FAMILY

Often people will say to me I am an angry young man. I vehemently disagree with this. I no longer consider myself young.

However there is one thing, no matter how angry, or sad I may be, that always puts a smile on my face. My six month old nephew. On the weekend I visited my sister, brother-in-law and my little nephew. As corny as it sounds, nothing quiet excites me like the prospect of seeing him. I never get tired or nursing him or kissing him, and when he starts to cry it really tears at my heart. However when I make him smile or goo, there is nothing so adorable in the world.

When I tell this to people, their reaction is either one of disbelief, or a look indicating they wish their family was like that. And I have to say this is a really sad indication of just what a horrible materialistic and uncaring society we have become. Everyone in my family, regardless of age or gender, feels the same way about my little Nephew; there is always a constant tug of war over who will nurse him. I may not always agree with my family, but I love and cherish them more than anything else. Sadly, many people on the left often aren't close to their families which mystifies me: if you can't feel a connection with your own flesh and blood, how can you feel a connection with the greater mass of people?

I also love watching my father with my nephew. My father was never an overly affectionate person. This isn't to say that he doesn't love his family; he does very much. However when your formative years are spent living under Hitler, Stalin, through a civil war, and your mother dies when you are quite young, this will obviously harden you. However like me, he obsolutely adores my nephew, and constantly wants to nurse and kiss him.

Like most people, as a child I had major run ins with my father. However I now realise that, even though I still may not agree with some of what he said and did, he always had my best intention at heart. He suffered through so much as a child, and he wanted to ensure we didn't have to suffer as well.

These days I get along better with my father than any of my brothers and sisters. In fact I am the only person he will take directions off in the car. Much of this comes down to our common love of history and football (soccer to you anglo-celts out there).

So if anybody other than computer programs scanning websites to get email addresses to spam is reading this: cherish you family as they are the people who care most about you.