Thursday 5 September – Family, food and fotos.

Today was family day – Elizabeth’s family, that is.  This morning we drove the short distance to the village of Kilbarchan and located “Maryville”, Elizabeth’s dad Alex’s home from when he was a wee lad until he married Lucinda and left for Australia in 1953. We were greeted by the current owner, Ian Trushell, who was delighted to show us through and fill some missing gaps about its construction and history.  Ian has lived there since 1980 and has changed very little, so the house is pretty much the same as when Alex was there.  Ian was also able to show us a school photo of Alex (who is in the middle of the back row in the attached photo) when he was about eight.

We then drove into Paisley, where Lucinda grew up, and did a bit of sightseeing – the Paisley Abbey, a huge structure built in the mid-12^th century on the site of an earlier 7^th century abbey; then up then High Street to the Town hall, to the also-huge Thomas Memorial Church, formerly a Baptist church that has closed recently due to a dramatic fall in congregation numbers; past the Oakshaw Church that is up a long, steep path, and past a shop displaying some interesting T-shirts, including one emblazoned with the Scottish for “shut up”.  Elizabeth has heard about these landmarks all her life from her mother and has even been on the receiving end of the T-shirt exhortation once or twice.

Then to 77 Maxwellton Road, Paisley, where her mum spent her child years.  John Carson, the owner of the flat where Lucinda had lived with her mum and dad and two sisters, is 95 years old and was happy to show us through.  Again, little has changed.

Off then to Elizabeth’s cousin Kay’s home, just around the corner from where we are staying, for a late lunch with a number of relatives who had gathered for the occasion, including Auntie Betty (in the photo with John), who is Lucinda’s remaining sister, and her husband Norman. John met Betty and Norman when they were visiting Australia in the early 1980s, some years in fact before he met Elizabeth.  Lots of good food, good conversation, lots of photos and many memories revisited all round.