The Big Issue has just published The way they were, the story of how a chance encounter on a suburban street filled some gaps in a family history.

Here’s an excerpt:

My mother and her seven siblings used to  live and play and laugh and squabble here in this street. They used to climb the young plane trees, play hopscotch on the road, run up and down the footpath. Right here, where I’m standing on a quiet sunny morning. In a house knocked down in my lifetime, they argued with their father and sang with their mother.

The full story is in edition 401 of The Big Issue (28 Feb – 12 March), available from Big Issue vendors. The story features artwork by Eirian Chapman.