My mother, Jane Taussik was born in 1940 something. She is lovely. She is a Lecturer in town planning at Portsmouth University, and teaches a post grad. coastal management course which I am not plugging. My mum plays badminton ever so well and the bass recorder in the Hampshire Recorder Sinfonia (next concert 21/3/99).
Jane was born in Somerset, and studied Geography with lunar zoology at Leicester University (which I have no reason to plug). She worked for many years at West Sussex County Council, before moving to the University.

My father's name is Thomas Otto Taussik (Otto, after his grandfather, and Thomas after Mr.), and he is a lecturer in Education at Highbury College (which hasn't got round to a web site yet). He has been there for almost 30 years. Tom (born 5 days before Jane) is from Queens, New York, and moved to England after studying English at Leicester University (which I am again not going to plug). His love of the country caused him to marry an English girl, in a spur of the moment ceremony, which nobody believed had happened (least of all the professor whose tutorial he missed). Tom has many interests, including cooking his family and leaving out commas. His other interest is theatre (or theater, as he would have it), and he is active in Dynamo Youth Theatre, as I am.

My brother really does not feature much in my scheme of life as he is only a brother, and of little consequence. However, he is my brother, so I've given him a bit of space here. He studied Politics at the University of the West of England. He was born in 1978, and I wish him every success in it. He is currently vacant minded and job questing.

My Grandparents
I would like to dedicate this part of my web page to my (sadly deceased) grandparents: Victor and Mimi Taussik; and James and Grandma Lomax (and all their ancestors). These old bods were, I think, very clever in aligning their children's lives to meet as they did, to allow myself to be born. Wasn't that nice. (Of course there are those who believe that it was probably luck, fate, or the heavens, but I like to credit them with the skills.)

My father's family is originally from Czechoslovakia (hence the odd name), and his grandparents moved to Vienna. Victor and Mimi (unbeknownst to each other) moved to America with their families, and met at the 1938 Worlds Fair in Chicago, before moving to New York.

Victor Eugene Taussik was a man I never knew, but I am told that he was very similar to his father (but I never knew him either). Victor says that my dad turned out the way he did because of something he (Victor) ate. I say it was something (or many things) my father ate! Victor was a leather products sales man (no references to gimp, please, it was brief cases, wallets etc.) of some repute.

Mimi Taussik (nee Schwarzkopf) was almost your typical Jewish mother, but without the flair for chicken soup and matzo balls. She worked as a secretary and a radiographer, and had a great love of opera, which has not been genetically downloaded. She was a great lady, and very interesting.

I will just mention Omama and Opapa here as I knew them briefly when I was a young boy. They are Mimi's parents and lived on the outskirts of New York, across the Great Grey Bridge with the Little Red Lighthouse below.

On my mother's side, my grandmother's family is from Darkest Somerset and has evolved from a line of farmers to a line of teachers. Most members of the family are still in Somerset.

My grandfather's family was from Northhamptonshire (by way of Macclesfield and London, says Mother). They were also a line of teachers, and my Grandad JWL, below, moved to Somerset.

James William Lomax fought in the Boer War, helped in the First World War and was too old for service in the Second World War. He lived to be 104, and, were he still alive today, he would be in his green house tending his grapes. On his hundredth birthday he received a telegram from the Queen, and a write up in several local and national newspapers. As the Headteacher of a school in Wales, he pioneered school dinners (but they were nice in those days, apparently). He later settled with his young wife in West Pennard (near Glastonbury) where he led an active choir life. Again those singing genes have disappeared. James lived so long he got through two marriages, the second to my grandmother.

Grandma was a wonderful sweet old lady, until her young death aged 96. She was born in Somerset, and lived there, in Axbridge and West Penard, for many happy years before moving to Havant to be near us. Taking tea with Grandma was like opening a 20th Century history at random, and letting the wind blow the pages around. (Her real name is a closely guarded secret, and she is known by a number of code names, most notably 'Grandma' and 'Max'.) She went to an early Glastonbury Festival, but did not find it to her taste (nobody from Coronation Street was there).

Janice.

The ever wondrous Janice deserves a special mention, as she is so almost family, particularly to Grandma. She does cleaning for the family, and cooks the most glorious cakes. She is a Hells Granny, zooming around on her motor scooter like a thing possessed. (She is also a mother, grandmother and great grandmother to her own family, and a surrogate grandmother to quite a few more.)

My Cousins
I have many, many, many cousins (well, a few), and if any of them want to add a more detailed description, they can do. This part of the page lets you know just how small the family is: 15 born Taussiks, living in the World (including the 'married into's though, the family stretches five continents).

Tom's Family (Taussik side) (my second and second once removed cousins) - Ann-Marie (married to Des, children Daniyell and Jemma), Monica (married to Alan children Carla, Zara and Zoe) and John (married to Judy, children Sara and Amy).

Our distant second cousins - Anni, Ilse, Silvia, Marcelo (married to Irene, children Martin, Tatiana, Alan and Javier), Joe (& family).

Tom's Family (Schwarzkopf side) - Paul and Suzi, Nancy (married to Zvi, children Lisa and Jonnie), and Steven and Pat.
Others on the Schwarzkopf side (Mimi's Maternal relatives) - Renee and Frank, Sandra and Ed, Samantha, and a few others...

Jane's Family (Durston side) (my second and second once removed cousins) - Numerous is an understatement, but I'll have a go: Ed, Stephen, Lance (married to Ann, children Christopher, Nicholas, Caroline and Rebecca), Jack and Peggy, Roy, David (married to Sarah, children Jonathan, Edward and Jack), Bill, Hugh (married to Carolyn, children Oliver, Thomas and Ashley), John, Jean (married to John, children Sue and Tony)... this list is too long!

Jane's Sisters and her Cousins and her Sisters and her Cousins and her Sisters and her Cousins, and her Aunts (and her Uncles) (After Gilbert, 1888) (Lomax side) - Joan, Bill and Vern, David (married to Rosemary, children Carolyn and Ian), Paul (married to Chris, children Sarah and Helen). And more across the World...