Watching Old Family Videos

Whenever I get the ‘old family videos’ out there are usually cries of derision but last week when my sons and brother were here there was general agreement that we should watch a couple of the holidays I shot, now on DVD, just to have a laugh at ourselves.

There was Timmy at aged 11 (he’s now 29) being a total pain in the ass, sticking his face in front of the camera at every turn. There was Stephen looking every inch the young Tom Cruise and his relatively new step sister embarrassing him by saying, ‘oooh Stephen – you were sooo handsome’. There was my brother Robert looking like Daniel Craig emerging from the water in the James Bond film only Robert was wearing the most ridiculous pair of Speedos you’ve ever seen. And there I was wandering around with a six pack, which now I can only dream of.

There was J looking stunningly gorgeous in every shot and my friends, Alan, and his wife Alison, whose efforts at getting on a lilo in the hotel swimming pool, had everyone in stitches.

There were the long evening meals in restaurants on the beach. The kids jumping from high rocks into the sea and the silly games we all played on the beach, including the ‘egg game’ which generally finished with everyone looking like part of an omelette.

All of this was before Guy and Kitty came along but they watched the DVDs with hilarity, mocking the haircuts of their stepbrothers and the clothes of their mother. The majority of the DVDs were shot in Agios Stefanos in Corfu (Greece) and that’s where we’re returning to in a few weeks but in the 16 years since I was last there, the resort has changed out of all recognition – I’m told they even have streets with lights now! It’ll be fascinating going back there after all this time (J and the kids went there two years ago) and shooting some new family videos which, we’ll undoubtedly show to our grandchildren in a few years time.

The picture is of Agios Stefanos, the north west resort in Corfu which we are heading off to soon. Will the restaurant owner who used to bring my brother back up the hill in a tractor because he couldn’t walk due to his inebriated state, remember me? We’ll see.