It's going to be a riot. Literally.
Written at 11:01 a.m. on 2006-05-02
It�s going to be a riot. Literally.
Well, in typical fashion for my dad�s family, a collection of people who are each capable of starting an argument in an empty room, things have kicked off before we�ve even arrived at my gran�s funeral.
Ade (my dad and yes, he is my actual dad) and his brother have decided that with the money that is left to the three children they should club together and buy a little house that their sister and their father can live in. Their sister is currently living with their completely doolally father and looking after him. Once he dies their sister A will be left to live in the little house until she dies. This has been decided for a very good reason. A has no concept of how to deal with money. She used to be a millionaire and now she lives in penury because she has let it all slip away. Don�t get me wrong, she is a fantastic woman, very entertaining, very dramatic and more generous than anyone I�ve ever met but the trouble is she attracts hangers on who take advantage and she continues to be generous when she can�t afford to be. So if they all buy the house together then she can�t be conned into selling it because she doesn�t have the legal right to sell and it means she�ll always have a roof over her head. My uncle�s wife, M-C, a Frenchwoman who has always been a merciless harridan has kicked off at this, claiming she and my uncle need the money and what if her kids need their share of inheritance (that would come via their father) and it�s tied up in a house for A? She has also said that she will not accept going in with the family bunch of flowers that are going on the coffin because she won�t have her family associated with Ade and my uncle�s father. Now I can see that she isn�t happy with the guy and she does have grounds but not nearly as strong grounds as I do and I�m willing to go along with it for the sake of peace. A has already said that someone is going to have to keep her and M-C apart during the funeral day because otherwise there is a fair chance that there will be fighting, or at the very least name calling and hair pulling.
Only my dad�s family would be entirely incapable of putting someone to rest with dignity and restraint and would start a kick-off at a funeral.
I can tell it�s going to be a laugh and a half this one.
