Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Gains & Losses

We'd been puzzled as to why David Hoddle hadn't replied to my email about coming over to see him in December and to why I hadn't been able to get through on the phone from John's. We feared the worst but decided it would be worthwhile driving across to Hoylandswaine to see if we could make contact. It turned out that our fears were not misplaced. He died last month, the helpful neighbour informed us.

Sad, but he'd lived a full and accomplished life to his late eighties, and had passed away peacefully. Which is something. And balanced against that is the relative good health of other friends and family we've met here. We had a fine old time catching up with Simon & Judy the other night, for example.

But nothing lasts forever and this time round we're seeing a lot of changes in the places we thought we'd grown accustomed to. The little Chicken Hut in Hyde is still there and we popped in last night when we got back from Barnsley. But the lady who owned it, and who we'd come to know quite well, has gone, we were informed. She sold up and left for Dubai in 2023. Hope she's got a good and fulfilling life out there.

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