Family History II

i've posted some old family photos from my mother's side on this blog before, but during a recent trip to canberra to visit my dad's side of the family, i managed to borrow and scan some old photo albums from the other side of my family. above is my aunt on her wedding day, my pop (my dad's father) and my pop (third in on the left) in poland just after the end of WWII (1945).

it's a little known fact about me but i am actually half polish, though i've never been there and my nanna is the only member of my family who can speak polish (my pop passed away when i was 12). my grandparents migrated to australia with their three young children after the war and started a new life in australia. i don't really have a strong sense of being polish, but when it comes to filling your plate up even when you refuse seconds, my nanna is definitely european!

while looking through the albums, i found almost an entire album filled with photos of funerals. some were in poland and some in australia, and almost all of them were open casket, including my own pop's funeral. it's know it seems like such a morbid thing to take photos of and it would seem out of place if someone did that at a funeral in australia, but we asked my nanna and she said people took photos of the dead to send to family who couldn't be at the funeral. i find the photos fascinating aesthetically and i really liked looking through them. i thought they might be a bit confronting for this blog so instead i've uploaded a few here, here and here if you're interested in taking a look.

i assume the above photos probably have family members in them somewhere but i don't really know who anyone is, i just like the photos. below is my dad with my cousin and again with my pop (please note my dad's awesome beard), my aunt again on her wedding day and my nanna just being a general babe.

this year more than any before in my life has made me realise how important spending time with family is, because one day they're in your life and the next they can be gone. i know it's a cliche, but eventually it becomes a reality and there is nothing you can do go back.

below, my nanna with a corgi, my nanna & pop together and my uncle and my dad on a birthday. most of the rest are the tame funeral photos (i believe the second one has my nanna and pop in it at my great grandmother's grave). and just for something cheery the last one is my brother and i being cute in the snow when we lived in england.