Family Matters

[Stanley]

My nephew Michael has been moved to a small hospital at Tavistock where they have a good physio department. He is recovering from operations on both knees for torn ligaments. Later this week the are going to adjust the stops on the hinges of his splints to allow him 60 degrees of movement. There is hope he may even be able to walk to the lavatory! Poor lad has been suffering for six weeks on bedpans....
Worth it every now and again to remember that there's always someone worse off than us!

[Tripps]

I am (barely) coping with stuff from 'officialdom' like this - on an almost daily basis. It's getting to be a struggle.

The names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Ms A N Other sent me an email from the xxxx address. I responded to that same xxxx address with questions.

She didn't respond to the email.

She then sent me an email from her own email address and said she never received the one I sent to her at xxxx, so I forwarded the message to her email.

She then responds - says she has 'escalated' the questions to a manager (reply within five days) - and tells me that all further emails should be sent to xxxx to avoid them not being answered!

You could not make it up!

[Stanley]

David, I often wonder if these people make it up as they go along. At one time British Gas regularly sent me emails to explain that I hadn't heard from them because my email address wasn't 'working'.
You have my sympathy.....

[PanBiker]

11 years today since we lost our Dan

Happy times with the family



and my favourite photo of our lads.

[Big Kev]

Happy memories are good...

[Wendyf]

Thinking of you today.

[PanBiker]

A nice time was had last night at Mario's. Carla and the kids stayed over at ours but had to make an early exit to get Finlay home for an onward journey for his rugby match in Halifax this morning. He will be on the pitch at 10am

[Big Kev]

I reckon this fits in here. I'm going to be a great grandad in June. I'm not old enough for that

[PanBiker]

Congratulations Kev and P of course.

[Big Kev]

thanks Ian. I'm still not old enough though

[Cathy]

Gosh Kevin and Paulette - Great Grandparents - neither of you are old enough. Congratulations

[Big Kev]

Thank you Cathy

[Stanley]

It is a bit of a shock when it happens to you.......I qualified 12 years ago and now I have three!

[PanBiker]

Current generation for us tomorrow. My brother George and his wife Christine are coming and staying overnight at ours. Tomorrow they will be driving up from their last stop at their daughter Sarah's in Northampton. They set off from the South of France on Monday, did 500 miles the first day, 400 miles yesterday and were at Calais last night. I would think that they would also have swung round by their son Darren who lives in Brighton. They will leave Northampton early and are expecting to be with us by lunchtime tomorrow. Not seen them for 11 years which was at our Dan's funeral. Jack went down to Darren's 50'th birthday in October.

A bit to catch up on no doubt. They sold their 4 storey mill, farmhouse, gites and lake in the Limousine about 18 months ago and are waiting on completion of their new build in the South of France on plot of land they found. Should not be far a way from being finished now. Friday morning they will be setting of back to Sarah's in Northampton where I think they are spending Christmas.

[Stanley]

A lot can happen in 11 years Ian! You will have plenty to go at.
Susan and I had a face time video call with Margaret in Oz yesterday, Thanks to the miracles of computers and no doubt full fibre connection it was as if she was next door. I talked to my Great Grandson Alex who is 11 years old soon. He's a lovely bright lad and I am sending him a present out with Susan and Mick when they go to Oz in four weeks....

[PanBiker]

We had a good catch up with George and Chris who have just set off back down to Northampton where they will be for Christmas. They have been encouraging us to visit them in their new place next year down in the South of France. Their new house should be finished by January of February and they say the best time would be September or October when it is still pleasantly warm. Will have to look for some cheap flights from Leeds Bradford or maybe John Lennon Airports if we can find any. Tail end of the season will be better for those as well I suppose. Will need to fly to Marseilles which is about half an hour by car from their place.

[Stanley]

Susan and Mick are in the area until about a week after Xmas and then they go to Essex to Wilf's. So I shall see quite a lot of them to top me up for the almost 3 months they will be in Australia.
Did I tell you that Grand daughter Holly is about to fall to pieces with my fourth great grandchild?

[PanBiker]

Working out the timings today for tomorrows trip to Leeds to meet our Ruby off the Birmingham train. She will be with us through into the New Year.

[Stanley]

It pays to look after the kids.... because then they look after you! Mick and Susan have been. They helped me get my greengrocery shopping home from the Co-op and then Susan changed my duvet covers for me. They are in the washer now so I can start 2024 between clean sheets....
That's what I call a good day and tomorrow can be a cooking day....

[Stanley]

Susan does a better job of bed-making than I do. Slept well apart from the explosions around midnight.

[PanBiker]

Thinking of our Dan today, it would have been his 44th birthday. We are a having a family curry tea, Dan always loved a curry Our Jack and Carla and family will be here also. I think we may have an odd beer to raise a glass.

He was born to the sound of "the Floral Dance", played by Keighley Brass band during Airedale Hospital Fun Day. They were on the verge outside the maternity wing. Cross dressed Nurses and Doctors, (including consultants) and bed racing around the perimeter was the order of the day.

[Stanley]

I wonder if the hospital still have the Fun Day? Somehow I doubt it in these altered times.....
Memories are good Ian.......

[PanBiker]

I don't think they can afford the time to have a bit of fun. It was a lovely summers day I remember it all vividly. How can I forget the consultant checking on Sally during her labour. He was dressed in a pink TuTu with large false boobs, frilly knickers, suspenders, stockings and red high heels which he could hardly stand up in.

[Stanley]

Cross dressing seems to have been popular on hospital fun days. Here's my brother Leslie when he was a nurse at St Thomas' in London.

[PanBiker]

46 years ago, our Carla was 8 hours old. Apologies to those Steeton residents that I may have woken at 5 am when I was screaming joyously making my way from the hospital to Carleton to tell Sally's mum and dad, Tommy and Louise.