Chapter Eighty Two - 'Our Brighton Family Reunion'

            Having just returned to Kingston at noon, I wanted to write a short account of the weekend’s family reunion in Brighton, to aid our memories of this special occasion.


Friday, 23^rd August

            Coming directly from work in East London, I was met at Brighton station by my cousin Elizabeth and her daughter Isabella (almost eight), who I hadn’t seen for a couple of years. How kids grow up fast! (I also couldn’t help thinking I sounded like my parents, when they’d met someone again after so long – “Oh, how you’ve grown!”)
            We took a short taxi ride to their house, where we were met by Lee, and Max, their blind Springer spaniel. My uncle John was also there, and once the party was complete, we marked the occasion by opening a bottle of red. All the while, Isabella was keen to show me her games on her iPods, reminding me of my mid ’00 years, when I would constantly listen to music (ABBA, much of the time) on my iPod – the games were merely incidental.
            Mum, during my train journey, updated me that she’d be arriving later than planned, as the flight that Richard (her brother) and my cousins, Ani and Tomy, were on, had been delayed by about an hour.
            The initial plan for dinner was to have a buffet at the house, but it soon became apparent that people wanted to eat out. A Japanese restaurant was chosen, and the five of us enjoyed a variety of bites (chicken gyoza, crispy duck skins, and corn tempura amongst other things). I chatted with Isabella about her Ninjitsu lessons – she’s the only Ninja I know.
            Soon I got a call saying Mum had arrived, and so we returned to the house, Isabella piggybacking on me. In a few moments, Mum, Ani, Tomy and Richard came in and hearty conversation ensued – including many funny stories of family exploits; my family is certainly not dull! To think, Mum and her brothers hadn’t been together for three years (and then in less joyous circumstances), so it was time to let the stories flow!
            Just before we left for our hotel (Elizabeth couldn’t host us all), my cousin Matt arrived, with Jo and Emily (who I’d first met at Christmas, now ten months old). Emily recognised me, and stared, giving me a heartwarming little smile.
            The hour was late, and we needed to get to our hotel, the Smart Sea View, on the seafront – “just round the corner”. After what seemed like forever, we reached the hotel and booked in – however, a mix-up meant that Mum and I would be required to change rooms every night, whilst Richard, Ani and Tomy, although paying more, were pretty settled.


Saturday, 24^th August

            The day got off to an unexpected start, with a rather humorous misunderstanding.
            Breakfast at the hotel was served from 8am to 9:30am, so the five of us agreed to meet in the dining area at nine.
            However, after sitting there with our rather basic cornflakes and toast, time ticked on and our companions didn’t show up. With five minutes to go before breakfast time was up, I sent Tomy a text, to which he replied, “We’re here”. Confused, Mum got three more bowls of cereal ready, in case they turned up too late to serve themselves. The cleaning lady was keen that we finished our food and left, so after a few more minutes Mum and I ended up finishing the further three bowls of cereal ourselves. Where had the others got to?
            As we soon discovered, Richard, Ani and Tomy had been waiting for us in the other dining area and were wondering the exact same thing! The room we’d found was for the lower grade of visitor, who weren’t entitled to the cooked breakfast. I’d just thought it was part of staying in a basic hotel!
            The morning was ours to do with as we liked., and so we youngsters decided to leave Mum and Richard to it, and went along the seafront exploring the shops, pier and admiring the view. It was such a pleasant walk, and I really enjoyed getting to know my cousins better. Ani was telling me all about her life and travels. I realised that I, too, had so much to share! It became clear, however, that our lives were progressing quickly, and we didn’t want to leave it so long before our next interactions.
            At the pier I fulfilled a quirky desire to get my photo taken in front of the ghost train ride. I wanted a photo to send to the folks on the Facebook Midsomer Murders forum, to show I was still alive!
            From there we wandered into the town and came upon the museum and art gallery, next to the iconic Brighton Pavilion. They were showing the ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ exhibition, so we took a look around and got totally absorbed in the artistry of the pictures. Ani, for one, was mesmerised.
            We all came back together for a pub lunch, and I got to see Isabella again as Matt showed her a few different card tricks.
            Then after lunch, with the exception of Matt, Jo and Emily, we were shown to the flea market, in North Laine, where I bought myself a second hand Daphne du Maurier book, whilst Mum got me trying on every hat in sight – so it seemed!
            Satisfied with my sole purchase, Mum and I went for a quiet lemonade at nearby Holly’s Kitchen, and chatted, catching up on news and enjoying being together again.
            I’d originally planned to get my book from the hotel (I’d read the Daphne already, only having bought it because of the edition), but instead went to the beach with Mum, where we lounged lazily, until Ani turned up and the three of us wandered slowly  over to Elizabeth’s for her vegetarian curry, Mum and Ani chatting about all things musical, on the way.
            Elizabeth’s vegetarian curry (and chicken wings) went down a treat, and conversation became even more animated, late into the evening. Try as I did to engage, I lost interest when the subject turned to politics, and longed instead to catch up on Casualty with Mum.
            In our new hotel room, a bare dorm with bunk beds – as the sole occupants, we took both the lower beds – we tried to watch Casualty, but both immediately began to fall asleep. (“What happened?”, “Shhh, I’m sleeping.”) The room was more basic than before, with no curtain and no en suite. Still, it would just be the one night here.


