A Treck into the wilds of Milton.

Good Morning all you lucky people it is me again, with more exciting and nail biting tales of life with a Rollator. so welcome to................

Should get up when
 I wake up

Well Saturday morning was interesting to say the least, For the second morning running I woke about 3.30 isn with a very painful shoulder, Why this is happening again I have no Idea, anyway it was a case of applying "Deep Heat" and taking a couple of co-codamol and then getting back to sleep again,  before waking at 7.30.

I have a suspicion that I "Cricked" my neck on Thursday, reaching to get something out of the cupboard , anyway if it happens again over the weekend I will phone the doctor on Monday,  anyway instead of getting up and out of bed I decided that I would just check on Facebook with the iPad, Big Mistake, still there at 9.00 am

My Trusty Rollator

Once I am out of Bed I text Pauline and then get some breakfast and get dressed before Pauline phones and we have our morning chat, Pauline has only just got up, so looks like we are all having a lazy start to the day today, Anyway after I have spoken to Pauline it is on to the lap top to check emails etc before deciding that as it is such a nice day today and that we are in for some wet and stormy weather over the next week I will go for a walk to Bransbury park and Milton road with the Rollator, I am under no illusion that I will probably suffer for it over the next few days but I know that my leg and thigh muscles are getting weaker , and my Knees are starting to give me trouble, so I need to walk while I still can.

So  after making sure I have an ample supply of Food, water, Tena, Medication and camping gear I head of out to explore the wilds and to face the perils of walking to Bransbury Park with my Rollator.

The Reason I am so attached to to this area and why I live here is that it is where my Mother and my aunt and Uncle were  born and raised and where they all lived from 1918 until about 1925 when my Grandfather was Posted to Ireland before moving back to Fareham, just outside of Portsmouth in about 1928. so here we are with a photographic tour of my walk today

The first Photograph is walking east along Goldsmith avenue towards the Milton Road, with Milton Park to the left.

This is Milton School, it is in milton Road, just after entering from Goldsmith Avenue, This is the school that my Mother, Auntie Maud and Uncle Fred went to, Mum would have gone there in 1918, when she was 5 years of age.

The two photographs above show one of the little independent shops still trading in the Milton road " known locally as "Milton Market" it still has sweets in the jars and weighs out the sweets you require and serve them in a little paper bag, memories of days gone by.

This shows one of the flower beds by the bus stop in Milton Road, at the entrance to Bransbury Park.

Time for a coffee at the "Art Cafe" situated in Bransbury Park, an excellent little cafe with a wide range of food and very nice tea and coffee, a independent cafe .

These two Photographs above is the area of Bransbury park, that the "Art Cafe" is situated in a nice peaceful place to sit and enjoy the sunshine

This Photograph is the area that runs along the side of the sports areas, tennis, soccer , miniature railway etc. that is about it for me so now tio head back home, I have been out almost 2 hours, 

The final two Photographs are taken as I go home via the side roads and shows the victorian houses and architecture  along the Tree lined roads that makes up most of the residences in the southern half of Portsea Island and the district of Milton.

So here I am back home and I am absolutely tired out, my legs feel as if I have run a marathon, I have been out about 2.5 hours and enjoyed it but I now need a light lunch of Chicken soup and then go for a cat nap for an hour or so.

Chicken soup for lunch.

That was a lie down that lasted longer than I thought, anyway I now need to get this journal written while listening to the Portsmouth soccer match on the Radio, which Portsmouth drew 1-1 against Exeter, it was the first match of the 2014/15 season. well the Journal is written and now to get it Posted before thinking about tonights dinner which is a nice Marks & Spencer fruity chicken curry, my saturday treat after Freaky Friday,

Tonights dinner will go down a treat

So until tomorrow I will say.............

A day for remembering

So here we are on Friday the 4th October 2013. And today 20 years ago I lost my dear wife Christine To Breast Cancer So Today,s Journal is for and about Christine.

I met Christine at a Youth Worker training weekend run by Hampshire County Council in 1972 in Brockenhurst in the New Forest.

Brockenhurst, Hampshire.

  Both christine and I were working part time evenings as youth workers, Christine was working at Portchester Youth Centre and I was working at Fareham Youth Centre and we hit it of almost immediately and so our romance blossomed from that point on.

Christine was living with her parents at Drayton just outside of Portsmouth and I was living at home with Mum in Fareham, however within  a matter of Months we had decided to move in together and rented a bedsit in Southsea,

Christine was working as a Clerical assistant with Portsmouth City Council and I was working as an instrument Technician at Portsmouth Aviation. after a year in the bedsit we moved into a Council flat in Southsea where we stayed until 79.

Where we had our flat in Southsea.

We had some wonderful times in our time here at the flat and still think of those memories if I ever go past it now. It was while we were here that we got married at Portsmouth Registry office in June 1977.

Portsmouth Registry Office 29th June 1977

 In 1979 we brought our first house in together in Prince Albert Road Southsea for the princely sum of £15,000 and set up home there until 1984 when Christine,s mother passed away and we moved up to her fathers Bungalow in  Drayton to look After him,

While we were at Prince Albert Road Our son Gervase was born in May 1981 and he completed our lives and everything seemed to be looking rosy for our future together, unfortunately this was when we were hit with the bombshell in 1983 when Christine was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

Hello Gervase.

 In 1982 I was made redundant from my job and that is when I went and trained and became a driving Instructor for the British School of Motoring, Christine had already left Portsmouth city council in 1979 and was working as a PA for Marconi.

Once Christine had her diagnosis she started her treatment and had the lump removed and went through her course of treatment and in 1984 after moving to Drayton Christine got the all clear, after which she decided that she would go to Portsmouth Polytechnic and train to become a Primary School Teacher, so we restructured our days so that I could Start my own driving school, Gervase was at Nursery school, Christine was at collage and  had the freedom to look after Christine,s dad while working the hours suit us.

Christine,s Dad 1981 with Gervase

 Christine,s Dad passed away in 1986 and we stayed in the Bungalow in Drayton until July 1989 when we sold the Bungalow and Purchased our home in Grayshott Road.

Pauline Graduated as a Primary School Teacher in 1988 with her Bachelor of Education Degree in 1988 and was appointed in her teaching job at Cumberland First school in Southsea which is why we moved back down to Southsea.

Cumberland First School, Southsea

  And so here we were back down in Southsea, The driving school was going well, Christine was happy at her job teaching primary school children and Gervase was at Portsmouth Grammar school so life was good and everything looked good for our future together as a family and then Wham we got hit again. in October 1989 we learnt that Christine,s Cancer had returned in the other breast so they removed the Breast and also it had got into her womb so they also did a Hysterectomy. It was long 4 years ahead, christine went through her treatment with a positive attitude which showed her character and also carried in working until june 1993 when it was discovered that it had got into her spine and from there on in it was diagnosed as terminal, I sold the Driving school as I  had promised Christine that I would look after her at home as she did not want to die in a hospital, and that is what I did until she passed away peacefully holding my hand in the early hours of the morning on the 4th October 1993. 20 years ago today.

Christine was a marvelous lady with a great sense of humour and determination and always though of Others, She loved Gervase so very Much and I am sure she is so proud of the man he has become. Christine retained her sense of humour right to the very end and it is that memory that has helped me to cope with this myositis. I love her now as much as I did when I first met her 41 years ago and think of her every day,so here are a few Pictures of Christine a very Brave and Lovely Lady.

Christine

And Christine,s favourite cat who never left her side 

Dumbo