This is a unique and dramatic situation!

The Descendants (2011)

Right this isn't a review of the film, though in some ways it is. But really it's just a cheap mother's day present.

I'm not sure my Nan found this very funny

This is my Nan and Grandad at their 60th wedding anniversary. My sister and I spent a lot of time at theirs as kids and, as grandparents are want to do, were spoiled rotten. They had a great place to be young at. There was a big quarry with an abandoned car at the bottom and some empty sheds that were fun to play around. Nan would make superb trifles amongst other things. Grandad had ferrets and greenhouses and made wine, things that are still bafflingly alien to me even (or especially) now.

The had two children, one of whom grew up and became

Dad with Jack the most recent descendant of this line, though not for long.

My Dad. I have written of this before, but certainly not on here, my Dad apparently worried that as he worked a lot when I was younger he didn't spend as much time with his kids as he would have liked. I have no memory of a lack. Dad was always a presence, I recall vividly playing between his legs when very small, him lifting his legs up so I rested on the shins and pretended to fly. Even now my Dad is always there for me. If my bath leaks he will make the 2 hour journey to fix it.

My Grandad (though not by blood) and Grannie. As they lived in Germany for much of my life I saw them less than my Dad's parents, though my memories are no less warm. Grandad always seemed to be reading something interesting, I think some of my love for books comes from seeing him read so much. I remember a gift he gave me that was a box that could make a pound coin disappear. He sadly passed away some years ago and I was grateful to receive some of his Graham Greene books, an author I came to by myself a few years before but like to feel there was some connection to an intelligent and interesting man.

Grannie is one of those people who seems to know everyone. She had many children of her own and a large number of grandchildren. We often went on walks to pick blackberries or some such but a large abiding part of the memory is that we would stop by every person we passed for her to chat with. She too instilled a great sense of discovery in books and storytelling in me, creating tales of Bertie the Gnome (i'm going to be terribly embarrassed if that wasn't his name but I have an awful memory for details) to entertain us youngsters.

They raised many children one of whom grew up to give birth to me

I don't know anyone stronger than my Mother (not in the Superman sense, though I'm pretty sure she could beat him up if she wanted). She has been through so much, put up with so much, sacrificed so much and asks for nothing in return. I am awful for forgetting birthdays, special occasions but she doesn't hold that against me. She brought me up to have a sense of what is right in the world (I don't think she is particularly left wing but her sense of decency led me, amongst other things, to being very socially leftist), that someone will always love me no matter how much of an arse I can be. She deserves better but would never say so. I may not have inherited her taste (I'm not sure I can forgive her for liking the Transformers movie) but she allowed me to nurture my own (even if she wouldn't on a summers day let me read in my room - so I would go outside and read sat on my skateboard instead) and always supports my endeavours. 

These are the amazing people I am descended from.