Sunday, 25^th August

            This morning the breakfast confusion continued. Despite our realisation that there were two dining areas, and we intended to eat together, we now discovered we needed breakfast tickets – a privilege that Richard, Ani and Tomy had, but Mum and I lacked, sleeping in a dorm. However, after hearing our plight from the previous morning and how we’d always intended to eat together as a family, the lady at reception sympathised and discretely gave us additional tickets. We would eat together after all!
            Again, after breakfast, we divided, and Ani, Tomy and I took another walk along the seafront, going further this time, now seeing the line-up of motorised scooters on display for the Mods’ weekend. Conversation between Ani and myself seemed to come naturally, and I was glad of the time to catch up with her news. Tomy walked alongside, more silent and pensive.
            For the hour or so before lunch, we returned to the North Laine area, to look for things to buy. I came across a tea shop, similar to Kingston’s T2, and couldn’t resist buying a few loose teas – a chai for myself, and a herbal tea called ‘Dozy Girl’ for Mum.
            In a nearby charity shop I reunited with Ani, who was browsing manuscripts (alas, nothing for violin), and eventually showed her the tea shop as well, before the three of us headed to the green outside the Pavilion and chatted further – about Tomy’s art and Ani’s music – before heading to another pub for lunch with the others. However, there was rather loud live music blaring as we ate and attempted to converse with each other.
            We split up afterwards; John and Richard went to an antiques market, and Mum, Ani, Tomy and I went back towards the hotel. Tomy wanted to swim in the sea, but due to the heat all we actually ended up doing was going to the hotel to rest! (Our new room was a large dorm, shared with a few others, but we found a bunk in a little side partition – perfect for us.) Thankfully this time there was a bathroom in our dorm.
            Two and a half hours later we met with Ani and Tomy again and walked back to Elizabeth’s for a final farewell to the group. Isabella was still keen to show me her toys. I was sad to go, but consoled myself that Brighton wasn’t too far away, making another visit perfectly likely. This thought helped.
            Mum and I bought sandwiches (Mum spending only 20p on hers) for dinner, while Richard, Ani and Tomy got an Arabian takeaway. Mum drove us back to the hotel, and sitting outside on a bench on the waterfront, we enjoyed our dinner under the light of the street lamps.
            We concluded our day sitting on the beach itself, gazing at the stars and swapping stories. There was wonder over when we would all be together again, and whether it could be at some future wedding of one of us youngsters, although various individual thoughts made that avenue seem unlikely. But who knows?
            By now, feeling very tired, we returned to the hotel and said goodnight.


Monday, 26^th August

            A bittersweet day. We breakfasted separately at 8:30am, although Richard and Ani came to join us in our back room dining area. Not much was said this morning, and in seemingly no time at all we were saying farewell to Richard, Ani and Tomy as John took them off to start their boat trip (lasting the next few days).
            I didn’t want our time together to end, but life must go on. Soon, after saying a quick prayer of thanks with Mum in the car, I too was off back to London, and she to Devon. It was only a quarter to ten.
            These memories will live on, as will our friendships which, I hope, will grow over time. In the back of my mind I now had ideas of future trips, both at home and possibly abroad, with which I could further cement these family ties.