Last week Mum had a visit from a close family member not seen for years.

Last week my Mum had a visit from a cousin i hadn't seen for 16 years, i had hoped to speak to her but it wasn't to be but we got to catch up today on Skype. This was an early Christmas treat for me as it was a huge treat for Mum to see her sister's daughter after so long.

When i was young and i can still remember that far back as families grew up the youngsters would start of into the new big world, get jobs meet partners and get married as you did then. Now 30, 40, 50 years later where are we New Zealand, Mozambique and Portugal. Then there are most of the family from Arbroath down to Southampton, over to Wales both North and South and  one near Hereford.

But how has the family and i done?  also anybody i am lucky to be related to down from Ken Dodd my Dad's cousin to those retired in New Zealand and done in life. When i left school i expected that i would be a butcher and i was and get married and have kids usual thing. But jobs what do the family do fr how have well all done. Consultant doctors, nurses, teachers, one in the security service protecting ships passing in the Indian ocean i include in this list in-laws, Very high ranking police, Head Fire officer, Very high  in a Pharmaceutical company, University Professor, Nurse, some owning companies,  one even worked for a company in Texas and lived in the UK " if my memory is correct " , Industrial Chemist i could go on but what i want to show is the way families have developed and moved on in what is now a small world.

 I can  speak to my family over the Internet and we can see each other but what does the world hold for the next generation of this extended family? I have one cousin in Mozambique who is fluent in Portuguese and i struggle with the basic language of my new home. But the next chapter of this family is here already some young babies some new teenagers all wanting to get on in life if you look back this family has done so well " In-laws included " for me it started with my Mum and Dad but it's now down to the new Mum and Dad's of the family to write the next chapter of the history of this family.