Blame It On The Cider!

Our day yesterday of loafing around Wolverhampton was balanced out today with a trip to Ashby where my dad's cousin Anthony and his aunt Jacky live. Although I find it hard to remember them, I have a few faded but fond memories of Jacky from when she visited Canada in 1998, and Anthony turned out to be a barrel of fun. We took the train from Wolverhampton station all the way to Burton on Trent with the necessary stopover in Birmingham before being picked up by Anthony and taken to his house. I think the single most appropriate word to describe the house would be "rustic". In the kitchen were ruddy pine countertops and cupboards complimented by deep leaf green wallpaper. The sunroom looked out on a backyard filled with bonsai trees that Anthony has cared for as long as I've been alive. Beside the kitchen, the living room, snugly tucked to the side of the kitchen, was brightened by a selection of lovely portraits and antique furniture. In short, it was my dream house, though me being me, I doubt I'd be able to take care of it!

My deluded dreams of owning such a place, however, only lasted an hour or so since we had to be heading off to aunt Jacky's house to pick her up for tea and lunch. (Yes, I know, us Brits are always drinking tea! It's good for our health!) Although she has lost most of her sight, Jacky was in excellent spirits and the four of us enjoyed a very unique meal each at a pub called The Beaches. Mine was a lasagna special, followed by an apple pie with thick British custard - a tasty addition since we tend to only get vanilla ice cream with our pies in Canada. Unfortunately, we had a small scare at the restaurant when Jacky had a little fall down the stairs after losing her balance. Although I was holding her arm, I could not help her because I have arms like toothpicks. Thankfully, Jacky wasn't hurt and it turned into a joke that lasted for the remainder of the day (apparently, I'll never live it down, though part of the blame was placed on the alcideric cidar we both had!). After the drama at the restaurant ended, we went back to Jacky's house to see Anthony's son Jeremy, who had stopped by briefly after work, a nice end to the day before catching the train home.

I also had my first little adventure away from my dad yesterday! I challenged myself to find my way to Christine and David's using only a shoddy map drawn by my dad. It wasn't really a challenge considering I've made it around Japan basically on my own but nevertheless, I always figure it is important to get to know an area yourself no matter how simple. Anyway, I made it, and was given some really interesting facts about my ancestors from Christine who, as I have mentioned before, is currently absorbed in tracking down our family line. For instance, the White family on my granddad's mother's side was an extremely wealthy and important family in the Coldfield area back in the 1800's. We even have a picture of one of the White gentlemen - my great, great grandfather - leading a parade. I think Christine is going to make a copy of some of the record for me to leaf through, and if I get the time, I will be curious to look up my mum's side of the family. We'll see how it goes!