A Happy Christmas and New Year
At the Footie – We were there to support “Kick it Out” – campaigning against racism and discrimination in football – with ACAB (the African Community Association of Bolton). Incredibly Bolton Wanderers won and it was as if they had won the FA cup!
Nope – No Cards
Every day we realise how lucky we are compared with the plight of refugees and asylum seekers around the world. And with the catastrophe continuing in the Middle East it’s as if we’ve become immune to the tragedy that is still going on, with millions fleeing their homes and being shunned by most of the world.
That’s why we’re donating our Christmas card money to a charity that helps them in their new home town. BRASS (Befriending Refugees and Asylum Seekers), here in Bolton, helps refugees to learn English, to be able to have a life without barriers and integrate in the community; visit the doctor, find a job, support their children and socialise with other people.
Please also help people such as them this Christmas.
[spacer height=”5px”]Reunion
More than 60 years after she first taught me, I was reunited with my very first primary school teacher, Norma West, a.k.a. “Miss Bray”, this summer. Now in her early 80s she was just out of teacher training college when she taught most of us Gillatt kids all those years ago. Through her we adoring children got to meet the great Peter May (one of England’s best ever cricketers for those who don’t know!) and I vividly remember going to her wedding at St. Mary’s, White Waltham. She taught me a love for the English language and writing that is still with me today. She’s as beautiful a woman now as she was then and has had a fascinating life.[spacer height=”20px”]
[spacer height=”1px”]The Lad
Young Mr. Jack is growing up far too quickly and, of course, already knows more than we old fogies about everything! But he’s a very loving and sweet little lad, still doing well at school and with Maths as his favourite subject!
We took him and Claire on holiday to Wales this summer, bringing back childhood memories for both of us, as we stayed in a caravan close to the coast, took the railway to the top of Snowden, visited the Dinorwig underground power station (really his thing!), flew a kite on the beach and had a really wonderful time.
And Jack, at the age of 7 had his first ever holiday romance – though no broken hearts!
Two Weddings
Talking of romance….
First our adopted half daughter Sam married Phill, the pie-eater from Wigan, at a beautiful celebration on Rhodes, then grandson Kyle tied the knot with Janine at an equally bedazelling place in Staffordshire.
As you can imagine we had a wonderful time with the bonus of a great holiday with our “besties” in Rhodes and the chance to explore a little bit of Staffordshire — a county we’ve ignored for far too long. Leek and its pubs are highly recommended!
And next year WE celebrate 25 years of wedded bliss![spacer height=”5px”]
Yaapies Invade!
For the first time in many years we had a visit from the South African fandamily when Mickie and Tertia spent a crazy three weeks with us around Easter. We spent a week in the Highlands, around Glencoe, walked a couple of stages of the West Highland Way, did a “mad dash” day trip to the Isle of Mull, had a ride on the “Hogwart’s Express” and sampled many of the Scots’ delicacies, especially of the liquid variety!
Then, again with Gary and Charo, to España and the wonderful hospitality of nuestros amigos. We even managed, despite both our cars being stolen (!), a trip to Chester and followed in the Romans’ footsteps along the city walls from ancient pub to ancient pub!
Where Else?
Being people of leisure it’s wonderful to go where we want to and when (though Ryanair rather than BA Business Class!). So, apart from Rhodes and Staffordshire for weddings, Scotland and Spain with the Yaapies, we’ve been to Normandy and the home of the Gillatt ancestor Guillaume Le Conquérant in Falaise (pictured below), then made a poignant visit to the D-Day battlefields and saw more beautiful churches than we could have imagined existed. Not bad for a pair of devout atheists!
We spent a great couple of days at the England vs. South Africa test match at Old Trafford, watching the “good old Yaapies” getting wiped out, much as England are being in Australia at present!
Later in the summer we did a “who dunnit” murder mystery weekend in Leicester with Gary and Charo, where we disagreed about the miscreant (I was in a minority of 3:1 and despite watching hundreds of episodes of Midsomer, I was WRONG! ), then a spent lovely week with Claire and young Mr. Jack on the north Wales coast. Noelene joined the RHS and we visited their gardens at Harlow Carr and Wisley as well as the Tatton Park Flower Show. At Harlow Carr, Noelene was too busy pruning apple trees to notice that John was “all petaled out”!
Later, we were all ready to zoom off to Spain for some late autumn sunshine when our plans were scuppered by those “wonderful people” at Monarch Airlines!
Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland
Then, for the first time, to Northumberland. It really is a wonderful county and if, like us, you’ve not been there yet – get to it, boys and girls!
Finally, just before Christmas, we’re heading for a real German Christmas Market, rather than a British copy, and are off to Regensburg in Bavaria to savour sausages,beer and who know what else?
Red Leader
No local elections in good old notloB this year and, after coming “a good second” 13 times, John is having a rest from the fray in 2018. Despite doing pretty well elsewhere we unfortunately failed to gain Bolton West in June but, later in the summer, there was a warm welcome for Comrade Leader when he visited the constituency.[spacer height=”5px”]
So Long Mr. President
John ended his three year term of office as President of the International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation Society – www.ibbsonline.org (we kid you not!) as one of the main organisers of their three day triennial (too many threes, methinks!) scientific conference at MMU in the wonderful city of Manchester (www.ibbs17.org), aided by his glamorous assistant and quite a few others.
Some said that it was the best conference they’d ever been to; others thought it was the best piss up they’d ever attended!
But we got to meet the Lord Mayor of Manchester and dine at the Midland Hotel. That’s what we call a RESULT![spacer height=”5px”]
Africa Forward!
This year Noelene’s been doing a lot of work with the African Community Association of Bolton — much of it “behind the scenes” but she was also one of the main organisers of this year’s black history month opening celebration at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre at which the wonderful Boabab tree which she designed (and John built) was unveiled by the mayor.
Finished?
Well, maybe, maybe not, but at least that annoying little bit of missing skirting board has been sorted out!
In the spring the (nearly) finishing touches were made to the reconstruction of our house that started almost 20 years ago. New floors were laid downstairs, a neat door into the garage was made, drawers under the stairs put in and lovely metal spindles replaced the grotty old wooden ones. And it was all finished off with new carpets and redecorating.
Although we’re determined to not make any more major changes, our house is a lot like the Forth Bridge that gets continually repainted!
Faithful Companion
I reckon that, apart from my brothers and sisters, the one thing that has been with me longest has been my very faithful old friend – a 1950s HMV valve radio, which I bough with one of my first pay packets in 1967 As a teenager I was a keen short wave radio listener and an addict of Radio Luxembourg and the offshore radio stations such as Radio Caroline and Radio London.
But the ravishes of time affected it, just as it does us too; it had stopped working and was in a bit of a sorry state. But then I discovered Dave at Dab Hand Radio and he did a complete refurbishment, installed a cunningly hidden DAB receiver unit and made it look even better than when I first bought it for £6 all those years ago.
Daughters – this is your legacy!
Just Buzzing Around!
Thanks to Dawn and Jon, we had a bee-utiful day learning all about bee keeping during the summer. We were really buzzing at the end of it and Noelene became even more keen to get some hives of her (our?) own and join the growing throngs of apiculturists, determined to reverse the terrible decline in the UK’s bee population. Now, who do we know with a big garden in the countryside that will be ideal for hosting the hives?!
Interestingly, our local Tory MP praised the ban on pesticides harmful to bees even though Neonicotinoids have been banned on flowering crops in the European Union since 2013 – and in 2016 the European Food Safety Authority found that the use of Nicotinoids on crops posed a high risk to bees. For that reason the European Commission wants to extend the ban to all crops. In reality Chris Green, Bolton West’s MP, and the Tories led by MEP Julie Girling, have been leading a fight to block the full ban on Neonicotinoids tooth and nail. But what would you expect?!
The Sounds of 2017
As always, music is very important to us but we were a bit frustrated with not making enough time for all the musicians we wanted to see this year but we did manage to get to Mike and the Mechanics, those “good ole boys” the Doobie Brothers, the Australian Pink Floyd Show (Johnny no mates on his own!) and the excellent octogenarian John Mayall. Next year we’re already booked for Runrig’s farewell concert in Stirling and Roger Waters “in the flesh”!
On to 2018
Yes, the years seem to flash by faster and faster, and we’re really looking forward to 2018 – lots of trips already planned, our Silver Wedding Anniversary to celebrate, maybe John even doing one or two races during the last year of his 7th decade, good music, good food and drink and, above all, wonderful friends.
We’re, more or less, around all over the Christmas/New Year period so if you’d like to pop in to say “hello” and have “something liquid and warming” we’d love to see you. Though, please call first!
Our love and best wishes for a wonderful Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.
Our 2017 in Pictures
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