Kaiapoi Reunion 2014

Over a period of ten years or more, at various Ayson get-togethers, a reunion of Ayson cousins, the grandchildren of Granny and Grandpa Ayson (Robert William Ayson & Mary Gillieson Paterson) had been discussed.

 

As children we had a lot to do with each other as the Ayson family was very close knit.   Over the years, as adults, we had little to do with each other so it was high time that we got together. 

 

Finally, a few months ago, I decided it was time to get on with it.   I made contact with many of the cousins, all of whom were enthusiastic about a gathering.   I also decided that the best gathering place would be the Kaiapoi Workingmen’s Club, in Kaiapoi, North Canterbury.

 

The date of Saturday the fourth of October was settled on as the best date.   The staff of the venue provided morning and afternoon tea, and meals were readily available downstairs in the restaurant. 

 

We were allocated a large airy upstairs room for us to gather in.   In the event fourteen of twenty cousins and their spouses/partners gathered together for a very good time.

 

We started at 10 a.m.   Many arrived with photograph albums and other memorabilia - what a wonderful trip down memory lane!   We moved freely around, catching up with each other’s lives.  

 

About midday I opened with a prayer, which is an Ayson tradition.   Then I pointed out the very great blessings of God on our lives, that of twenty-one of us born, twenty are still alive today, with myself being the oldest at seventy-seven years of age.

 

There followed a discussion about what we should do for further gatherings into the future.   Neville Peat chaired that part of the meeting, at which it was decided future meetings would include the following generations.