An unprecedented family event

I've been away in Bristol for a couple of days and didn't take any pictures. The continuous rain and overcast skies didn't inspire me, even though I managed to arrange a meeting with DailyKeith on Monday afternoon. He suggested going to a photographic gallery where some Falmouth Art College students were exhibiting their end of year show. It was interesting to see their themed work printed, as well as the many books of their individual collected work. They all seemed to have an Apple computer displaying a variety of work in a showreel of either some stills or some video. The theme was coastal wildlife, but there was a distinct range of interpretation. Keith was interested, as he will be doing a formal photographic course starting in September.

When I got home last night, Helena's mum, Nanno, had arrived to stay with us for a few days, before heading over to the Isle of Wight on Friday, where she will be attending the unveiling of a celebratory plaque. You can read much more about that on Helena's elder sister, Tanya's blip here, which is a fascinating tale of the family history. Tanya is currently living in New Zealand, so she will be pleased to see my blip today, with Helena and her mother in it.

The reason this happened was that Nanno (sitting in the centre of the picture) has recently been in contact with other parts of her family, and Clare (sitting on the left) and Helen (squatting on the floor beside Helena). Hearing that she would be visiting Stroud, they decided to come and have tea with us, by catching a train from London. They offered to bring cakes, so Helena joked about having her favourite Portuguese custard tarts and some macaroons. Helen duly researched where to find the finest custard tarts in London, and duly travelled across to Golborne Road, near Ladbroke Grove to buy some. And fantastic they were too.

I asked Helena to write down something that might explain the complex family links, as it was beyond me. some of her brothers and sisters may be interested to se a family photo from whichever part of the world they are in.

Helen brought out her own camera and asked me to take a photo of them all together, which I was delighted to do. I realised that I could use it to blip today, so here it is.


Helena says:
My first cousin once removed Clare S-S. (nee S-Y.) and my cousin Helen M. (who is also a first cousin once removed?) and my mother and I met up in Stroud today. I hadn't seen Helen since she was living in Athens, and I in the north of Greece, in 1987. It must be at least twelve years since I last saw Clare, in London. To have all four of us in one room was unprecedented and may not happen again, as Helen will shortly return to Alice Springs, after a four year stay in Amman, Jordan, where she has been learning Arabic in order to understand the ways of the Sufis.

PS
For Tanya, who strangely you will find Effie appearing again completely unplanned, after her fleeting hat's appearance in MamaFi's earlier blip.