A couple of weeks ago I’d decided not to write a letter this year. For the past 4½ months, all that has occupied our time has been dealing with tradesmen since we have had the entire rear of the house reworked to form a single kitchen/dining/sitting area. Whilst it has been the top of our agenda for the whole year (we began the serious planning in December 2014), I didn’t think it was something that you would be interested in hearing about. However, when I began another November task, which was to sort out my pictures to create an annual photobook, I realised that life had indeed gone on before the building work and occasionally during it and that I did have something to relate to you after all. So here goes, starting with an update on the offspring. (I can’t call them children any longer since Loz turned 21 in December).
Laurence is still working as a digital media executive at a firm in Skelmersdale and appears to be enjoying it and, more importantly, getting recognised for his work. I still don’t quite know what he does, but I listen carefully and manage to nod at the right time and offer the occasional wise comment when he tells me about it. He’s still a member of Brindle Band. He started playing cornet with them in 2007 and has hardly missed a rehearsal since. He moved onto playing a baritone horn about 18 months ago and loved it, but last month he came home with a tuba and a long face. He feels that he’s been cast out to the graveyard of the bass section, never to return. He’s also miffed that the instrument weighs about as much as a Mini, and the band do a lot of marching. I’m sure he’ll get used to it, and it will help a lot in developing his muscle tone and cardio vascular fitness. Since much of the rest of his spare time is spent practising Jiu Jitsu and kick boxing, this seems a most appropriate development.
In July, Emily moved jobs from a medium secure hospital in Gisburn to a mixed day and residential school in South Manchester for children and young people who have complex learning disabilities coupled with having little or no oral language. She is now practising a new aspect of her occupational therapy skills, and although she finds it challenging, it all contributes to a comprehensive CV. She is living in Hale at present, saving up for a deposit on a house, but looking at the prices down there, she may be a while.
Despite all attempts to stop it, I’m still growing older. This was brought home to me in January when I was questioned for the first time whether I qualified for a concession. My expression caused the lady behind the till to withdraw the offer quickly, but the damage was done; I was severely wounded. The next month Geraldine and I were invited away for a weekend with three other couples to celebrate most of them turning 55. I was upset to discover that I was the oldest there too, but the others didn’t mind; they let me drink my cocoa at 9 o’clock and go to bed early with my Saga magazine.
If having a desire for sheds is an age-related thing, I can also include that in my portfolio. The play shed we bought Emily in the late 90s had virtually rotted away, so we replaced it with a grown-up equivalent for me. I haven’t yet succumbed to equipping it with an armchair, TV set and beer fridge, but the possibility is always there. The first major use of the shed was to store all the stuff we had to move out of the kitchen while the building work took place. It was almost as if it was all planned in advance.
I’ve rather neglected the garden this year, but we did have a good crop of raspberries, potatoes, onions and globe artichokes. The latter caused me considerable grief, since several huge heads all ripened at the same time, just when we had the kitchen ripped out and had nothing upon which to boil them. Life lesson: you can’t cook artichokes in a microwave. The heads looked lovely as they flowered and went to seed, however. We thought that we had three artichoke plants, but it turned out that two were actually cardoons (Google it). They formed a spectacular architectural backdrop for the garden, but not quite what we wanted. We also had a beautiful display of poppies in the summer, although I stress that we didn’t grow these as cash crop, but purely for their colour. The pond is doing fine, with a good selection of flora and fauna becoming well-established. I was glad to note that my overflow system worked well since it was rigorously tested in the November storm amusingly named Abigail (are they serious? ‘A big gale’?).
In what is becoming routine now, Gee and a friend spent a few days in the spring visiting Amsterdam and the Netherlands bulb fields. For me, I went on a cycling holiday with a group of chums to Pollença in the North of Majorca. We had spectacular weather and a great time, covering 360 miles and over 37,000 feet of climbing. The most thrilling part was the descent into Sa Calobra, and the most challenging, the climb out of Sa Calobra. (If you haven’t heard of this road, it’s time for Google again, or if you’ve a few minutes to spare, search for the descent on YouTube filmed from some chap’s helmet camera. I was careful not to let Gee see this until I had safely returned).
Route planning in Mallorca
It is inaccurate to assume that Gee and I always holiday apart these days. We did spend a lovely few days on Arran in March when we visited our favourite hotel on the island and my favourite bar anywhere. Fiddler’s bar serves great food, but its USP is that the owner is a musician who invites other musicians along to play most nights. The result is a marvellous evening with like-minded people who believe that live music matters and good food needn’t cost the earth.
