Nice one, David. I'm not one for taking photos of people either, but these photos remind me of a little tip for group shots, that others may not know about - don't just take one photo, take a couple or a few (I've used this for soccer team photos and kept the camera on sports mode and taken about 6 shots in 2 seconds), then stack them in PS.
Add a mask to the top layer image, and if anyones fully a funny face or got their eyes closed in the top image, mask it out and see of the image below is better. I've managed to get kids soccer teams with all smiley faces and open eyes that way.
Al.