That’s me!

Well, as I’m sat back at home, in the midst of my parents, and all things that remind me of growing up, even though they moved house, I felt it would be an ideal time to think about my childhood… and add some pictures into the mix too! (apologies if they are messily edited but I don’t know who would be happy to be included on the blog and who wouldn’t, so I have tried to blur faces out as best I can, apart from my mug anyway!)

I think I’m one of the luckiest people alive to have been been born into the family that I have. If you have read my blog from the early days, you’ll know how much my parents, and family mean to me. They have given my brother and me a most amazing upbringing, colourful and loving, with so much family mad culture thrown in, so that despite being in a different country, we missed out on nothing!

We spent most weekends visiting various members of the extended family, there was always something going on, from weddings, to new babies, to birthdays, to deaths, never a quiet moment!

In fact, having such a large family it was inevitable that there would be something going on. My brother was a sportsman so a lot of his weekends were taken up with training and matches, so Pops would literally split himself in two, dropping my brother, then taking us places, and picking my brother up, before getting us… This was the era of one car per family, it’s how things were done!

I recall one year where, I’m not sure I know the exact number, but I believe we had something like 50 odd invitations to weddings and functions… And on one occasion there were two weddings on one weekend. Now our Indian weddings aren’t a one day affair, we have a week long celebration. These two weddings were in two different towns, one near London and one in Birmingham, where we lived. I recall being picked up from school and getting changed in it, en route to,London, on a 2 hour journey, attending one pre wedding function, then falling asleep in the car in the early hours of the morning, on the way home. A little sleep then up again for the other wedding in Birmingham on the Saturday. Then another trek back to London on Sunday morning for the actual wedding day there!

Now me as a child, well. I was a little imp, from all the stories I hear! I didn’t stop chattering away, in fact I would apparently follow people, toddling after the, saying “Hello!” until they replied! Mum always tells of a story where they were pushing me around in a pram and two Welsh ladies followed them around, thinking I was like a doll! They asked if they could take me home with them! Obviously Pops and mum said no!

Me at around 6 months with my eldest aunt and one of my first cousins!

In a Gurdwara, a Sikh temple, men sit in one side, and ladies on the other. At weddings it was, and still is quite usual for children to cross back and forth, from parent to parent, bored of sitting for 2-3 hours. One wedding, I was doing just this, and at one stage mum glanced over to Pops to see where I was, but I wasn’t there! They caught each other’s eye mad realised I wasn’t in the room. I’m not sure how old I was, 2 maybe, but after scouring the temple, they ventured outside and saw me on the pavement, holding an English man’s hand, being brought back to the temple. He had seen me toddling down the road, and seeing no one with me, assumed I would have come from the temple which was a few metres away. Thankfully, those were the good old days, kindness prevailed, and I was brought back to my parents… Not whisked away! Silly child that I was!

My gorgeous mum and I

Oh, and wasn’t I the most difficult child, for my mum, when it came to eating! I was a Nightmare!!! Being the first child, my mum went through hell with me, she’d make all this amazing fresh food, and I would refuse it, milk? Nah! Ice cream, Yes please! She went to the doctors, worried for my health. The doctor apparently asked if I was happy, energetic, normal generally, and mum said yes. The doctor looked at her and asked why on earth she was worrying for then! When my own children did the same to me, she said “It’s payback time!”

We grew up with many other children around us, it was a great time to be a kid! And due to the fact that my Pops was the youngest of a few siblings, it meant that some of my cousins were older than him! So I had what we call nephews and nieces, the children of our first cousins, the same age as me! To confuse yourself further, read here!

Me with two of my cousins children, my nephews!

There were so many of us, that fun always ensued but there was also a fair share of arguments too! I remember one time specifically. I was, and am, a calm person, but like all big sisters, I HATED my little brother at that time. Still, he was my little brother, and I did love him really, so once, I heard some of the kids picking on him. I stormed out and said if they carried on, said that once again, I’d punch said child in the mouth. I’m not violent, AT ALL! But the kid played my bluff and said whatever he had been saying, again. And I didn’t hold back. One good punch to the teeth, and there was blood everywhere! Luckily he didn’t hit me back! I think he was in shock that I actually carried out the threat! And this is how much of a goody two shoes I was…when he went to his mum and told of me, no one believed him, as I could NEVER do something like that!!!! We still laugh about it to this day.. Yes, he is still talking to me!!!

I could go on, and on, and on about growing up, but for today, I’ll stop here, over the next couple of days I’ll aquaint to you to my private school life, and my summers in Kenya too! I hope I haven’t bored you too much, but enjoyed retelling these stories!