A Family Connection

by Matthew Layne (Canada)

Making a local connection Great Britain

For years, I knew very little about my Father's side of the family. My Father was an immigrant from Great Britain and came to Canada with his direct family when he was 7. The opportunity finally arose for Father, my Grandmother and myself to journey over to Great Britain. I went on a trip prior when I was very young, but of course I don't remember anything about it. The main purpose of the trip was to go meet and celebrate my great Aunt Olive's 90th birthday. Yes really, 90th. My Grandma is currently 92, so it looks like I'm gonna be kicking for a while. The first week of our visit was mainly travelling around, visiting many family members I didn't know I had. London, Devon, Cambridge, Blackwater, etc. I couldn't believe how much family I never knew existed. The main chunk of my family however still lived in the tiny village of Halesworth, where my Father was originally from. Halesworth was such a charming little nook in the middle of what seems to be no where. Just a few local Mom & Dad shops, the local fish and chip shop of course and a standard pub to go get a drink with the lads. But because of the deep family connection I had with Halesworth, a part of me inside felt like I was home. Everything was so familiar yet so new. The second week of the journey came about and it was time for the party for great Aunt Olive. We drove to a slightly bigger town that had a community centre with a big open field in the back. It was a cloudy yet warm day. When we arrived, I was shocked by how many people were attending, all related to everyone minus a few partners of course. In the middle of it all was a quiet lady, enjoying being surrounded by her family, Aunt Olive. We only spoke for a moment but that moment felt like I knew her my entire life even though I never knew about her before this trip. Following the absolutely incredible pot luck lunch that was there, everyone started heading out to the back field. The area already had a few pegs set up that I couldn't see from the road driving in. I found out in that moment that there was a massive family cricket game being played. My immediate reaction was going to sit out, since I knew nothing about the sport. But everyone encouraged me to get out and play. So I joined several family members I still haven't met yet and we began the game. Even though I never really got the opportunity to get to know them, once again that feeling of "this feels right and normal" just filled my spirit. The main thing I learned from this trip was even though I was in a place that I don't know anything about, it is possible to feel like home. I'm usually the worst when it comes to adjusting to new environments, but no matter where we went, I just felt at peace and so happy. I haven't been back since that trip in 2010, but the second I'm able to, I'm racing back.