April is a special month for a number of reasons.
Yesterday (9th April) was the second anniversary of my dad (Graham) dying. He had been poorly for a long time with kidney failure and been on dialysis for a few years. He was a strong and brave man in many ways – he worked in the chemical industry from 1959 to 1993 – a dirty and dangerous job. He suffered some really serious accidents over the years especially acid burns but he just got on with life without any complaints.
Eventually it was lung cancer that ended his life. Probably years of smoking and maybe working in the chemical industry didn't help either. When we were sorting some paperwork yesterday I found a leaflet from one of his employers that warned of the possibility of tumours developing years after people have left work. We will never know.
Anyway we will be celebrating his life with what has become a regular event around his birthday (2nd May) with a “curry day”. One of his favourite meals was chicken korma – so we will have family round for a day of curry and alcohol – hoping for good weather May Day Bank Holiday weekend.
Tomorrow (11th April) is mine and Jayne's 18th wedding anniversary. We were married two days after the 1992 general election. At that time I was active in the union and we had been anticipating a Labour win in the election – we had to wait another five years. I still can't believe that we had our wedding reception in a room in the basement of the Pudsey Conservative Club!!!!
I had a look on the Internet to try and find out if the 18 years anniversary had a name – you know the sort of thing – paper, china, silver etc. But no it doesn't although a couple of sites suggested that a modern or contemporary theme was porcelain. So perhaps it's off to Morrisons this afternoon to buy Jayne a new mug for the copious amounts of tea she drinks!!
On Tuesday we're at the hospital for Jayne to have a check up. It's just a over a year ago that she had surgery for breast cancer. I know Jayne will say that paradoxically this past 12 months has been the best year of her life – go figure!! Well here's why:-
- three months off work – OK had to have radiotherapy some of the time
- saw Bruce Springsteen and Gaslight Anthem at Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park
- a long weekend in Dublin – oh and two Bruce Springsteen shows at the RDS Arena
- a week in New York last November – including two Bruce Springsteen shows at Madison Square Garden, a trip to New Jersey and Asbury Park
- meeting some fantastic people along the way – you know who you are but you might not know just how much you have contributed to making this a great year
- saw Southside Johnny again – this time at the Opera House in York
April is often the month when political activists gear up for local elections – usually the first Thursday in May – and this year of course we have a general election on 6th May – yes we do really – maybe you haven't heard. So I have a couple of carrier bags of leaflets and letters to deliver for our Labour Party candidates.
This is also usually the month when Jayne starts to get the gardening bug again – yesterday she did a bit of tidying up – cutting back bushes and pressure washing the patio. It also usually means spending money on plants and pots etc.
Some of you might know that the future of my job is in the balance at the moment. If I'm made redundant maybe I will get in to this gardening thing – Jayne makes it looks relaxing but hard work as well. Losing my job will probably mean having to develop my limited domestic skills – cooking, cleaning and watching day time telly. Perhaps I will also start to play my saxophone again. Hope to know some more about the job in the next three or four weeks – will keep my followers posted.
Things we're looking forward to over the coming months and that might appear in future blogs:-
- May - Suzy Bogguss at Sheffield City Hall
- June - J ackson Browne at Sheffield Hall and Gaslight Anthem at Brixton Academy
- July - 1 40th birthday party in Wales
- September - my daughter expecting a baby
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