None so strange as folk!

 In the past whenever  I've seen an episode of 'Long Lost Family' I used to long for a sister perhaps out there, waiting for me to meet. However not these days, because a cousin with whom I hadn't had any contact for years, decided she wanted to play 'happy families,' and got in touch. It was to tell us that her mother, my mother's sister had died. They all hadn't spoken to me for over 20 years, It was all to do with the house, where I grew up here in Porthcawl. My aunt had given it to me, and when they discovered this, they thought they should have a share. They had lived in the house in the late 40s, but moved from there in 1950, so I wondered why they thought the house was part theirs. Anyway I went to the funeral, sad, because I did love her mum and had stayed with them when I was a child.

But from that meeting, my cousin invited herself to stay.. She had stayed before the 'break' when my daughter got married, in the big detached 4 bedroomed house I bought after my divorce. So staying in my little three bedroom semi, which I loved, brought various comments about it being very small. But the size didn't stop her inviting herself again, so she could come with us to  a Christmas concert in London. And we were then invited to stay with her in her new large converted barn. Gosh were we cold, it was freezing there, because the main living room had a wood burning fire and no other heating in that room. Never again I said to Dh, as we drove away.

She pushed and pushed to stay with us in Suffolk, and our large Victorian Villa, met with her approval! So when I said we were moving from it, she couldn't understand. But Suffolk was lonely and lockdown had brought home to us we were 'townies!'

She has pushed to stay here and I've said no, always saying we were having building work, or something doing. She did phone and I answered, it was one long moan about how she missed visiting Porthcawl, especially, as I had sold the house where I grew up and she had stayed so many times and enjoyed holidays there. . I couldn't afford the upkeep of the two houses  and although I didn't really want to sell, someone had to pick up the costs of my daughter's wedding and her father didn't even offer to pay for any part of it.

So if a long lost sister did turn up, she could turn out like my cousin, pushy, over bearing and a snob! And I wouldn't like that. Its strange because she and her husband (but now divorced) always gave the impression of being well off, while I worked to keep a roof over me and helped with Uni costs for my children. She had the income from her parents house and said she said a good settlement from her divorce..but now pleads only just enough money to live. 

So I don't want a long lost relative to be found, unless like me they don't think it strange to turn up to visit, with a home made cake, a pot of home made marmalade and a rooted snippet of a favourite plant from my garden, rather than a bottle of wine and an ornament!

I hardly drink these days, nothing worse than alcohol for an iffy bladder and ornaments to me = stuff!

Chrisxx