Better late than never:-
53 of us gathered together for a family re-union at Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island in March 2011.
Here I am wearing my Wilson tartan kilt, accompanied by Phyllis' beautiful daughter-in-law Julia.
Me with Julia's husband Alan and their nephew Joel, who is a grandson of my friend Phyllis.
Here I am accompanied by Phyllis' first husband Bill who is my second cousin along with his new Spanish wife Therese. Bill and Phyllis came to Scotland in 1981 when they met me and my first wife Alison. Later Alison and I divorced as did Bill and Phyllis. I kept in contact with Phyllis over the years and she and her second husband Ron visited me and my second wife Ann in Scotland and Ann and I met her in Canada, By 2009, Ann and Ron were both living in full-time nursing care after a series of strokes and I had met up with Phyllis again at Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island for a lunch date when I'd promised to come back and spend more time with her. By early 2011 both our partners had died, but we were at the time dating new people closer to home so we agreed our meet up in 2011 would be of a platonic nature.
Phyllis and her daughter and granddaughter study the family tree at Phyllis' house in Courtenay the evening prior to the family gathering.
Phyllis and I visit the last of the older generation. My late mother's cousin Isobel is now 95 and lives in a care home at Sooke.
Now this is really exciting. Phyllis and I and my second cousin Edith meet in Victoria with Hilaire who has lived on the island all her life and who claims to be also related to us. Its a quirk of family history that while the three Scottish branches of my family died out due to only children and childless families, my Irish quarter went to Canada and multiplied. My Irish Grandpa's family all emigrated to Canada and multiplied with each generation while he settled in Scotland and produced five children, yet just two grandchildren and one great grand child. So I am a Scot yet all my known relatives (apart from my daughter from my first marriage whom I have not seen for seven years) are all Canadian. Now we find someone living in Victoria BC who appears to be descended from a brother of our Irish Great Grandfather and it looks as though we may have lots more relatives living on the island.
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