Anyway this year I've decided to write down what I remember what happened that year. I'm doing this course in creative writing you see and my tutor has asked everyone in the class to write about an incident we remember in our past, an incident that changed our lives. Well here it is, the incident, or as much of it as I can remember. There are parts of my story I have had to use my imagination and add to for there were times I only heard about what happened from my ma and da.

Anyway a week before my granny and granda's big night I called to see them--they are called, May and Joe Mc Partland and they live at the bottom of Bishop Street. I lived on the Lecky Road in the Bog-side then and most days on the way home from school I would call in to see them. It was always nice and quiet there and I could get peace to do my homework. I have two younger sisters and it was almost impossible to do my homework when they were in the house. Anyway there I was sitting at the table near the window in my grandparent's sitting room doing my homework and at the same time listening to their conversation about their fiftieth wedding celebrations.

Back then my granda was a wee wiry man with thick grey hair. He was always smoking a pipe and I had rarely seen him without it in his mouth. He was sitting on the sofa staring into the fire puffing away. My granny who was at least four times his weight was sitting beside him. Her hair was darker than my granda's and she had pale yellowy skin.

"It just seems like yesterday, and here we are Joe, nearly fifty years married. God, fifty years that's a long time isn't it? Yet it's gone so quick." She sighed then smiled. "Just think, Joe they'll all be here next week, all the wains. Wains, ha, ha, ha. That's a good one. Our Kathleen's some wain eh. She's what? Forty-nine. Imagine Joe, we have a daughter who is nearly fifty years old." She nudged granda. "Remember the day she brought her Frank home from the Yankee Base to ask fer her hand. God Joe he looked like a film-star in his American navy uniform." She sighed again. "Aye, it only seems like yesterday." She looked up at the mantelpiece. Several photographs, some in silver frames were neatly lined across it. "It'll be nice to see our Tom again. He says his Bishop won't need him fer a whole week." She frowned as she turned to granda. "How long is it now since we went over to England to see him, two years, last summer?" Shaking her head slowly and grunting she rose and ran her forefinger along the edge of the mantelpiece. "I'd better start gettin' the house cleaned up. The curtains should be back from the cleaners on Monday." She looked down at granda. "Ye'll have to give the windys a lick of paint, the doors as well." She frowned as she studied my granda.

He took a long drag on his pipe then puffed softly. The sweet smelling smoke curled down into the fire and was suddenly whisked up the chimney.

"Joe, are ye listenin' to me?"

Startled my granda coughed then tugged the pipe from his mouth and looked up at her. "Aye May, aye of course I am," he said hoarsely then coughed again.

My granny's frown deepened as she asked, "Joe ye are happy about our big night, aren't ye? I mean ye are glad they're all comin' aren't ye? I know ye hate all the fussin'..."

"Aye of course I'm glad May," said granda tapping his pipe on the edge of the brass companion set. "It'll be nice to see all our grandchildren again." He looked up. "How many have we now? I can never remember."

Granny began to count on her fingers. "Let's see. Josie has three. Mary, she's expectin', has three. Kathleen has two and Oh aye, Kathleen's Kelly has one. They can't come. Kelly's husband can't get the time off work. How many was that?" She counted on her fingers again muttering, "Josie's three, Mary's three, Kathleen's two, and Kelly's one--nine, we have nine, Joe, eight grandchildren and one great grandchild."

At this my Granda looked into the fire again and I just heard him say, "Naw May, we have ten."

"I'm not counting hers," hissed my granny glancing over at me.

I pretended I wasn't listening and scribbled something on my jotter.

"Aye, well whether yer countin' hers or not, May, the fact is we have ten grandchildren. Ach May ye can't surely ferget about our Sinead's son."

Sinead is my other aunt. I have three aunts and Sinead is the youngest. Nobody talked much about her except my ma.

"I didn't forget," snapped my granny. "She's not comin'. She'll only spoil the night fer us if she does. Joe I don't want her at our big night. Ye hear me?" She glanced over at me and lowered her voice, but I heard what she said. "I hope to God I never have to see her again."

My granda sighed. "Ach May do ye not think it's about time you and Sinead made up? Now would be a good time to make up with her. Look, why don't ye go round to her flat this evenin'. Invite her to our Do. It would make the night fer all of us."

"Would it?" snapped my granny. "Well not fer me it wouldn't. I'll not invite her and listen, Joe if you do and she steps through that door I'll order her out. She's not welcome in this house."

"Ach May. Sinead is our daughter after all, our youngest..."

"No!" shouted my granny then glanced over at me. I bent my head closer to the jotter pretending to write as she lowered her voice. "She's not to come. Do ye hear me Joe? I don't want her and yer not to invite her."

My granda sighed again, "Ach May yer bein' very hard on her."

"Am I? I don't think so." She turned and looked at the photographs again then picked one up and dusted it with her fingers. "I wish Jack could have been here for our Do."

"Jack? Oh aye your brother. You and him were very close."

"He was my only brother, wasn't he," said my granny smiling at the photograph. "We were very close."

"How long is he dead now?"

My granny sighed heavily. "Fifteen years. And that only seems like yesterday too. Ah sure Jack was never the same after he had his breakdown."

"He always liked Sinead," said my granda quietly. "I think she was his favourite niece."

"Our Jack liked everyone," snapped my granny. "He was everyone's favourite. The way he fussed around her ye would have thought she was special. She could worm her way around anyone that 'un."

"Sinead was..."

"Look Joe," hissed my granny glancing at me again. "I don't want to hear her name again. Please. Please just let us enjoy the celebrations without any unpleasantness. No more mention of her again. Please Joe."

My granda sighed. "Whatever ye say, May, I'll not mention her name again."

My granny placed the photograph along with the others then came over to me. "Are ye nearly finished love? Maybe ye could give me a hand with the dustin'."

Later I asked my granny was she looking forward to her big night. Her eyes sort of dulled over and I thought she looked very sad, but then she smiled and said she was. I wanted to ask her why my Aunt Sinead wasn't allowed to come but I didn't.