IT SEEMS A LIFETIME AWAY,THE EARLY 1960s,I RESIDED IN LEEDS AND I HAD CHANGED MY EMPLOYMENT,WHICH TOOK ME TO VARIOUS COUNTIES,INCLUDING NOTTINGHAMSHIRE,IT WAS ON ONE OF THESE TRIPS THAT I ENDED UP IN A TRANSPORT LODGINGS,I HADNT SEEN JIM AND IRENE FOR AWHILE,SO I DECIDED THAT THE FOLLOWING DAY,I WOULD SURPRISE THEM AT THEIR HOME, IN STATION ROAD, AND FROM THAT DAY ON ,WHENEVER WORKING IN OR AROUND NOTTINGHAMSHIRE MY LODGINGS IN TRANSPORT DIGS CAME TO AN END,IT WAS ALWAYS ,STATION ROAD ,COLLINGHAM,IRENES COOKING /BAKING WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD,HER TRIFLES WERE PURE HEAVEN,MANY HOURS WERE SPENT WITH JIM ON THE PIANO AND MYSELF ACCOMPIANING HIM ,WITH MY ,PERRY COMO RENDITIONS, OF THE GOOD OLD SONGS,OF THE 30s,40s,50s,OUR MANY VISITS TO THE LOCAL PUB  ARE UNFORGETTABLE, PLUS LAZY DAYS SPENT TRYING TO CATCH , THE BIG ONE ,FISHING AT THE NEARBY GRAVEL PIT,WHICH JIM WOULD TAKE US TO ,IN HIS BELOVED  'OLD BANGER ' OF A CAR,WHICH NEEDED A FACELIFT,SO ONE DAY I TOOK MY GEAR TO THE GARAGE ON COLLINGHAM RD,WHERE HE KEPT HIS CAR,AND RESPRAYED IT ,MIDNIGHT BLUE,HE AND IRENE WERE DELIGHTED WITH THE TRANSFORMATION, SO MUCH SO, THAT IT WAS MY PLEASURE TO DO THE SAME TO THE EXTERIOR OF THEIR HOME ,MIDNIGHT BLUE /WHITE. UNFORTUNATELEY IN 1967, I MADE THE TRULY REGRETTABLE DESCISION OF EMMIGRATING TO WESTERN AUSTRALIA,NOT REALISING THAT NO MATTER WHAT BENEFITS ONE COULD POSSIBLY ATTAIN ?, THEY WOULD , NEVER,MAKE UP FOR THE LOSSES,OF THE CLOSENESS  AND LOVE OF FAMILY,HERE THERE IS LITTLE OR NO SOCIAL LIFE, VERY POOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION,WHICH CAUSES,MANY STRESSES TO LIFE IN GENERAL,WHICH MAKES ONE PINE ,FOR WHAT ONE LEFT BEHIND, SO PRIOR TO LEAVING THE U.K,WE ,MY WIFE AND TWO DAUGHTERS  SPENT TWO WEEKS WITH JIM/IRENE,THAT WAS PRIOR TO IRENE BECOMING DISABLED ,WE ALL HAD A GREAT TWO WEEKS ,BEAUTIFUL MEMORIES,UNFORGETTABLE TRIFLES ETC ETC,AND OUR VISITS BACK ALWAYS INCLUDE COLLINGHAM, THE LAST TIME I SAW IRENE WAS ON ONE OF THESE RETURN VISITS,SHE HAD BECOME SOMEWHAT DISABLED,BU JIM HELPED INTO THE CAR ,THEN TO THE LOCAL PUB ,WHERE WE ENJOYED A GOOD MEAL /DRINKS AND RECALLED HAPPIER TIMES,AND THE LAST TIME I SAW JIM ,WAS IN 2006,AT MY DEAR MUMS FUNERAL ,AT LAWNSWOOD LEEDS, BOTH VERY VERY SADLY MISSED ,BUT ALWAYS IN OUR THIUGHTS,ALWAYS,NEPHEW DENNIS,MARLENE AND FAMILY .