5 parties through my time

I’m not a great party goer, even less a party giver but there have been times when I’ve filled the latter role and it’s turned out rather well. They’re an eclectic mix and evoke multiple memories. It’s amazing what you remember when you set your mind to it. Sadly the photographic record is somewhat limited and even where there are photos they’re not as good as they might be.

and finally …

Every month I do a monthly report on my life as a county councillor. Rather sad I know but if you’ve got the job you need to do what goes with it.

My grandmother’s kitchen

I’m inclined to say I grew up in my grandfather’s house but it was of course also my grandmother’s and I lived there for most of the 1950s.

Going to the movies

Not something we can do at moment of course but that doesn’t stop me reminiscing.

My memories of going to the cinema, or to the flicks as we would have said in those days, began in the early 60s. As a teenager in I went to the local cinemas, every town had one, and, if you were impatient for the latest release there were the big chains: the ABC and the Odeon in Chester.

A lifetime of running (not)

I ran 4.5 km yesterday. No big deal you might rightfully think but it was a part of my progress towards a medium term goal of 5k in 35 minutes. But more about that later. In the meantime I’ve been thinking about my relationship with running from schooldays to the present.

I didn’t know my father

Well that’s not exactly true in that (a) I knew who he was, and (b) he was an active part of my life as I was growing up. But I guess that because my parents separated when I was only two years old and my mother ‘had custody’ as would be said these days and although I spent significant time including several holidays with him I didn’t and still don’t know very much about him.

I’m Welsh. Does it matter?

I’d written this piece for my writing group which was due to meet 1 Mar 19, Dydd Dewi Sant (St David’s Day). Sadly our host for the day has a family medical emergency so we had to postpone. Given the timeliness of the piece I thought I’d post it anyway and write something else for our re-arranged event. Here it is:

It’s a frequent conversation. ‘Are you English?’ ‘No I’m Welsh’.

Twin peaks of happiness

According to the Resolution Foundation people are at their happiest when they’re 16 or 70. It’s an average of course and does beg the question ‘what about people who die before they reach 70?’ but it’s worth some thought. Its research also suggests that people are at their least happy in their 50s which I can understand: kids still hanging around, long way to retirement, body in slow decline etc.

My first years in school

Custom House Lane CP school circa 1956

When I went to school in Connah’s Quay you started in the Infants School, I went to Dee Road Infants, before moving onto Custom House Lane County Primary which was what we’d now call a junior school. Coincidentally it’s the setup in Histon where I live now.

On the job in Jakarta

Time is elastic and your perceptions of it evolve over time. Looking back I remember working for just two years in Indonesia and that’s not many in a working life that’s extended over five decades. But at the time it didn’t seem so short. Not because it bored me but because it was so rich in experience, in what was new and in the opportunities which it presented.