Just wondering cos' I know I can really .....

Was wondering today if I would be able to get this picture restored .... think I will have a look in the Yellow Pages - it's a lovely shot of my Dad, he made me so proud that day.

Reminded me of this - yes! did it a second time, no father escorted me this time!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

and

what about this one?

in beautiful colour!    says it all!!   

25 years this year - amazing how he has put up with me so long, it must be love!  Nah! 

Jesus, you and me.  That's how WE live our lives and it always pays.

Back to the past.......

Auntie Vie was married to my father’s younger brother, she had six children, all older than me but the youngest Ann was about five years older and looked like the rest of us Hollands!  They often used to visit, and all us younger ones were 'farmed' out to the neighbours to sleep – I usually slept in the 'Powers' house with Ann.  They lived in the corner house right by the railway – smashing!!

Ann married an older man and had two boys, but this left her with depression, which is another Holland trait, and being far from family as they lived down south, it was at times very bad and then one day she killed herself.  We were all stunned as it looked as though she had a good husband and two lovely boys.  This isn’t always so and apparently Ann and her husband did not get on but that is only hearsay, she died which is the main part of the story.  Auntie Vie, Marie & Jim, Peter and his wife, Ted and his wife, Joan and Joe all travelled down together by train to Ann’s home for the funeral.  Michael and Maureen live in Burnham on Sea so had to travel from the south coast, Ann and her family living in East Anglia.  After the funeral, Auntie Vie stayed on and Marie, Peter, Ted, Joan and their spouses travelled back together.  During the train journey Peter became ill, had a heart attack and died. 

How that family lived through all this I will never know, we had been upset by Ann’s death – me more so cause we got on quite well – but now we had a second tragedy.
This affected Ena badly as she and Peter had been ‘stepping out’ at one time, (this was frowned on by the family because they were cousins, they were warned off but remained very good friends).  So poor Auntie Vie and Ann’s husband had to travel to another funeral, the boys did not go as it was deemed too close to their mother’s. 

Such a sad time, questions were asked but although the Coroner said that Ann’s death was 'while the balance of her mind etc… ..….' Peter’s was put down to natural causes. 
The questions and debate went on for many years, things like - why didn’t anyone help Ann, was it postnatal depression etc and then if she hadn’t died would Peter still be alive.  Something we will have to ask God when we see Him!