This year’s reminiscences actually begin in 2022. I usually write these letters on a wet and windy day in late November when I don’t want to go out (I often have plenty to choose from) and last year was no exception. In mid December, after I’d written the letter, we heard that Geraldine’s Auntie Sheila had died after a short illness. She was almost 93, and since she was the last person alive in our family of that generation, it was a sobering time. We attended her funeral in her home village in Cushendun, Northern Ireland and were treated to a beautiful ceremony which was more commemorative than melancholy. A friend of hers conducted the service who was fascinating in his own right. Father Martin O’Hagan was one of a group of three singing priests who became famous in 2008 when their debut album became the fastest-selling UK debut for a classical act. For a while, he was Sheila’s parish priest and they became firm friends. The service, in which he sang all the hymns, was sublime and will long be remembered.
So, to bring us up to date, I can report a quiet year for Geraldine and me: we generally did the same sort of things that we always do, but the main activities have been with the children. You may recall that Emily had accepted a job with the NHS in Sheffield late last year and after three months in a rental property, she and Ellis moved into a lovely house in mid April which is on the edge of the city. Thankfully, everything went smoothly and they have settled in very well. I’m very pleased since when they go on holiday, I am drafted in for cat-sitting duties, so I now have new areas to explore on my bike. Their house is very close to the Peak District, which is wonderful, if a bit hilly.
Laurence introduced us to his girlfriend in December last year and after 12 months things seem to be going well for them. Both Laurence and Pip applied for new jobs in early autumn, and curiously they both received offers whilst they were away on holiday in Barcelona! Laurence has already started in his role which is doing some marketing stuff selling university training courses for people on-line, although I may have got that wrong. His company, although based in Brighton, is part of an American organisation. Laurence is still working from home in Chorley though. I think the job is good, but he mentioned one problem was that if he needs advice on the role, his contact is someone who is based in Bogotá, Colombia. I assume that this chap speaks English and doesn’t expect Laurence to practice his ‘holiday Spanish’ on technical issues. The main concern is the 5 hour time delay – Laurence can only ask for help after 2pm.
Geraldine continues to conduct wedding ceremonies (around 160 couples married during the year) but in spring, she also became a registrar (which is the person who legally sanctions the ceremony and creates the certificate) and she has since carried out nine registrations. At the same time, she was approached to carry out Citizenship Ceremonies every fortnight. These are the ceremonies where someone who wishes to become a British citizen makes an oath of allegiance and a pledge to respect the rights, freedoms and laws of the UK. This is more like a real job, and it does bring its own challenges, mainly remembering how to pronounce the names of the twelve people she needs to address each time.
I had planned to go on a long cycle tour in May which would have encompassed Wales, Ireland (both South and North) and Scotland but sadly, I had to cancel it in April. I had taken a spill on the bike in January when I found a patch of black ice on a descent. A trip to urgent care sorted out the cut over my eye, but no-one noticed that my sore wrist was actually broken. It was only discovered when I returned a week later and had an X-ray. Then I had to wear a splint for six weeks but even when this was removed, my thumb was still hurting so I thought it inadvisable to undertake a long cycling tour. My thumb still isn’t right and I’m back at the hand clinic later this month. I began riding again in May, however, since the pain was more of a dull ache by then, and I realised that cycling wasn’t making things any worse. Since then, I’ve got back to my usual distances and undertaken a few long, multi-day rides. As a means of passing the time when I couldn’t ride, I began a project to re-create photographs from a book I grew up with written by George Birtill, a local historian. My Mum owned a copy of “Over the Five Barred Gate” which was written in 1967, and as a child I spent hours looking at it, riding out to find the locations of many of the photographs. So between January and March this year, I tried to capture the same images 56 years later. This was harder than expected, and it took a lot of trial and error to get the exact location. The photographer in 1967 often stood in the centre of the road to capture the shot which is not a sensible option these days. Anyway, it passed a pleasant couple of months collecting over 130 photographs.
After that, the question was what to do with them? Laurence came to my rescue when, as a birthday present, he created a website for me where I could reproduce the original monochrome images (a bit grainy and poor quality) and overlay the modern equivalent. I have enjoyed adding more and more detail to the website, including my autobiography (written in 2016 whilst recovering from an illness), my cycling ‘blogs’ since 2018 and more recently, all these Christmas letters. I began writing these letters in 2002 and they served as a useful memory aid when writing the biography. Another advantage of the website is that I can add photographs to illustrate the words. The results are here: https://bernardkellett.co.uk/christmas-letters/ . Be sure to leave a comment.
