13

On the 13th day of December, my picture is of the items essential for going to the movies to watch "The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies". We took nephew Taylor, and it was our first experience of the IMAX screen which has been installed in Perth Playhouse.

I'd rather have a good movie than a bucketful of special effects, and I didn't honestly think it was any better than most other 3-D movies I've seen (e.g., not that good at all), but I think we were compromised by having to sit far too near the front, and off to one side.

The story itself was cracking, and I won't say what happened 'cos lots of you will still have to see it. Suffice it to say; tears were shed.

It was a nice end to a good day. Earlier I had taken Mum up to visit my aunt and uncle near Edzell, to deliver Christmas presents. They are both in their 90's, and Uncle Arthur is the last survivor of my father's 21 siblings. Yes, that's right - 21 siblings. His father was married twice, and had 8 children with his first wife, then 13 with his second, who already had a daughter when they married.

My grandfather was in his 60's when he married my grandmother, and she was in here 20's. She had come to be a housekeeper to him, which was a common thing for an unwed mother to do in those days. She wasn't long there before she was pregnant, and they married. My grandfather's oldest child was 56 when he died, and Arthur was only 2 years old.

In a funny twist of fate, for a man who had so many children, my grandfather's male line has just about run out. Of the male children from his second marriage, one died childless in old age; one drowned when only a toddler; one disappeared to England after the war, and was never heard from again despite all the family searching for him. That left my dad and Arthur.

My dad had 3 sons; one has never married and is childless, one married and had 2 daughters, and the third has only one son who I suspect will not be likely to marry or have children.

Arthur had 2 sons, both of whom are married, but neither of whom have children.

Thank goodness for us daughters who procreated without the need for marriage! At least our kids carry our family surname on (although of course my daughter married, and so changed her name). My tallest nephew is really the only hope!

Anyway, Mum and I had a nice visit with them today, and on the way back home we stopped off at a farm shop for a cup of coffee and a wee browse. I think she enjoyed her day, but it was tiring for her again to have been out so long. Luckily the next trip will be to her sister who lives only 15 miles away, so not such an arduous day for her.

Now nephew Taylor is away to bed as he has rugby tomorrow; G is watching some drivel on telly, and I'm going to check our lottery tickets; fingers crossed please!

Night all.