WHEN FRUIT FALLS FROM THE FAMILY TREE

Mum and Dad's enthusiasm for researching the family tree yielded, among a dizzying array of charts showing a whole phalanx of long gone relatives, the fulfillment of a desire to reconnect with parts of Dad's extended family, with whom he had lost touch many decades before. So Mum & Dad hot footed it to Sydney in September for a week of catching with these relatives including Dad's cousin, Jean, a thoroughly delightful lady who lives in Woolloomooloo, and couldn't have been more warm and welcoming. She hosted a number of get togethers, including a couple I was able to get to, and I got to meet a whole new section of the family which was wonderful. Jean's daughter, Jenny and her husband, Michael, put Mum & Dad up, and were brilliant to talk to, even going so far as to adopt me as their Sydney son, since both their kids are now away from the Emerald City. I also saw my own cousins, Ngaire and Moirag (the daughters of one of Dad's sisters), very briefly, and the plan for 2006 is to get to know them much better. After years of a small circle of, admittedly wonderful, immediate relatives on my Mum's side, it has been delightful discovering all these extra family members, and I certainly hope life, busy though it is, allows me the time to get to know them better.