This Page deals with Family News and Events

It also gives you the opportunity to navigate the website, particularly the Features page with many interesting choices


Family news | contact us  |  Feature Page  /  Family & Friends Picture Page
                   
                   

Lucas		 Morgan Copp Culley Davies Dobbins Sheldon Gamage Evans Owen

Woodland		 White Silk Shurrock Rohman Redgate Mainwaring Driscoll Davies Thomas
 

 		  
  Editorial  

We have been in our apartment here in Maidenhead for nearly year now (contact details at the bottom of this page) and, I am absolutely apologetic, but have not updated the site for many months. Having said that, it has been a very busy year with a lot happening  regarding the family as a whole and personal health in particular but, that is no excuse, so here we go with news and events affecting family and friends - and don't forget, emails and pictures  from all of you are most welcome for inclusion and sharing.

Do you remember me telling you about the deeds for the house in Cyprus ? Well, we still have not got them !!! Despite our Cypriot lawyer doing her best, the land registry in Cyprus have not come up with anything. However, we have heard that the department dealing with it has changed its name so we have been asked to re-submit a new formal request. At least this means that we know that our case is still in the pipeline but it does mean that we have just 2 years to come up with something before we lose 10% of our selling price!!!

Onto the family. Isobel is remarkably well and approaching her 80th in October (58th wedding anniversary next year - just 2 years before King Charles sends us a card !!!!). OK, she has lots of arthritic joints but, despite that, she is still determined to get as close to her 10,000 steps a day as possible. St Luke's Church in Maidenhead is her major priority in many respects and, unless it is pouring with rain, a 3 mile round trip walk is not unusual. Her current project is the production of jars of jam to sell at the Christmas Festival at the church - at this moment in time, well over 100 jars are filling our garage and at £3.50 each you can imagine the funds raised. Her varieties include Plum, Apple and Blackberry ( I pick the blackberries!), Strawberry, Orange Marmalade, Rhubarb Marmalade, Rhubarb and Ginger Jam - she is already talking about the chutneys and pickled onions!!!

                                                                                                             
A sedlection of Jams made by Isobel for the Church Christmas festival
NB. Blackberries picked by Barrie!!!                                                                                                                                An A view of the river Thamed at dawn from our front window

At nearly 82 years I have no right to complain about health issues - I suppose we have to accept that things do wear out with age ! A couple of years ago I had a knee replacement which has not been the most successful intervention. My walking has been severely affected to the extent that after a few  hundred yards I am struggling - keep up with Isobel, you must be joking!! But, guess what, when Ted Gamage passed away in November last year, Gareth and Janet gave me his mobility scooter which I have been using more and more every day with great success and significan reduction in petrol bills. Unfortunately, it broke down a month back and the local scooter repair shop took one look at it and refused to fix it as the underframe was being held together by little more than rust! What the heck and yippee !!! below you will see a picture of my new mobility scooter which can do an impressive 12 mph! I won't bore you with details of the Autoimmune hepatitis and  the radiotherapy which knocked out my prostate cancer - these are just a couple of the boring health issues which come with age!
 
 
     
     
Gareth, Rhian and James at a wedding 2026 James and Sarah My new pride and joy!! 
     
So what about our Richard down in Newport ? As you may remember, he has had major heart problems - including cardiac arrest, permanent cardiac pacemaker and inbuilt defibrillator - all of which rteduced his mobility significantly!! Having said that, a 400cc vary impressive motor scooter appeared on his doorstep which he uses to come up here to Maidenhead and to visit a girlfriend down in Exeter !! Isobel and I also use his location as an excuse for a day out where a visit to Tesco usually proves very beneficial to him. One of his problems is that he has bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and will be due a corrective operation in the not too distant future - starting with his right hand -  fortunately for him he is left handed!

Moving on to the Culleys - Rhian and Guy are very well indeed. We see Rhian most evenings when she comes round for a G&T and natter. James in September goes back to Portsmouth University for his final year in his architecture degree course. The last year he has had a very valuable year's work experience working for M&B ( he was the chosen one out of hundreds of applicants). His job involved travelling between many M&B establishments as a property development advisor and maintenance advisor. He has had a superb year and, fingers crossed, M&B may will look favourably at him when his degree course finishes!  Gareth applied to join the RAF over a year ago and, despite numerous delays has gone through his final assessment with flying colours. His choice of career is aircraft engineering and, with any luck, towards the end of this year an update of the website will include a photo of him in Uniform. Bearing his RAF intentions in mind, Gareth has been involved in lots of gym work, long distance running and keep-fit in more ways that one!!

In September, I will be off to Liverpool Medical School 1969 ers  reunion in Chester. This is likely to be the last reunion after 57 years since qualifying because numbers are beginning to shrink rapidly - not surprising as most of the 69ers are now in their 80th year !!  And finally, I'm sure many of you remember our closest friend back in the Kidderminster era - Paul Fenton? Ok, do you remember the major fire during heatwave number 5 which destroyed many homes in the Stourbridge area ? Well, Paul's house was one of just 2 in a street of 12 houses which were not burnt to the ground - how lucky can you be. Yes, he no longer has a garden of note and all his double glazing has to be replaced because of scorching but, to be fair, the insurers have been a godsend (how often do you hear that ???).

That's all for the moment folks - anything you want included - just let me know.

Very best wishes to all


Our address has changed from number 10 Riverine
to 23 Riverine, Grosvenor Drive, Maidenhead, Berkshire.  SL6 8PF

Our home telephone has changed to
01628 319605

 Mobile phone numbers are the same as are our email addresses


 Barrie and Isobel
To work out what your money is worth, click on the arrows and enter the appropriate currencies   
Rhian and Gareth at a  Park Run


Family news | contact us  |  Feature Page  /  Family & Friends Picture Page