polarizeme

I’ve officially just spent time with some of the other 85% of my family for the first time in [what I quite recently realized has been] roughly 16 years.

I couldn’t be happier right now.

I already don’t want to go back.

My memories of the village of Stokenchurch have been anything but misleading; Bangalore House, Falcon Court and Pigeon Farm are all exactly as a I remember them on the outside… The insides, however, are another story.

Nan has since moved from Falcon Court and into Bangalore. My uncle Justin and his wife, Rose, have moved into Falcon Court and completely modernized the inside. The stove near the door where the milkman used to leave milk and white cheddar cheese has been replaced by a new fridge - complete with built-in coffee maker. The larger of two living rooms where I used to spend childhood hours watching reruns of Banana Man, Super Ted, Fawlty Towers, Black Adder and Monty Python has been re-carpeted and re-furnished; the old TV has since been gotten rid of.

The gardens of both Falcon Court and Bangalore are absolutely gorgeous; complete with ponds that contain fish the size of my carry-on bag - all courtesy of the 85 year old, suit-wearing gardener named Harry, who has been working for Nan the past 20 years; post retirement.

I got to meet my little cousins Jack, Jasper and India today.
Jack, my aunt Tracy’s 12 year old son, is quite the fellow video game nerd. Unbeknownst to me, there are sometimes differences in video games over here. Nothing really significant either… It’s strange.
According to his mum, he’s quite picky. I also noticed that he’s shy, yet very outgoing and talkative once he’s comfy around someone; sound familiar, friends?

Jasper, 8, entered the scene fresh off school for the day, dressed in full Roman Empire garb. Apparently there was a play at school and he was very much a willing participant. His costume was awesome! My uncle Justin [his dad] had made him a metallic shield and wooden sword in his workshop the night before - scorpion emblem and all.
My favourite quote from an 8 year old boy?
“Cousin Tristan, may I ask you something?”
“of course!” I responded.
“Why is an ancient Roman playing xbox360?”
Followed by a good chuckle from all occupants of the room.

Last, but certainly not least, is India - Justin and Rose’s absolutely adorable daughter. Donning a white and light pink wool coat and pajama pants, she was probably the shyest of all 3 for a little while. Once we headed over to Falcon Court so her and Jasper could show me their rooms, she soon opened up to me by asking if i’d help her beat up her older brother “out of family love”.
I politely declared my position as a spectator and watched as they battled; Jasper armed with a collapsable tent (yes, really) and India armed with a hand-held fan and a small beanbag chair.
I won’t ruin the ending and will, instead, let you play out the possible scenarios in your mind.

I was greeted upon arrival to Stokenchurch with a cry of “duuuuuuude!” from aunt Tracy, followed by one of the longest, warmest hugs ever.

Everything is absolutely lovely so far, and I can only imagine it will get better.

This evening I watched “the 50 funniest television characters from around the world” on the BBC. Lary David (Seinfield, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Ali G were among some of the top ten, with Basil Fawlty (played by John Cleese) ranking at #1. I’m going to have to say: I don’t disagree.

Oh, also, I forgot what it was like to hear “fuck” on cable.

Reunited with:
Cousin James
Aunt Tracy
Nan
Uncle Justin

Finally met:
Cousin Jasper
Cousin India
Cousin Jack
Aunt Rose
Donna

Yet to reunite with:
Cousin Tara
Aunt Jayne
Mum’s aunt Dorothy
Uncle Rowen
Cousin John
Cousin Josh
Cousin Nate
My buddy Krispy
Chelsea

Seriously… I don’t want to go back.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 14th, 2008 at 23:49 and is filed under England, life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.