What can I say about my family? Nothing too rude, they might actually visit the site! To play safe I'll leave my parents and siblings out of this and just concentrate on my own children.

My first born. For some reason I had always wanted to be the father of a beautiful little girl. I got Gemma. No, I'm not being rude, Gemma is a beautiful child. What I didn't understand then is that beauty can also bring you nightmares! Gemma must have read a book very very early (in the womb?) on how to behave through the "terrible twos". To say that Gemma was awkward is an understatement. The words "nightmare child" spring to mind. In fact it was our final titanic hair pulling struggle that finally taught Gemma that she couldn't get the better of me and from that moment on Gemma was lovely (to me - still a nightmare to her mother, even now!). So how did Gemma turn out now that she is "all growed up"? Delightful. Gemma suffers from Lupus which is a very debilitating illness made all the worse by the fact that quite often there is nothing noticeable on the outside. Despite this, Gemma is hard working, resourceful and delightful company. I'm proud of her.
On April 23rd 2006 Gemma gave me even more reason to be proud when she gave birth to beautiful Amelie weighing in at a hefty 81b 15ozs. Of course this wasn't enough for my daughter and she topped this by getting married to Barry Hayward on July 15th (and yes, the wedding had been planned for 2 years).
September 11th 2013 sees the arrival of their second child Alby Steven Hayward weighing in at 8lb 12ozs.

Kristine

Kristine is actually Rachel's daughter but she is so lovely, and such great fun, I just had to say Hi on this page. Kristine is now an official part of my family and I'm very pleased about it too. Kristine is married to a mad scotsman called Marc, a brilliant drummer, and on June 3rd 2011 had their first baby, Eva, who was nicknamed Ronnie throughout the pregnancy. On February 28th 2014 Kristine & Marc had their second baby Dexter, and this time he was given the nickname Gruffalo by Eva.

Amy is my second born, from my second wife. Amy learnt everything she could from Gemma and behaved in much the same way as a toddler. Watching Amy lay on the floor in the middle of a high street shop with her legs waggling around in a fierce temper tantrum became part of the local entertainment. Thankfully Amy has now grown past that stage and is another reason for me to feel proud. Amy is currently a hard working career girl and is going out with James.
Amy stopped dance lessons having reached the pinnacle of her career by appearing live at the West End on the world famous stage at Her Majesty's Theatre (home of Phantom of the Opera).

Rebecca the Rebel. If you want somebody to stand up for themselves and fight back, Rebecca is the one. Feisty but fun and always the first to offer help around the house. Rebecca is developing in to a beautiful no-nonsense young lady and is currently a dedicated home maker, mother and wife. Husband Mykal (they married on June 18th 2016) is always on hand to help sort out the inevitable drama that follows Becky around!. On 2nd March 2012 Becky and Mykal had their first child (and my first Grandson) Archie, nicknamed Dave during the pregnancy.

Becky was also studying Piano but, alas, gave up and also stopped her dance lessons at the same time Amy did.

Ah, what the hell. Let's have a go at the rest of the family too!

Mad as a hatter. You want proof? At Amy's seventh birthday party we had the obligatory 'bouncy castle'. First one on (doing somersaults), yep - Nutty Mum. Real name Stella but lovingly known to most of the family as Maud (which she hates - even though it is her middle name). Mum has spent nearly all of her adult life helping others. WRVS (Women's Royal Voluntary Service); CAB (Citizen's Advice Bureau which she was chairman of for a number of years); Battered Wives Refuge (which she ran for 17 years); Meals on Wheels; Mother. Quite an impressive list, especially when you consider how much of it is either unpaid or very lowly paid. A very special lady who is always on the go, never lets anything stand in her way and was recently spotted as a checkout girl for Tesco. No end to her talents.

Told me once that he was a test pilot in the RAF. I believed him for years (which proves how gullible I am) only to find out he was a grease monkey. Excellent all-round sportsman in his day, could also be seen in the early days playing the double bass at the working man's club. Worked as a senior Engineer for Ford Motor Co. for many years and has now retired and enjoys motor caravanning with his wife Pauline.

My eldest brother and (I'm pleased to say) a very good friend too. There is a saying that you choose your friends but can't choose your family. It's real nice to be able to say that I would choose Graham either way. Graham lives in the same road as me (he was here first) and shares his house with wife Viv and children Leanne and Asa.

My younger brother. Also lives very near by with his daughter Sarah. Eldest daughters Lisa and Alison have grown up and moved out now. Although Ian is the youngest (male) he was the first to be the proud bearer of the title 'GrandDad' as his daughter Lisa gave birth to a strapping son (Adam) on the 15th March 2002. Lisa has since had her second child, Ellie May. The best way to describe Ian is "Mr. Fixit". No matter what needs doing he will either give you a hand himself or can be relied upon to "know a man that can".

My sister is a sister. Sheelagh trained as a nurse, moved into midwifery and ended up as a Sister (having delivered hundreds of babies). Now lives with her lover Jack in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire

This is the real famous person in our family and really needs a whole heap of pages of his own. I'll get around to it one day! Arthur Calkin was a really famous 'star' in his day. Played with Harry Roy and His Tiger Ragamuffins, was recognised as the number one double bass player in this country and then finished his career playing with the world famous NitWits. Fabulous life, lovely man. My biggest regret? Granddad lived with us for the last few years of his life and I was at the wrong age - too busy going out to sit and chat with him properly. What a pity. The time I did have wasn't enough and I truly wish I could go back and listen to him some more.

Arthur's wife. Not in our lives at all until very late in her life. Insisted on being known as 'GG' because she was still too vain to be known as a Great Grandmother!

I'm named after Thomas Leonard Butler, my Mum's father, and I named my son after him too. I guess that tells you that I thought a lot of him even though he died when I was still quite young. A lovely man.