Invasion of the Relatives!

Welcome to update number three of my journey! Things have finally settled down over here – the family has gotten used to us, the dogs don’t bark when we knock on the door anymore, and the cat has taken to giving me friendly head butts rather than violent slashes of the paw. It is a good feeling to be accepted.

The weather has cooled down significantly over the past few days. When we arrived, it was hot, sticky and humid. Now, if I step outside, there is a bitter winter breeze blowing about on what should be a warm, partly-cloudy summer day. Luckily, I am prepared with one jacket and one sweatshirt so my only worry is being accused of wearing the same blessed thing everyday. (Hardly a worry in my books!) It gets me wondering why, if animals are *generally* most comfortable at around 22 degrees, it is that our planet always seems most content at overly cold temperatures as in the case of England, or unbearably scorching hot temperatures like in Ontario. I guess that is a question to be “put to the void” as Meg Ryan once said.

Two days ago my dad and I went over to Sutton Coldfield to visit my aunt Lois and uncle Phil. We had intended to go by train and change over at Birmingham station. Unfortunately, the line was under construction for the weekend thus cutting off our direct connection to Sutton Coldfield. In the end, we were transferred to a city bus that took us relatively close to our destination, and had a nice walk to Lois and Phil’s place from there.

To our surprise, what started out as a four person gathering soon turned into a massive family reunion! It started with my cousin Suzie paying a visit as she had heard my dad was around. (She hadn’t heard the news that I had come along as well.) When I opened the door for her as she entered the house, both of us almost fell over at seeing each other so unexpectedly. It was a real laugh! Apparently, she and her boyfriend Simon will be buying a new house in a couple of months; a pretty, detached place with a sunroom, finished kitchen, and very comfortable sitting area. I think she will be very happy there.

(On the topic of real estate, I always feel sorry for the British because their houses cost twice as much as ours at home. I doubt anyone save a millionaire could purchase one of those monster homes up near the mall if N—t were Britain. And from what I’ve heard, houses in P.E.I. are half of what houses cost in Ontario. Imagine what the average Brit could buy there!)

Next, we heard a gaggle of voices on the driveway that I thought was the neighbours. It turned out to be my dad’s youngest sister Sheila, her husband Paul, and their two young daughters Kirsty and Mary. I had a wonderful time playing ball with the girls in the backyard, and watching Mary jump around in Phil’s new swimming pool. When I asked them if they remembered me, I received a unanimous ‘yes’ which threw me off. I asked my dad how they remembered and he said that Sheila often makes to a point to talk about my dad and his family in order to keep the memory fresh. I think that is absolutely lovely.

Last of all, my other cousin Amanda drove all the way up from Cornwall for six hours to see us before we headed back to grandma’s house. Before we left, the two of us had a sporadic sing-a-long in her room – she played the guitar and sang, and I provided the crummy back-up vocals – while I looked through her photos taken in Cornwall and Spain.

To change topics completely, yesterday was the final day of the World Cup. I heard by word of mouth that Italy won, so little Italy downtown is sure to be going wild with excitement. Nevertheless, I think France had an excellent shot and it is impossible to say that one is better than the other, especially since it came down to shoot outs. It has been really amusing to see Britain’s reaction to the loss of its soccer team – soccer kits that were probably in the forty dollar range have dropped to less than five bucks, lonely looking flags drape sadly over the odd car and house, and Ronaldo bashing is on the lips of every soccer fan for his giving Rooney the red card (I doubt it would have made a difference to England’s chances anyway).

So here I will end off – today I will drop in on Christine and David for tea, and tomorrow I am off to see my great aunt Jackie and her son Anthony. Should be fun!