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August 2024
We had intended to
spend a week away at Audlem during the month,
but the disruption to the Courts caused by the local riots meant we had
to change plans. We had some
public protests in Newcastle, Sunderland and Darlington, largely as a
result of social media misinformation following the fatal attack on three
children in Southport – Facebook and their ilk
put it about that an asylum seeker had carried the attack out, when it
was nothing of the sort! It was a
sad time for the country. The
Courts went into overdrive as police identified those who were not
peaceful protesters but chose to commit criminal damage, looting and
assault. We dealt with many people
quickly and that meant that things settled down quickly. But it also meant that we had to adjust
our plans.
Ian, however, did
get to the DX Commander Open Day.
This is the firm that builds amateur radio antennas, mostly for HF
and Callum McCormick (the owner) opened his
place up for enthusiasts to see.
It was a brilliant afternoon, where Ian’s wallet got lightened
when he bought a prototype V/UHF antenna for himself. When used the following Sunday, the
signal was described as “end-stopping”.
Lois had an
appointment with John Lewis’ personal shopped to buy the “mother of the
bride” dress. The appointment was
highly successful which has a great relief to both Ian and Hannah (but
mostly, I think, Hannah).
The UTC saw
A-level, GCSE and BTEC students receiving their results and the A-level
day is always a tense time with all emotions going on show as students
find whether they can move to the university, apprenticeship or job that
they hope to. Ian pops in to offer
moral support and what little advice he can!
We spend a
wonderful morning visiting Keele University
(our alma mater as they say).
Since we last visited, some 30 years ago, the place has been
transformed. But the campus itself
including Keele Hall and the lakes are still
there and it was just about possible to see the ghosts of our memories
laid out under the new, smart buildings.
It was a great morning and we are very grateful to Lucy Welch who
showed us round.
Hannah’s car blew
up in our drive – not literally but it did arrive in a huge cloud of
steam and it was deemed to be beyond mending. They were towed to Vertu
BMW where they negotiated a replacement with Gaz
– in our view their ace salesman (he sold us our new X3) – who fixed them
up with a replacement.
And Ian had his
annual haircut!
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