Coronavirus diary, Sunday 14 June

I enjoyed reading the family experiences in lockdown. Thank you!

It set me thinking, looking back over my life, reliving momentous days, marvellous moments.

Let me tell you a few of them.......

I suppose my earliest memory was my first day at primary school. As I was going happily through the gates my mother was crying - she was losing her little Bob! 

Granny Skinner

Grandparents often have a strong influence in our lives.
I knew only two, and one, Granny Skinner, only very briefly, when we lived at her house, 20 Bushey Road, West Ham where I was born.

Granny Dymond

Granny Dymond, happily, was with us for many years.
My fondest memory was her sitting in her room in 50 Burnaby Street, Splott, reading the South Wales Echo.

Bob with his father, Margate, 1938

Dad died young, at 52, which makes my memories of him more poignant. I remember him handing me a surprise present, a cricket bat with the signatures of the England and New Zealand teams.

That wonderful bat, 80 years on

Bob's mother Gwen at her 100th birthday party, 1991

As for Mum, my favourite memory of the 68 years we shared was the family party at South Glamorgan headquarters on for her 100th birthday.

Owy as a young reporter

Thoughts on Rosemary - Owy? Innumerable. 
Boarding the plane bound for Ireland on our honeymoon, 23rd August 1952.

Weddings were standout days - ours at Christchurch, Penarth, now demolished, Bert and Jean, Dorothy and George, Beverley and Julio, Robert and Karen.

Of our days at Lakeside, the three cousins, Valerie, Brenda and Beverley playing in the garden at Lakeside Drive, firework night parties.

Siân, Ria and Owy in Majorca

And of the grandchildren, Siân and Ria on holiday with Rosemary and me in Majorca when Ben was born, Owen's christening at Chalfont St Giles church.

Looking at Adam and Daniel now I recall them as young children scrapping on our lounge floor in Penarth, and, recently, playing football on their own pitch at home in Tidenham. 

My day out with Mylo when his team won the Welsh schools cricket cup at Sophia Gardens.

One pleasure I miss now is seeing Rosa and Claudia at Sunrise, 'riding' my scooter in my living room; another chatting with Rosie Dymond - I spoke to her recently on Zoom after she gave a service for Sunrise residents. 

That is just a handful of my cherished memories. 

Not all have been happy, of course. Age brings inevitable sadness and loss.

Beverley's death was a cruel blow for all of us, especially Rosemary and me. I love to remember her, seriously ill but determined to get better, teaching patients knitting at the Wiltshire hospital.

Taking stock of my 93 years, I cannot believe I have been so fortunate, that I have had such a lovely, interesting life. And still have, thanks to the family. Thank you, again.