I guess I never felt this aware....

Si is from Lancashire.

When we went to visit his family for the first time he hadn't seen his Gran for at least 10 years. He hadn't seen his father for 18.

When we arrived, we were met by a sobbing little old lady, who held on to the hand of her beloved grandson and sobbed with joy at seeing him again.

We sat in her little living room, where Si had grown up and she recounted stories of days gone by and the last time she seen him.

Every time she looked at him she uttered, "oh Simon". shook her head and wandered off.

His dad arrived to say hello, and we were faced by a version of my husband 20 years older. We had coffee amidst stilted conversation and then decided to go to the Rover's Return for a pint, so that Gran could show off her boy to her friends.

Gran drank 8 pints of Guinness. We were under the table. She was in her element.

As me and Gran settled in front of the TV back home, I carried on my conversation making, and she nodded and agreed with me back and forth.

When Si came back into the room, and she turned to him, and said "Aye Simon, she seems like a right nice lass, but I cannae understand a word she is saying".

Ah, she was a character she was.