My Dad is called Darren Shand. He was born in Carterton, a small town in the Wellington region. His parents are called Wally and Beverley (Bev). I call my Grandparents on my Dads side Nan and Grumps. His ancestors come from the United Kingdom and Ireland and travelled to New Zealand by boat. He has one younger sister called Robyn and one younger brother calles Nicholas. My Dad lived in many different places when he was growing up. He lived in Hastings, Samoa, Greytown, Masterton, Whangarei, Brisbane and finally Auckland. My Dads earliest memory was the house he lived in in Hastings. It was a brick house had three bedrooms and was built by his Dad (my Grumps). My Dad has never practiced a religion as he decided he doesn’t have the need to believe in God. My Dads hobbies when he was younger was collecting stamps, going outside, and playing sports (he played Australian Rules Football). My Dads Grandad on his Father's side went by the nickname of, Pat. Dad remembers that he loved Marmite and needed to take insulin daily for Diabetes. He also worked in the Post Office in Palmerston North. My Dads Grandmother on his Father's side went by the nickname of Kitty. Dad remembers that she used to collect all sorts of salt and pepper shakers. My Dads Grandad on his Mother's side name was Jim Lynan. He loved old cars and had a garage full of them. He also worked as a caretaker at the local high school. He also loved playing bowls. His Grandmother on his Mums side was called Gladys Lynan and he says that she was one of the best Grandmothers in the world. My Dads Mum is called Beverly Shand and his Dad is called Wally Shand. They both live up north in Coopers beach. His Mum and Dad are both retired. His Dad used to be a builder while his Mum worked by sorting through the accounts of local business. His Dad likes playing golf while his Mum likes playing lawn bowls.
My Uncle Nick is my Dad's younger brother and he was born in Hastings Hospital. The house he remembers from growing up was a 4 bedroom wooden house with a big backyard in Sunnynook. When growing up he enjoyed playing with lego and playing cricket. My Dad says that he only enjoyed cricket because he got to throw balls at my Dad. His earliest memory is learning to swim at the beach while living in Samoa.Some thing interesting about my Uncle has the hobby of making light suits out of LED lights. He once made some for the group Jgeeks who were in Newzealands Got talent 2012. Uncle Nicks Grandad on his Mum’s side was and orphan in the Great Depression and had a few odd habits. He would collect screws and nails and would never let anyone touch his accordian. His Grandma on his Mum’s side was his favourite Grandparent as she was very nice and was really good at baking. His Grandma on his Dads side would give him $5 every birthday and he would worry that she would run out of money as she used to do this with all her grandchildren. His Grandad on his Dads side was very nice and died when he was chopping wood in the forest. Apparently a truck drove past him on the way into town and saw him chopping wood. Then when that truck drove back out of town he saw my Uncles Grandad lying on the ground holding his chainsaw.
My Uncles light suit on New Zealands Got Talent 2012.
In this image you can see my Nan and Grumps on the far left. They are standing with my Grump's siblings and their partners. They are my Great Aunties and Uncles.
My mum is called Alison Mac Fadyen and was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and flew to New Zealand on a plane in 1990. She was only coming over for around 1-2 years for a trip and work but she met my Dad and stayed. She has 2 older sister called Susan and Elaine and 1 younger sister named Ruth. She also had a brother called Aiden but he died just after he was born. My Mum lived in a Granit Bungalow which her parents extended and added an upstairs.When she was younger she liked swimming at the pools, knitting, playing in the garden with her sisters, parents and dog and going on her bike. Her earliest memory is playing with her 3 sisters Elaine, Susan and Ruth and her Dad in the garden around the age of 6 or 7. My mother is catholic and by being catholic its influenced the schools she picked for me as she wanted me to learn about Catholicism as well. Something surprising about my mum is that she got a scholarship into drama school when she was 10 and went there for a year. Her Dad's dad was called Florenzie but changed his name to Renzie as he didn’t like it. He walked with a walking stick as he had a heavy limp due to polio that he had as a young man. He loved to read he was fluent in French and he smoked a pipe. He was an interpreter for French and English. Her Granny on her Dad's side was called Christina (Chrissy). She was very kind and caring and loved having her 36 grandchildren around. She worked in a shop and would model the clothing for the customers. She accepted whatever decisions others made. My Mum used to go around and have dinner with them once a week. Her Grandparents on her Mom's side ran a hairdressing shop. She called them Nana and Pappa. Their names were Charlie and Mary. Her Pappa was an orphan. He trained to be a Maître de (someone who runs very posh restaurants). But after the war, there weren't any posh, high-end restaurants so he became a hairdresser. He loved gardening and playing golf. He was very loving and gentle but died young because of lung cancer. My mum's Nana was brought up in a miners cottage. Her family originated in Ireland. She was also a hairdresser and used to tint ladies' hair blue and pink. She adopted her sister's baby when her sister died. My Mum's parents are called Eric and Joyce They meet when they were 7 years old and married when they were 21 and 22. Her Dad was an accountant but is now retired. Her Mum was studying to be an accountant but her parents needed her to come and work in the hairdressing shop. She won the Scottish Hairdressing Championship in 1953. She is now also retired. My Grandad likes to play golf while my Grandma loves doing cryptic crosswords. They have been married for 63 years.
In this image my Grandma and Grandad are on the far left and I'm infront of them. My cousins Ailsa and Alice are in the back and my Mum is standing infront of them in the white jumper. My Aunty Ruth is standing in the back right hand corner and my Aunty Elaine is standin ginfront of her.
