Chapter 26

‘Never give up, there is no such thing as an ending, just a new beginning.’ Anonymous

Mike and I moved to Bridlington during the height of the pandemic on 24th July 2020, the day after our birthday. We had decided to make the move just before we married in September 2018. We used to travel over to Bridlington several times a month looking at properties, so it felt like home by the time we moved there. I had been offered a teaching post at Scarborough University and so in the end it was a mad dash. We moved into a 4-bedroom house, but it was far too big [although we clearly knew that] and we eventually found a bungalow we wanted.

I let Mike do the maths, and I promised to work another ten years, if we could buy it. In the end I worked another two. It’s the best decision we’ve ever made; even better than getting married. Well almost! We absolutely love being here and where we live. We feel like we’re on holiday every day. The air is so much cleaner and there is no such thing as ‘rush hour’, well at least as we knew it. We are probably the youngest in the street, which suits us fine; no all-night raves. Everyone is so friendly, and its quiet. We live a twenty-minute walk from the beach or a two-minute drive. It’s just amazing and the countryside is just on our doorstep.

It was even a pleasure to drive to work. On the country lanes I got to see the mist rising in the morning, absolutely beautiful; pheasants, squirrels, deer, rabbits playing; honestly! and birds flying around. It was like something out of a Disney movie. We have ducks in our street, they often come and sit on our patio, and last year we watched a seagull teach her baby to fly from the rooftop of our neighbours house. Incredible stuff!

On one occasion we saw a duck waddling down the sea front, without a care in the world, her five babies waddling behind her and on another, a pheasant with her four teenage pheasants in tow. We have puffins at Bempton, and seals at Flamborough and we saw Dolphins just the other day around the harbour.

Although we frequently see such beauty, it’s important to remember not everything is rosy at the coast. In February 2021, we had a storm so bad that countless numbers of our sea creatures were battered and probably hundreds of thousands didn’t survive, with many being washed up on our shores. Many lobster, octopus, fish, birds, crabs and starfish lost their lives that day. As we know the sea can be so beautiful, and yet so cruel.

And so, as with all endings, there are new beginnings.

Writing this book has been an emotional journey, an extraordinary experience, tainted with both joy and sadness. Perhaps one of the happiest moments of the last few months is meeting up again with my old school friend Tracey, her husband Tony, and their daughter, who I had the absolute privilege of being godmother to in 1991. I am ashamed to say I was useless and didn’t take this privilege seriously and I do bitterly regret not being more involved in her life. My god-daughter now has three lovely girls and along with their mum, who is a Coach are involved in Cheer; Competitive Cheerleading, basically acrobatic gymnastics. It’s absolutely amazing; their courage appears to know no bounds. I hope one day I might have the opportunity to cheer them on from the side-lines, but probably with one eye shut.

Sharing my aspiration to write this book meant I was able to delve into the memories we have shared as children and adults. Places, people and events long forgotten have re-emerged and I have loved talking to my family and poring over old photographs that tell so many stories, and remind us so very much of the lives we have shared together.

My memories are your memories. We are linked forever by those memories and our love for each other. We are wives, husbands, daughters, sons, brothers and sisters. We are grandma’s, grandad’s, mum’s and dad’s. We are in-laws, step-mums, step-fathers and step grandparents. We are cousins, nieces, nephews, aunties and uncles, great aunts and great uncles. We are confidantes, mentors and friends. We are all of these, and so much more.

If there is just one thing I want to say to you the reader, it’s this – live your life to the full. Be the best you can be every single day. Have faith in all you want to achieve, enjoy every moment, and see beauty wherever it exists.

In the last few months I have joined a Burlesque workshop, bought my own Steampunk outfit, [goodness knows how women used to wear those dresses], and started dance classes. I have joined a line dancing class and arranged my birthday party. My bucket list is endless. Let yours be the same.

As I write the final few words to this book, I have very few regrets; although I do have some. As with most, my life has been filled with joy, with sadness, and with untold pain, but without a doubt, I never allowed anyone to hold me back, or accepted I couldn’t do something. I just went ahead and did it.

Tomorrow as we all know; is promised to no-one. Am I prepared for that? Are you?

Earlier this year, I went to the funeral of my beloved paternal uncle whose cortege had in excess of fifty-five cars following and probably around two hundred people at the funeral and wake. He was a man who was loved by everyone who knew him, he had charm and charisma. His funeral was a testament to the man he was and his love of horses; being taken to his final destination in a horse drawn hearse. Soon after I was at my maternal auntie’s funeral, and it saddens me that I hadn’t seen her for many years; although, I have many fond memories of walking down Throstle Lane to number … just a stone’s throw away, from where we lived.

Our auntie and uncle were always happy to see us, and I loved being with them. Whilst I was researching information about Middleton I came across something I had been unaware of, our auntie, in later life had become a member of the Middleton Life Local History Group, a group of residents passionate about the local community and its incredibly rich and lively history. These residents shared their memories of living on the Middleton Estate on six videos; entitled Middleton Life. I never knew auntie had it in her; clearly she did.

As the decade progresses as first cousins we are all of a similar age, and many of us are coming up to retirement or have retired. We are the next generation and it made me think, – what would I want someone to say about me when the days sunset is my very last? What would I want people to remember me for? What would I want written on my headstone? What would you?

So that’s the end of my book. I hope to expand my narrative over time and share with you my passion, stories and all things me.

The next step

‘I don’t know what life I may have left. None of us do. But it’s what I do every single day when I wake up that matters. It should matter to you too.’ Catherine Best

What are my aspirations for the rest of the year, into 2024 and beyond.

Keep on reading to find out!

To leave you with one final quote:

‘Time is precious, don’t waste it doing things that don’t serve your purpose’. Laura Whitmore.