family…

A large number of the ‘Broadway’ family (perhaps nearly 50 of us in all?) gathered on Saturday to celebrate (somewhat belatedly) my cousin Janet’s 80^th birthday. As you can imagine, it was a pretty special occasion – a gathering of the ‘clan’ and something that Janet, bless her, was determined to organise on the family’s behalf.
For us oldies (cousins), it all goes back to the time of our grandparents Fred (1887-1964) and Rose (1888-1974) Broadway. They lived in Handsworth, Birmingham and had four children (Irene, Olive, Ronald – my Dad - and Laurie). They, in turn (apart from Laurie who lived in Hastings/Jersey and never married - he was gay, but sadly nobody properly acknowledged this within the family until fairly recent times), lived within a very few miles of the old family home and would gather regularly for Saturday afternoon cake/football results, Sunday teas/parties and, of course, Christmases. We were, and continue to be, a very close family – albeit that subsequent offspring are now scattered around the country.
Over recent years, my cousins (Janet, Lyn, Jackie, Barry and Alan) and I have met up for lunchtime meals in Birmingham on a fairly regular basis (although, more recently, these have been limited by Covid/lockdown restrictions).
 
Janet was keen to arrange a ‘full family gathering’ for her birthday celebrations. As we oldies get older, we’ve certainly become aware that such opportunities are likely to be limited to funerals (probably one of us cousins or our own!)! Moira and our daughters Ru, Hannah and Alice (and me!) were all going to attend Janet’s party (somewhat embarrassingly, I’m not a ‘party animal’ and so, frankly, the prospect of travelling up to the Midlands and back by train - none of us Bristolians any longer drive - for a family gathering was somewhat daunting - especially given Moira’s Parkinson’s limitations). Sod’s Law, of course, intervened… Saturday 5 November was a Rail Strike day and our plans were completely scuppered. We chatted it through and I decided that I would endeavour to travel up the previous day (and return home on the Sunday) and the others would regrettably have to make their apologies. In the event, this proved to be a wise decision because my Friday train journey was somewhat chaotic – crowded train and standing room only for much of the journey). Nevertheless, it was very sad knowing that ‘we’ were likely to be the only family group not to be fully represented (and particularly sad for our daughters – as it was one of the rare opportunities for them to meet up with some relatives they’ve rarely met!).
 
Despite my own, somewhat pathetic (and guilty!), reservations, the party proved to be a brilliant success. It really was lovely to catch up with everyone (oh, how we’ve all grown old!), to reminisce and to share stories. It was yet another reminder of the importance of taking the opportunity to ask all those family questions while people are still alive (again and again, we spoke about “I wish I’d have asked XX about YY, but I never did and so we’ll never know”). Happily, there WERE lots of occasions at the party when someone cast light on matters that, for most of us, had previously been forgotten or unknown. A beautiful case in point was when Janet showed Alan and me a package that our father had sent home from Ceylon (according to Janet) in 1941 - he was stationed in India and what became Pakistan with the RAF in the war – to mark the occasion of the family’s first grandchild (Janet). The package included a pair of beautiful, tiny, hand-made sandals and a simple, cotton dress (see photograph). How thoughtful… and how wonderful that they still survive.
 
Seeing people being photographed in their various groups made me acutely aware of the history we’ve all inherited, the people we’ve become and the adventures/possibilities that lie ahead for all of us (but especially the younger members of the family). Reflections on all the changes, such as: two World Wars; the NHS and health technology; the massive differences in education (eg. widespread university experience); transportation advances (eg. space exploration/air travel!); huge developments in technology (eg. the internet, wireless communications) and SO much more. All those hugely different careers that family members have entered into; the relationships; and the new family members.
What started with Fred and Rose when they married in August 1912 has gone on to produce another four generations (and counting!) of family – something like 38 new lives, by my calculations. We’re all so different and yet we all carry that common bond.