We are still supporting local live music in the village, attending a record five Brindle Rocks concerts this year. I also achieved a first when we visited the Ramsbottom Festival in September. (I know what you’re thinking; ‘what’s a bloke his age doing attending a music festival?’) Well the Rammy Festival has been on my wish list for a few years, and having done it now, I’m happy. The music was mixed, the weather was just about OK, and the food… well, it was cheap. We enjoyed some great performances from The Proclaimers and The Moulettes, and mediocre performances from many others that you won’t have heard of, but who collectively provided an entertaining afternoon/evening.
Talking of wish lists, I had never visited the Isle of Man, despite it being only about 80 miles away, so I planned a cycling trip to rectify this. I somehow managed to mess up the logistics, and booked ferries that allowed only one full day on the island. Despite this, after an early start from my hotel in Douglas, I managed to cover the entire island taking in the Point of Ayre in the North to the Calf of Man in the South, climbing past Snaefell on the way. I was really impressed with the island and its people, being made very welcome, and I enjoyed joining in with their Tynwald day celebrations. I need to go back and find out if I missed anything by omitting Peel from my rushed itinerary.
We are both still working in the jobs we’ve had for several years now, despite threats of redundancy. Gee is hoping that the Council will decide that her post is surplus so that she can leave her substantive position and concentrate more on her secondary role as a wedding celebrant. She is still enjoying this at weekends, and has married about 50 couples this year. I am still recruiting apprentices and graduates and training them in the (black?) art of project management which is keeping me very busy, especially since they are now carrying out roles all over the country from Glasgow to Yeovil. Due to the age of the apprentices, a colleague and I spend considerable time dealing with pastoral care issues, and in the remaining time, we are preparing for an anticipated Ofsted inspection, where we are expected to maintain the current ‘outstanding’ rating. No pressure.
The more observant amongst you will have spotted that we have both changed our email addresses. This was because our provider of choice (Virgin) unilaterally decided to sell off our accounts to TalkTalk in February because we were (at the time) unable to take advantage of superfast broadband. We weren’t happy with that, and refused (wisely, as it turned out) to go with TalkTalk but to switch back to BT, which meant that we lost our Virgin email addresses. We have subsequently been able to access superfast broadband since the technology arrived in March. Amongst all this change, and the building work, our BT telephone line failed. We could just about talk on the phone, but that was about it. BT insisted that our wiring was at fault, and since the back of the house was a building site, we felt that they may be right. However, it turned out that the cable from the pole to our house had failed, and so BT fitted a new cable directly to a new location in the centre of the house which was a perfect location for wifi. Overall, a very satisfactory result.
In October, Emily suggested that we all visit the Blackpool Illuminations. We hadn’t been for years, and Emily had never seen them as an adult, so we planned a trip. What a disaster. We set off later than planned (we had a plumber still finishing off something) and then got stuck in a traffic jam on the M55, and crawled into town at walking pace, missing a meal at our planned restaurant. The lights themselves were a disappointment, and when we tried to find somewhere else to eat, we were dismayed at the lack of choice. Our selected cafe provided great people-watching opportunities, however, through its clientele who were, putting it politely, very strange. My biggest fear was meeting someone there who knew me. We left around 10:30, only to find ourselves once more in a traffic jam on the M55, which the local news said was due to the volume of traffic, and hinted that that it was quite normal! Clearly many people still love Blackpool, although I can no longer include myself in that cohort.
It wouldn’t be a Christmas letter if I didn’t have a grumble about something. This year, it’s the over-use of the word ‘so’. You may not have noticed it yet, but listen to the news reporters and you will find that they now preface every answer with this word. It has driven me mad for months now, and I suggest that in a few weeks, once you notice it, it will annoy you too. Don’t mention it: all part of the service. J
We are looking forward to Christmas in the new kitchen, and are currently deciding whether we should have a tree in that room rather than (or as well as) in the lounge. I think the lounge will win. Sadly, we have no Brindle Band Christmas concert in the Community Hall this year and we’re not sure why. I’m sure that we’ll get to see the band in the Cavendish at some point since they often call in for an impromptu concert in the run up to the festivities, which is always appreciated.
Well, I’m afraid that’s my 2000 words done, so I’ll wish you all a lovely Christmas and hope to see you in 2016.