When you move to a different district, or town, or maybe even a different county it’s often difficult to maintain the contact with family & friends that you’d otherwise have. It’s harder by far when you’ve moved to a different country altogether. They say it’s the age of cheap travel nowadays courtesy of Messrs. Ryanair, BMiBaby et al but to be honest, it’s still an expensive ‘do’ when you factor in the hiring of cars, fuel, nights out, shopping for the family ‘neccesities’ back home…We went back to Blighty the weekend before last to help celebrate a good friend’s 50th birthday. We met up with loads of pals there and enjoyed a night of drunken debauchery (or so I’m told…) before driving back down to Yorkshire to see my parents and sisters, and their new husbands. We also surprised another set of old pals by upsetting the game of cards they’d been happily arguing over before we arrived on their doorstep. A very pleasant evening ensued before we departed in the early morning for Stansted and the delights of the unfathomable level of security recently implemented there. Even Ryanair are complaining about it. It’s only this one airport in the UK that’s paranoid to this level. Anyway, not even that could dampen the warm, fluffy feeling of seeing loved ones again, only the thought of when we’d next be in a position to see them all could do that.
You see, my two sisters both got wed this year. They’ve both been engaged to the same pair of lovely lads for quite some time, and we’d been urging them to tie the knot for ages before they announced the dates. They chose last year to announce the dates. The very year we said ‘au revoir Angleterre’, the year we took our big plunge into the unknown. Both in the same year, one at the beginning of our busy period, and the other as the end of it! Inconsiderate pair, eh? Anyway, they’re both happily wed now, and we do keep in touch. We’re very close in our family, and always have been. The Internet is a marvellous tool for keeping in touch, and my younger of the two sisters devotes quite a bit of time to it instead of being a receptionist within a very busy General Practice. She then prints off my missives to circulate around the rellies! We’ve also started writing letters, yes, proper letters with joined up writing and stamps and everything. We’re now probably in danger of being soundly beaten when we do get back to the UK, as we’re making people write back too. Properly. Honestly, I’d spend hours sat at my PC communicating electronically with a mate who lived over the road! Seriously! We met them at the birthday bash last weekend too, and they said the same. How ridiculous is that?
Anyway, in this modern-day age of Internet, txtspk, and skype (‘Google’ it…), I received a text from the older of my two sisters, asking me to call her tonight. Nothing was wrong, but could I give her a ring? So, after the usual Wednesday rush of dropping Niall off at footy practice, then rushing back to pick up Syb & Hannah in order to drop them off 6 miles in the opposite direction for Classe de Danse, I gave my sis a call. I couldn’t spare her the time to chat for ever, as it’s Wednesday, and I had to remind Liam to put the quiche & pizzas in the oven (Wednesday night is quiche & pizza night) before rushing off to pick up Niall from footy practice and drop him back here before rushing off again to pick up Syb & Hannah from Classe de Danse. You’re still with me, right? Then we had no diesel, so we had to go to the garage because there won’t be time at 7:15 in the morning when I’m taking Hannah to Collège in Saumur for 8am, before doubling back to drop Niall off at École in Longué for 8:30. We have to do this otherwise Niall wouldn’t get to school as the bus picks him up while we’d be almost at Saumur….Anyway, I’m going to be an uncle. I’m very, very happy about that.
Until next time,
Au Revoir.
TBC.
All content © Le Chant d’Oiseau, 2006.
A Tyke's Travels 