Family Twig #1

Lilian, Grandma Reid, Nancy, Albert, Evelyn, Kath, Rose (Circa 1962)

Last Friday I went to my Auntie Nancy's funeral in Risca. The service was held in the local Methodist Chapel, and riled me considerably. My religious intolerance is getting out of control nowadays, I found the sing-song manner of the vicar's delivery really irritating, he sounded like he was reading something on Jackanory, which just emphasised the fairy tale nature of the scriptures even more. As if they needed to be made more fantastical. I didn't like the potted history he gave either, this kind of thing has no real relation to the life lived, and verges on being insulting. There were refreshments afterwards at the local bowls club. This was much more fitting, a tiny little bowls pavillion, with meat paste sandwiches, sausages on sticks, battenburg cake, and cheap beer on tap. There were honours boards on the walls recording the annual local bowls champions back to 1926, and there was a genuine sense of community, which I haven't felt in London, ever. There was history too, as the womens honour board only started in 1978, proof if required that feminism even infiltrated valleys life.

I thought I might start some kind of family tree type thing, while there are still folk around to re-call the potential participants. Julian mentioned that when the sisters have finally made their way from this world, these family events will cease to exist. Indeed there were only two sisters in attendance, the other two being too sick.