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Sunday, May 1, 2011

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)

15 comments:

  1. What a wonderful picture you paint with your words - sounds idyllic! (though a little wistfully sad about the breech in the family). I'm with you on meringues all the way!

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  2. Such a fun and festive story. I do miss the big gatherings the older generations used to hold.
    Rinda

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  3. Very evocative storytelling - brings back memories for me of family buffets where my particular highlight was white bread covered in hundreds and thousands which gradually bled their colour into the butter as it melted - YUM!

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  4. What a nice memory and great writing!

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  5. There is nothing like large family gatherings - unfortunately my Great-Aunt recently passed away and she was the queen of all sweet things in our family, despite her freely passing down recipes and plenty of kind advice we have not been able to replicate her wonderful creations :-)

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  6. You tell this story so well - it really comes to life. I remember big family get togethers like this too - at my grans - everyone seemed to be there - from the oldest great aunt to the newest baby. J x

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  7. Tracey, I am delighted that you have joined us this month - it's a pleasure to have you on board :)

    Your story really came to life for me with all the little details and bits I could relate to from my own 70's childhood (funny how "don't bother the adults" doesn't seem to exist anymore, isn't it?). We are a small family too.

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  8. Lovely story and memories, Tracey...I DO enjoy the very rare occasions that the extended family get together!
    Alison xx

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  9. Lovely memories, thanks for sharing them :)

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  10. Such a well told story, and what a shame the tradition doesn't continue.

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  11. Such lovely memories to share:) I can just picture the spread of food!

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  12. Thanks for visiting my blog for my day in photos. I loved the compliment on my feather baby.

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  13. Wonderful childhood memories here...you bring back memories of when I was young and got to spend time with my cousins. We also had a grand time even though, by today's standards, there wasn't much to do. In those days and on my grandpa's farm in particular, you had to make your fun so imagination was key to everything we did.

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  14. What fond memories you've shared with us - every phrase painting a picture for us.

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  15. I miss the large family gathering that we had, oh so many years ago. This is such a lovely story and brought back a few memories for me, which is the wonderful thing about Sian's Story Telling Sunday.

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