Clan Gathering

The annual family gathering of Taylor's or those connected to them took place in Alston, North Cumbria. Boasting the claim to be the highest market town in the UK this sleeepy backwater became the venue for a weekend of excess food, drink, walks and karaoke. Apart from being high, Alston doesn't reallly have any highs (although Jane and Andy bumped into John Snow from Channel 4 News whilst we were there). We did get to go on a long walk through some really muddy fields. The kids loved it and Andrew was acting out the McDonalds advert....'Dave, Dave' as his wellies got stuck in the mud. Here is a picture of Isabelle, Luke and Andrew mucking about on a wreck we found in a field next to an old Roman road. I never realised the Romans were so advanced.



Saturday was rounded off with the karaoke challenge. I think Sarah won it. I was humiliated. Emma Beddow who can't read and therefore just makes a noise beat me. Some think I let her but I was genuinely trying hard and she still beat me on a Rick Astley song. Jane wasn't much better either and if Trefor had been there he would have beaten her.

Sunday was all a bit sad and traumatic. Sarah & Rob had gone for a drive around the miles of countryside and came upon a car on fire. On closer inspection they discovered a woman on fire too and it later emerged she had attempted to commit suicide. Sarah and Rob had the ordeal of extinguishing her and getting help and as you can imagine has left some fairly unpleasant images in their minds. The woman, aged 53 died the following day with 90% burns. Not wanting to miss a scoop, Woody (Rob's brother in law who is a journalist) put this article in the York Evening Press.



Apart from that the weekend went well and surprisingly the highly explosive combination of the Taylor girls together under one roof for 48 hours or more passed without incident. Here is a happy family photo to prove it!