got older and no one in my mums generation continued the tradition. I often wish they would have!

For more stories hop over to Sian's blog (link above)