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Switzerland

Sometimes you hear things that just pass you by. Sometimes you hear things that you think, that’s interesting. Then very occasionally you hear something that stops you in your tracks and you cry out

‘I’m sorry, say that again…..’

Sat in the Departure Lounge at Geneva Airport, talking to a Swiss Couple also waiting for the same plane. Two couples, two pregnant couples. The subject randomly got onto prospective child names.

“If you want that name then you better have your child in Britain. You won’t be allowed to call your baby that in Switzerland. Swiss Authorities have to approve names and have strict rules…”

Officially stopped in tracks.….

Switzerland, yes the country has naming rules. Can’t use names that might have a negative impact on a child’s future. Can’t use place or brand names. Middle names frowned upon as no room on official forms for them. Double surnames frowned upon. Some names changed to reflect local Italian or German pronunciations.

To be fair the couple did say things had become a bit more relaxed over the last few years, but rules are still there. At one stage there was even a list of approved baby names that you had to pick from.

Switzerland is a stunning, amazing country, it’s also occasionally just a bit barking mad. Coming from Yorkshire, I like that.

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Cold Sea

A Yorkshire Seaside Holiday Resort in WINTER. During the Summer Bridlington would be mobbed but this cold, windy day, it was almost completely deserted. Most places boarded up for the off season and definitely NO pirate ship rides.

Apparently the bronze statue is of a young girl knitting a special jumper called a Gansey for a local fisherman.

Many many many years ago, as a child I would come here once a year. It was one of the very few big family day trips. Sixty miles from home. That was as far as we ventured most years, so it seemed like it was on the other side of the world. Now walking along the seafront and it looked almost unchanged from those childhood adventures. Half expected to see my parents coming to meet us laden with newspaper wrapped fish, chips and mushy peas.

Memories AGAIN.

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Switzerland

Lost in Bern. Sounds like a Bill Murray movie. Lost back in time. The three of us were trying to find our way to the Bear Park. Walking in never ending circles around the old city streets when an enticing ice cream parlour became way too tempting. Temptation is a slippery slope to ruin or in this case a slippery cafe floor. Carrying 3 ice creams and drinks was way beyond me and I went head over heels. The Muppet Dad was on the floor covered in various flavours of ice cream and coke.

An embarrassing silence descended on the busy cafe.

Silence broken by Hawklad who loudly announced “HE is not my Dad, I have never seen him ever before…”

He was 5 and already he knew me way too well.

Doing a bit of that alpine climbing.

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Switzerland

It’s odd how the mind works. Suddenly a long lost memory randomly pops back into focus. I was trying to open a food tin and the can opener had done a runner. Time to get out my Swiss Army Knife with its soon to be tried, mini can opener tool. I remembered buying this knife gadget from a gift shop in Switzerland to hurriedly try to fix my Glasses. We were at the top of The Gornergrat. A high mountain ridge standing at over 10,000ft just a few miles from Zermatt. It’s famed for having Europe’s highest open air railway.

The memory further opened out. Glasses quickly repaired, we had lunch sat outside the mountain top restaurant. Hawklad’s Mum then said that on our next Swiss Holiday we should try to stay at the hotel here, seemingly perched on top of the world.

That was 2015 and our world changed before that could happen.

One day maybe we can complete this memory.

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Ghosts

A Christmas Week trip out to the Coast. To the South Gare at Redcar. My old childhood town.

Wild and windy with clear storm damage. This place gets a real battering from the North Sea.

As a child I would either bike here or my Dad would bring me in his old rust bucket Ford. It was a great place to come, it was as exciting as this part of the world got. Huge waves, intrepid fishing boats, working lighthouse and huge supertankers coming into port. If you were really lucky you would get to see newly built mighty Oil Rigs being towed out to the oil fields, hundreds of miles north. That was many years ago.

The waves are still huge, everything else has changed. Hardly any fishing, lots of derelict industry, not so many ships using the ports now. Dad is a distant memory.

The photo below was taken from what was left of one the Gun Posts. Since the 1970s this view would have been dominated by a huge Blast Furnace, Europe’s second biggest. Now that’s gone as well.

2023, the Furnace should be there in the middle of that photo

Back 18 months ago, the Furnace was still there, a shell waiting to be scrapped. For decades the Furnace dominated Redcar. Dominated its skyline, economy and life. My Dad worked there, my brother in law worked there, most of my school friends went to work there.

From 2022, proved to be the last photo I would take of the Steel Works..

Walking there this Christmas and I could really feel THE GHOSTS of the past. A once childhood haunt is now just HAUNTED.

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Panto

Back in 2015 we had planned to take Hawklad to the theatre to see Panto. Many countries don’t do Panto so here is a short Yorkshire Guide to it.

Panto runs at many theatres across the country over Christmas and New Year. Silly, family musical comedies based on Fairy Tales. Each Panto tends to have at least one almost semi famous TV star, one kinda local celebrity and a group of actors, with a few just starting on their careers. Cheesy jokes, slapstick action, catchy songs, big sets, great costumes and really over the top acting. Much audience participation, compulsory booing of the pantomime villain and shouts of ‘it’s behind you’. Some really unfortunate parent always gets singled out for much social embarrassment.

