Full moon. Family get-togethers. Relationships and longterm friendships. Family/party unity.

There was a rather splendid moon last night. It wasn’t quite full, but as near as makes no difference. The night, well, the early evening when I saw it, was very clear. Not too far above and to one side of the moon was a star which my Granddaughter Number One informed me was the planet Jupiter. How was she so sure?

We were walking back through the Botanic Gardens in Southport, where we had regathered after a family reunion lunch at a pub not too far from there. It was a chance to let the little kids have a run around before the sun went down. It had been a fine sunny day for a family reunion but as the sun set it grew very cold.

We had to take a picture of our Granddaughter Number One and my older sister’s Granddaughter Number One on a bridge in the Botanic Gardens. Many years ago we took a picture of the two cousins (second cousins?) as small girls with a small friend and wanted to reconstruct the scene, even though the third small girl has moved out of their lives to get on with her own. I have tried to locate the original photo but so far without success. No doubt it will turn up in the nest few days. I did, however, find photos of the two cousins at various family reunions in the past. 

Yesterday:

 

A few years ago:

 

Going back a litle further:

I think this is what they mean by forever friends!

Yesterday’s reunion was coordinated by my niece, aunt of my sister’s Granddaughter Number One. She currently works in Saudi Arabia and has been having a bad year. So she has been home on a sort of sentimental journey, collecting my Spanish sister en route and then organising a get-together. In the process she has been bossing everyone around and probably driving her mother bonkers in the process. 

My Spanish sister brought me a present: Spanish cheese, not a significant or famous Spanish cheese but one she likes from the Mercadona supermarket. I did not have the heart to tell her that on the whole Spanish cheese does not impress me. It’s the thought that counts!

Family get-togethers are always events to be carefully negotiated, a mix of sentimentality, genuine happiness to be together once again and a sounding board for all the grievances that niggle away at us all. This one mostly went well although both my sisters waxed a good deal more nostalgic than I about the museum - if it ever merited such a name - which used to exist in the Botanic Gardens. It’s now a rather tatty cafe and bar which yesterday was setting up lights and a sound system for some mind of  musical event. 

The Conservative Party family are trying not to air their various grievances too publicly with various senior members calling for a show of unity. As Nicola Sturgeon expresses her preference for the Labour Party as her UK government of choice, even though she finds Kier Starmer less than dynamic, the Conservatives must be beginning to feel some pressure to show a united front. Will they make it to the end of the year without imploding? We shall see! 

Today began with clear skies and chilly sunshine but the cloud has been coming and going all morning. The only consistent bit is the chill. I have hung washing on the line to dry, hoping that the wind will counteract the cold. There seem to be enough sunny periods to suggest a proper walk is a possibility. The chances of rain are low. We’ll see how it goes.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!