I am gradually weaning myself off Facebook. I signed up on the site in 2009 and for several years, I enjoyed the on-line interaction, but of late, my ‘friends’ are posting less and I now find that I am inundated with adverts or suggestions of pages I might like. There are still some people I like to hear from on the site so I still access the pages regularly, but I stopped posting in July. Although I’m missing it, I feel it’s had its day (like Friends Reunited or Myspace) and I haven’t yet found a replacement. I have recently rejected Twitter (thanks for ruining it, Elon) and now use Threads as an alternative so I’m still tied to Meta (and Zuckerberg).
Gee and I haven’t mustered up sufficient enthusiasm to venture abroad on holiday since 2020, not helped by the fact that Tilly (our 18 year-old cat) will no longer tolerate catteries, so we limit ourselves to short breaks together. One such trip was in June when we toured Fife in beautifully hot weather. We covered the usual sights: The Falkirk Wheel, the Kelpies, the V&A in Dundee, the beautiful seaside villages and the cities of St Andrews, Stirling and Perth. We were very disappointed with Perth – it seemed tired and didn’t have much to offer, but the other places were lovely.
We also had a few days in Northumberland in August visiting the Alnwick Garden, Bamburgh, Seahouses and Holy Island. The latter was lovely especially since after queuing to drive over the causeway (the tide had only just gone out), we found a secluded car park and elected to walk the last mile, thus saving the anguish of trying to find a parking space in the town: it was very busy, but we managed to find some quiet spots.
I was in Scotland again in September with two pals cycling on the West Coast. In five days we only had one day of rain and wind which is pretty good. We climbed the Bealach na Bà which has been on my ‘to-do’ list for years. The climb is a monster, starting at sea level and rising to over 2,000 feet in less than six miles. Although ascending was hard, descending was almost as bad, especially with a sore thumb. The steepness of the road demanded constant use of the brakes for five miles on a bumpy road with lots of bends. In addition, I was cold, so I was very glad to arrive at Applecross and enjoy a coffee and a sausage butty. I certainly felt that I’d earned it.
Other memorable cycling trips included a trip through the Mersey Tunnel. Bikes are (quite rightly) not welcome in the tunnels, but once a year, the Queensway Tunnel is closed to motor traffic and a cycle sportive uses it for a charity ride to raise money, this year for the NSPCC. I only signed up because I wanted to cycle through the tunnel, but now I’ve done it, I won’t be doing it again. I really don’t like organised cycle events, especially since there were well over 800 cyclists on the most popular route. At the start it was downhill into the tunnel, and although two lanes were available to us, people were weaving all over and I found the first couple of miles very stressful. It was well past Birkenhead before I could start to enjoy the ride on my own terms. (I know I’m anti-social, but I just prefer my own company.)
It hasn’t been a bad year, culturally. I helped organise what may have been the world premiere of John Balshaw’s Jigge at Brindle Community Hall in June. Composed in Brindle itself, this is the only known stage ‘jig’ from the North West of England and was a form of musical entertainment popular during the Elizabethan period. A speaker at the Brindle Historical Society last year gave a presentation on the book she had written about the old manuscript and chatting later, she mentioned that she’d love to stage the play, ideally where it was written. A year later, she made it happen with drama students from Lancaster University.
Geraldine and I have also enjoyed several concerts and films this year. Our favourite concert venue, the Victoria Hall in Settle, stages a film matinee each month, and priced at just £4 seems remarkable value (although driving there and back adds another tenner in fuel costs). The theatre is arranged with cabaret seating and offers free tea or coffee and biscuits! You have to make your own tea, but hey, that’s not a problem.
We had a lovely afternoon at a vineyard in York where we learned a bit about the art of viniculture before enjoying a light lunch. This was a gift from Emily and Laurence who joined us for an overnight stay near Harrogate. They also drove us to and from the vineyard so we could enjoy the drinks.
In April, we saw one of our favourite bands (Holy Moly and the Crackers) in their home city of Newcastle and just recently we saw them again in Birkenhead. I’m really glad we got tickets for this latest gig because just after we bought them, the band announced that they were stopping touring. They’ve been going for 14 years and produced five albums but now, since two members have launched solo careers, they’re taking an indefinite rest.
Gee and I at the centre of the front row
I much prefer small venues to see bands. I like to look the musicians in the eye when they’re playing and I don’t want to stand in a muddy field to hear them. I’ve certainly no desire to go to Glastonbury, especially this year when it seemed to be dominated by ‘old’ acts. As a 64 year old I expect to be baffled by Glastonbury not see artists I saw (or wanted to see) 45 years ago. It’s like as if I went to the Knebworth festival in 1976 and the headline act was George Formby.
I’ve been keenly following the rise of Artificial Intelligence over the past few years and I’m very interested to see how it will all pan out for us. However, seeing humans doing hard jobs on the minimum wage whilst robots write poetry and paint is not quite the future I expected, nor wanted.
Anyway, I’m showing my ‘grumpy old man’ side again, so I reckon it’s time to sign off and wish you all the best Christmas and New Year. Until next time…
