Joe Rooney

No one can humiliate a grown, even "old" man, better than a precocious child. To explain. I have spent lots and lots of dollars over the past 40 years trying to keep up with the constantly increasing technical demands of computers and the oddly named software! I also have a shelf full of technical advice for dummies. (Which I may or may not be, but probably am! Sunday I was struggling with another one of these infernal "Error" messages, but finally gave up frustrated and defeated by the so called software. Twenty minutes later my four year old grandchild, (Dear sweet Regan.) Stood in the hall bellowing in a very unsweet voice. "Mom, Grandma" grandpa broke the computer again, but its ok now, I fixed it!! Dear sweet child, I really do have to rethink and rewrite my will, these kids are just too smart, and totally lacking in proper concern for their elderly relatives. No Japanese kid would do that. But my kids are all Canadian. Joe.

Ah reality! I agree wholeheartedly with Malcolm. I f the council didn't own the land, somebody would, and I haven't seen anyone giving away land freely, no matter how good the purpose. Of course I am completely ignorant of todays reality in Bedlington. But for as long as I remember, it was always so. They had the YMCA, but that was restricted in various ways, especially economic. There was the odd football team, a boy scout troop, and little else, so most of us played on our own, or sat home moping, the choice was ours. The parents might try, but they had enough to handle, just surviving, and feeding the kids. In Canada there is a great deal of cooperative effort, neighbourhood groups, church groups, parent groups, mostly self financed, but internally motivated. They all seem to be very energetic in attracting attention from local municipalities, and local politicians pay a fair bit of attention to their views and needs. Most towns and cities have a reasonable number of Ice Rinks, public swimming pools, civic sports facilities, (some quite lavish), In many areas, school facilities are available for social, sports and other childrens activities. But the key is that these are almost always initiated by groups of local people with local needs in mind. I learned early in life, that if you want something, you had better make it happen, usually with the help of your neighbours, but without if needs be! As for politicians, (of any stripe!) They will only respond to Money, self interest, group pressure, public shame, or a lot of determined local parents who want better for their kids, and who have long memories, and no mythology of political adherence. I wish you all well, but what Malcolm says is true, wishes and dreams don't change a thing. That takes determination, and work!

Finally a familiar name. But werent you living on the Clyde somewhere? Did your daughter ever succeed in joining the RAF. And I suppose that in Alnwick you can still have chickens and dogs and kids and such! Hope all goes well for you, now if only we could find Swallnalla somewhere. I havent heard from or talked to him for a couple of years now. But then, I moved too!

Foe me? Yes, thank you,

When I was a kid on the Bank Top in the 1930's the grownups used to call the station Ice Cream Parlour "Rinaldi's" even though it was owned by the Moscardini family. It was one of those places where kids would even wash their faces to go . I believe that Rinaldi may have been a previous owner. We had it at the top of any list of "must go" places, though we rarely did, seeing how things were in those days. But the Moscardini's were a great family, friendly, generous with the scoops, and well liked in the neighbourhood. That all ended in the Summer of 1940 when Italy entered the war on Germany's side. A bunch of pub yahoos wrecked the place, and the Moscardinis were taken away. I don't know what happened to them, or where they went. But we missed them, and after our house burned down in 1943, we had to leave the Bank Top, and I lost touch with a lot of local happenings. As for the YMCA, I knew it was there, and lot's of fun for kids I knew, but since we were Catholic we were not allowed to belong to it. Just one of those dumb rules that made life a little less pleasant in those days.

Thanks Fourgee. I lied to my computer and told it that I was not on DST. But it worked, and now my computer agrees with Bedlington, and also with my watch!

How long will it take the fix to get to Calgary. My watch says 8.57 AM, but the screen from Bedlington tells me it is 9.57 AM. It must be hurricane Wilma!

Who's this Yoda lad? I don't remeber him from St Bedes. But that was 1943 mind you!