As the saying goes, you can choose your friends, but not your family.

I am grateful to have Neville Tyrrell as a big cousin/big brother.

For the last 12 months I’ve spent most of my weekends in his presence.

Just like the good old days, he has taken his time to give me a set of chores and detailed instructions in how to carry out the assigned tasks.

It’s what often happens to the “baby” in the family. The role brings the risk of being bossed around by siblings and cousins but there’s also the reward of having a vast pool of role models and a huge support base.

As luck would have it, I was the youngest in a family of untold numbers. Most of my older cousins/siblings took it upon themselves to “boss me around for my own good”.

In my younger years, that meant a constant supply of chores — often their chores. I frequently wondered to myself: “Why me Lord?”

Ironically, as time went by and they went off to university, got married and started their own families, I missed the daily errands and being in their company on a daily basis.

In Neville’s case, whenever I needed correction or redirection he heaped that out without hesitation; where I needed encouragement or motivation, he supplied it in generous amounts.

Over the past year we’ve spent two to three hours together almost every weekend — sometimes meeting through the week as well.

Walking up and down almost every parish, it is almost as if the hands of time have been turned back and we have been transformed back to our childhood.

My cousin has shared his life experiences with me, often telling me about the different organisations that he is involved with. I’ve heard the joy in his voice as he’s described how such organisations have helped to develop Bermuda and indeed Bermudians.

Canvassing has its ups and downs. One minute it is hot, the next minute it is cold. One minute you are talking with a lady, the next minute you are running from a dog that has broken loose from its chain.

I’ve loved it all, even if he still supports Tottenham Hotspur.