My dad was one of 13, my mother one of 5, I had a huge family growing up, but most of my uncles and aunts didn’t have children, so I had fewer cousins. But still 11-12. Still big. Fast forward to 2023 and nearly all the older generation are no longer with us, families are stretched across Canada, America, UK, Germany, India, and barely anyone knows anyone else any more.

One cousin who I hadn’t seen for, shit, 31 years, surprised me by arriving in London from Canada one day with her daughter and texting me from a UK number to triply-confuse me. We had an absolutely awesome week, two only children reconnecting after so long, and junior got to meet - even if do say so myself - a very cool uncle who knew all the best places to go.

So my mission for the last five or six years has been to try and connect all my cousins’ kids to my own, so they can hopefully maintain a casual connection and come up with their own relationship. Maybe before I die I can organize a big family get-together of just the kids hanging out.