Madge and Bisket

My great niece Evie using the video technology

 It was my brother in law’s birthday yesterday

He is 73.

He and my sister organised a family meal in a rustic garden 1940’s tent strung with fairy lights and even though it was raining heavily a good time was had by all. 

All my immediate family was there my sisters and their husbands, my sister in law, my two nephews, niece in law and great niece. 

Being on night shift I turned up , briefly at 6pm and I was slightly jealous as since 4 pm a bit of wine had been quaffed and everyone was good natured and relaxed despite the weather.

The talk see sawed on to old memories and my nephews joked that when they were little , it was normal for them, as small kids, to be sat in the car at some pub car park with a bottle of coke and a bag of crisps while mum and dad were “ socialising “ inside. 

Of course their memories were exaggerated for comic effect and the conversations grew wilder with everyone outdoing each other with tales of “when I was a child!”

My totally sober memory out trumped the others when I remember that my sister Janet and I being “babysat” by a family friend Uncle Cliff, a man who had marked learning and physical difficulties after he was kicked on the head by a mule in Egypt when he was four! 

What were my parents thinking, even in those more relaxed days of 1970s parenting ? 

Gawd knows.

My sister Janet then reminded everyone that in the 1980s the same group, that was sat under the canvas yesterday used to meet up for boozy Sunday afternoon meets where, towards Christmas we would make home made videos with a huge, shoulder carried vhs video recorder, loaned from my father’s electrical shop.

The videos would be silly affairs.

My nephew dressed as superman hanging off the back of the sofa with various family members holding pot plants running behind giving the impression he was flying.

The family dressed up in dresses and tinsel miming to ABBA’s Supertrouper 

Silliness and nostalgic memories warmed by time.

I couldn’t stay long. so I left my brother in law’s gift under the table as the cake was being cut and managed  to get to work seconds before I was due to start shift.

I was glad I had picked the gift that I did, one that was sparked by those silly videos of Christmases past without really knowing what the conversation would lead to

I had bought my brother in law a kit for making his own on line tiktok video! 

Happy days

I shall leave you with these two maniacs

My fav tiktok video players

Madge and Bisket