1979
The summer of 1979 was significant in the history of my immediate family. Things of consequence happened before my father died at the age of sixty five on September 14th. He had been retired for just one year. He had suffered from angina for a couple of years and took prescribed blood thinning tablets but otherwise he enjoyed good health. The number one worry in his life was my brother Simon and how things were turning out for him. He was often nasty and aggressive to both of my parents and some of his behaviour was just plain weird. In July, the day after my second teaching year finished in South Yorkshire, I headed home to East Yorkshire. My father kindly came to Paragon Station in Hull to pick me up. He was looking pasty and sad and he said he had something he wanted to talk to me about. We stopped at "The Duke of York" pub in the village of Skirlaugh and bought two beers. Dad said that Simon had been arrested in a pub in Bridlington the night before and was still in ...