It’s still hugely popular in the UK.

Roll back the clock and in 2015 Hawklad’s mum wasn’t well which stopped us going. Our world changed in 2016 so no panto. Years passed without panto, then COVID.

But finally in December 2023, many years late and WE got to PANTO. Better late than never…… in York’s old Theatre Royal.

Hawklad absolutely loved it. Muppet Dad thankfully avoided being the unfortunate Dad picked on throughout the 2 hours show. Yes it was a truly wonderful, enjoyable family show. That good that tonight we are already booking tickets for next years Panto which is going to be Aladdin..… It took too many years but now we can’t wait to keep up this new tradition.

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Busting

Quality parking from the farmer, not many cars, or bikes, or dog walkers passing here for a while.

Some times you just need to pass stuff…..

Like a fine wine or malt, they get better with the years. That’s ME…

So NOT the case….

I remember a few decades back and a trip to the cinema was a pleasure and not torture. As many Kia-Ora cartons as my Paperboy job would pay for, not forgetting a small tub of ice cream if the person on the door could find the office keys. Then bring on the movie, short or long. Then bring on hiding under the seats at the end of the movie and then getting to watch the movie all over again. Never a need to bolt to the toilets, which was a good thing as the toilets at our towns beach cinema would often flood at high tide.

Photo from The BBC archives

It’s all changed now.

A brand new cinema has replaced the old battered Picture House.

My bladder has clearly been replaced with a small thimble.

Kia-Ora replaced with seriously overpriced black coffee.

Movies seem very very long and are now absolute torture.

🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽

Today’s Marvel Epic was just 100 minutes long yet to my lower regions it felt like back to back Gone with the Wind’s. The pre movie trailers had just about started to roll when the first pangs of regret started for buying a coffee. As the movie started I was shifting uneasily. Halfway through and I was seriously preoccupied with matters of state. And as the heroic ending played out, I was having an out of body experience. I now know how John Hurt’s character in the Alien felt like just before the pesky alien popped out…..

BUSTING….

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7

Has it really been SEVEN years.

It’s exactly 7 years since we welcomed this little hooligan into our world.

For 2 months I hadn’t been functioning, I was a mess and seemingly unable to take control. It had just been over 2 months since we had buried Hawklad’s Mum.

But then in November I realised that the house needed more LIFE, more noise, rekindled fun. A mad puppy was the answer. And do you know what, it still is the single best parenting decision I have made.

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River

That’s called building right next to the river….

It’s taken over SEVEN years but finally it was time to sort through paperwork. Mounds of it. Her papers had sat largely untouched in and on the desk she used for work and in a huge old wooden cabinet which sits next to the desk. A large, heavy, immovable and very hard cabinet that is also just close enough to the room door that it’s caused many a bruise to my toes and shins during those years. Prior to that, not so many bruises as this was her room and I hardly ventured in there.

Not enough room in this little bungalow to have an unused room anymore. So it was time….

I had always assumed this would be an emotionally draining experience but in the end it was an odd feeling. I really didn’t feel anything, it just kinda happened. Occasionally I came across a paper with a handwritten note saying ‘speak to xxxxx’, ‘need to look at’, ‘needs sorting’. She never did….. That was unnerving.

I did find a few things which I put to one side for Hawklad to keep. But the pile of papers to get rid of steadily grew into a mound, then a mountain. A mountain that a few days later became a fine garden bonfire.

One work note made me smile. Before we met romantically we worked for a while in the same public sector organisation. Given the amount of paper, she was a conscientious saver of all documents, even seemingly irrelevant work ones. I found a few policies that I had issued, WOW, even I didn’t keep or ever look at those. But one random work document had a simple handwritten note about ME. She had written that I WAS RESPONSIBLE….. That was it, nothing else. Does that mean that she was so impressed with me as shining, go getting manager that I was clearly a RESPONSIBLE person. Could it mean that I was responsible for an area or budget or decisions in something that she was interested in. Or could it mean that there had been a COCKUP and I had caused it. 😂😂😂😂

As I am no Poirot we shall never know. So in the fine traditions of Public Service, I made doubly sure that particular document was especially well incinerated. I’ve spent decades avoiding responsibility and I’m not going to start now.

The room is looking very different now. Space now found for my books, my records, my stuff. It’s starting to not feel like her room anymore. I certainly couldn’t have done this 7 years ago, but those rivers keep flowing and eventually life moves on.

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Spot the balloon

In all my euphoria over Hawklad’s exam results (https://bereavedsingledad.blog/2023/09/10/bridges-2/) I completely forgot that I was going to get some party balloons for the house. When I did remember, well to be accurate, when Hawklad finally reminded me a few days later……

We immediately rushed off to the Supermarket but with perfect timing, they had completely sold out. Pants….

But sometimes life has a habit of trying to bring balance and so it did. As we drove back empty handed what did we see….

BALLOONS

VERY BIG BALLOONS

Lots of HOT AIR BALLOONS

Maybe not quite the same but definitely memorable and definitely less taxing on my lungs. Now play spot the balloons.