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Archive for the ‘family’ Category

Ive deliberately held back from posting for a while, being out of work and job-hunting makes it too too easy to write a blog saying “theres not much out there” or “the recruitment agencies don’t return calls”. So rather than clutter the blogosphere with such bleak ramblings I thought Id hold back until I had something to say.

Well, yesterday we went to Oxfordshire to catch up with Gaz, Nic and young Kalin. Latest pictures will be uploaded to the brag-blog page shortly. Gaz took us to a pub theyve recently discovered, The Bear at Home in North Moreton.

It was quite bizarre, I felt at home as soon as I walked in, and felt a feeling close to deja-vu.

The pub has a reasonable car park, a small garden – with a stile to the local cricket pitch – comfortable bar and a large function/family room.

It was in the function room that we camped ourselves, young Kalins probably a bit distracting for most pub goers, but it was comfortable, with dining tables and comfortable sofas – the large flat screen TV showing the Turkish Grand Prix was an unexpected bonus.   

The food was tasty and freshly cooked on the barbecue outside, and the selection of beers was a very pleasant surprise, we started with Timothy Taylors Landlord and then moved on to try the Dark an excellent porter from the Lovibonds brewery in nearby Henley.

The bar was well attended with friendly bar staff and locals who all took the time to say Hello, or to pop their heads into the family room to check Jenson Buttons progress in the Grand Prix. I cant recall ever feeling quite so comfortable, quite so quickly in any pub.

I really believe that this is probably the best pub I have ever visited… and I concede that over the past 35 years Ive visited more than my fair share!

And as for that feeling of deja vu? Well according to the pubs own website here, in the 1980s the landlord was a certain Robert Massey… spooky eh?

Today we bade a sad farewell to Merlin, one of our Burmese cats. 

I know he was a good old age, nearly nineteen, and I know that the time was right for hime to go. His quality of life had recently deteriorated to the point where it had become evident that the time had come. He knew it.

 It still doesnt make it any easier. 

We were fortunate in that our local vet is also a good friend, and despite having a full schedule she cut her lunch short to attend to us, kindness like that is much appreciated. We are also fortunate in that we still have Gandalf, Merlins brother and Gandalfs health seems to be pretty good at the moment. 

Merlin was a good companion for nearly nineteen years, and he gave so much love and affection we will miss him desperately.

There are days when the world changes, everybody recognises them; the day when Kennedy, John Lennon or Princess Diana died. Depending on your generation you know what you were doing or where you were on those world changing days.

Then there are the days when your own personal world changes, the day you meet the love of your life, the day you lose a loved one or maybe the day when you land that dream job.

Yesterday the world changed for me, with the birth of our first grandson.  I say our because I cant claim much involvement, I acquired Gaz when he was in his teens and while I have no genetic claim to parenthood, having seen him through his difficult (and they were difficult) teenage years through to respectable adulthood, I can claim to have some small involvement. I know that I stood as tall as his genetic father did when Gaz passed out from his basic RAF training at Swinderby.

Gaz is now 41, and a Corporal in the RAF; hes served in the Falklands, Bosnia, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and Iraq. Been there, done that, earned the medal and wears it with pride.

So now he has a son of his own, I hope Ive provided some small influence that Gaz makes a good father, I guess thats all any of us can hope for.

Update – after meeting our new grandson, and inevitably falling for his charms, Ive learned that hes to be called Kalin Alan Robert Smith – Kalin means (by all accounts – Strong Warrior in Gaelic) Alan is his genetic father, and Robert from yours truly, so maybe I did do something right!

You find more pictures on my Brag Blog here

I had an interesting email today, from one Barry Ennever.

Barry is researching the Ennever family tree; my mother was an Ennever, and hes traced her family line back to about 1650. Interestingly Mothers branch of the family tree never strayed far from Essex or the East End of London.

I was aware that my Grandfather (on my mothers side) was a Bob – I was named for him - but I didnt know that HIS father was also a Bob. Theres a publican there too – John Ennever was the Inn Keeper of the Bell Inn in Rainham in the 1840s.

Clarissa Dickson-Wright from TVs Two Fat Ladies gets a mention in the family tree too. Okay, so maybe Im not descended from George II (as Boris Johnson recently discovered), but we havent explored fathers side yet!

The Ennever site can be found at http://www.ennever.com, and a fascinating trawl it is.

Ive also put a link to the site over there.