In the beginning.

This is me when I was good looking.	I was born in Upper Darby, Philadelphia, U.S.A. to the strains of Frankie Valli’s “Oh what a night….” Some of my earliest memories were of : Putting cent coins on the railway tracks and waiting for the freight trains to flatten them. Running barefoot on stone slabs inlaid into the grass. Talking to (Mrs. Goodwin), a.k.a. Mrs. Goodness, next door to my folks house. Dad, on my insistence, giving me ‘the Kiss Curl look’. For those of tender years this involved wetting the hair and combing from both sides to meet in the middle, with a comb length flop. The Partridge Family L.P. (Silver Bell label I recall)
At the age of seven my family moved to England and eventually settled in a place called Macclesfield, a pub (the Bull Inn), in the early 70’s. It literally hasn't changed in 29 years! Can anyone remember the Watney’s Party 7 cans from week-end parties? I was fascinated, peeping into the off-licence ( when I should have been in bed), to see the steady flow at closing time of said articles into the night! What was considered by some to be poor surroundings nearby, were rich in memories for me, so take me back! Who could forget .....	Battle of the Cuties!
Dusk in the summertime.	..... jumping off the top of Castle Park; kick can in the Black Hut; conkering in the Top (Vicky) park; long summer walks through Trinity fields to the swing and onto the canal to Swans Pool or the golf course; the Blue Carpet den; catching a mole for the ex- Mayor (we were messing about in her garden at the time); the remarkable Pam Ward who organized day trips throughout the summer holidays; playing football in the snow at the local girls school on their hockey pitch and lastly, (and a few years later ) the walk home from Silklands club discussing the nights events!
At the end of 1983, due to a new job, our family moved, 'en masse', to Stretford, close to Manchester United Football ground. Recently, I have moved house ( most of the family still nearby) and now live in a suburb 7 miles south of Manchester, with my partner Nora. My sister, Helen, 'fell in love with a farmer', married and moved to Ireland in 1994. Pictured opposite is her son Liam and grandparents on his Baptismal day	Church of the Little Ark, Kilbaha.