My Life Story by Colin Lloyd - Part 5

Before I start on my next part, I would like to mention that Frank, Mary (Northampton Past admin) and I went out photographing all the newsagents in the villages that I delivered to and out of 14 only 4 were still trading. Virtually all the others have been converted into private houses. At East Haddon there is no shop at all now and their nearest shop is Ravensthorpe. When we got to Long Buckby I had quite a shock as the newsagents shop hasn’t been altered since I used to deliver there in the 1970's.

In 1988 I took Margaret, her Mum and my wife Betty to Brighton to the Butlins Hotel for a week’s holiday. Little did I realise that three years later Margaret and I would marry. When I went to pick them up they had ordered a breakfast for me at the hotel. I didn't tell them I had just eaten one at a cafe around the corner from the hotel, so I ate that one as well. As we were about to leave, an old gentleman came and asked me if I knew the way out of Brighton I asked him where he was going and he said Nottingham. I told him to follow me to the M1 as I was going through London because of the roadworks on the M25. I told him not to "jump" any lights as I would keep sight of him in my mirrors. When we arrived at the services on the M1 he told me that it had been the experience of a life time.

Now as I said I had eight weeks holiday and after three weeks I decided to look for another job so I applied for a job with Compass Security at British Timken and was accepted. It turned out to be quite interesting. During the day most of our time was spent in the gate house but after 4.30 in the afternoon we took over the switchboard and we were receiving calls from all over the world. At night we did patrols both inside and outside the building. It seemed rather strange patrolling inside the factory when people were working. We also had to check on the social club and make sure everything was locked up and secure. There were two gatehouses, one at the main entrance where the workers went in and out of the factory and the other was nearer to Bants Lane. That was where lorries had to go to be weighed.

Great Russell Street

Compass also had security contract with the Chronicle and Echo. This was a job that no one seemed to want because it was said to be too boring, so I volunteered. Okay, there was not much to do during the day except opening the side gates for the lorries to deliver the reels of paper and then to let them out through the top gates in Great Russell St. At night, when everyone had finished, I would go to the library and get a bound volume of the Northampton Independent. They had all of them in yearly volumes from the early 1900's I would take it down to the gatehouse and read through it. If I found anything of interest, I would turn the corner of the page down and then, at about four in the morning, I would go and photocopy it. By the time I had finished I had six albums full of photographs of old Northampton. That is how I became interested in the history of Northampton yet while I was at school I hated history. When Alan Burnham brought out his first books of Northampton Past, I was fortunate, in as much as I managed to get him to sign them for me

By this time my wife had become more difficult to live with. She was causing trouble with the neighbours and I was being left to sort things out and this is how I became involved with Margaret, who was to become my third wife.

Manfield Hospital

One day I had a phone call from my wife to say that Margaret's mum had fallen off the front doorstep. As Margaret was working at Plessey at the time, I rang the company and explained what had happened. She came home and we subsequently discovered that her mother had broken her hip and had been taken to hospital. She was later transferred to Manfield Hospital.

By this time things were getting worse at home, my wife wouldn’t clean the house and after several arguments between us, she took an overdose and was taken to hospital. After she was discharged, she went to the doctors surgery where she was given her some tablets. I came home from work one particular Friday evening and she had vanished, not for the first time. I rang my daughter Jennifer in tears, not knowing which way to turn. She told me to pack some clothes and to get over to Sawston, where she was living. As I was packing my wife came in and asked what was I doing. I told her I had had enough and I was going to leave her.

Before I left, I went over and told Margaret what was happening and told her that I would ring her. I eventually arrived at Jennifer's at about eight thirty. Although my wife would not clean the house, she would do anything to help anyone, for example when my mother was alive, she would visit her at home, in Hardingstone, at least twice a week even in the snow. If mum needed anything, she would go into town to get it. I was very grateful for this.

As it was Friday night when I arrived at my daughter’s house, I rang the Chronicle & Echo the following morning and explained the situation I was in. At lunchtime, I received a phone call from the Chronicle saying my manager would ring me on Monday.

On the Sunday, I decided to go over and pick up the remainder of my clothes. I took my grandson Aron with me as I knew my wife would not cause a scene with him there. After I had loaded up the car she asked if we wanted to stay but I said Aron was tired and I would take him home. This was a lie, as I had arranged to meet Margaret at Manfield Hospital and after visiting her mum she would come over and meet Jennifer. Whilst we were at the hospital, the other ladies in mum's ward thought the world of Aron and really made a fuss of him. After Jennifer had met Margaret I drove her back to Northampton before returning to Sawston.

It was about ten o’clock one Monday morning when I received a telephone call from the manager of a company named Compass, offering me a post at Ciba Geigy at Whittlesford, which was only a fifteen minutes drive from Sawston. I accepted the offer. It was situated at Junction 9 of the M11, opposite Duxford airfield and museum. This was a very interesting job, gatehouse duties during the day and patrolling the premises through the night. There were always two of us on duty at night and four during the day, due to the volume of traffic. At night I used to take Jennifer's black Labrador with me, which I always took on the outdoor patrols with me.

When there was a show on at Duxford Air Museum, if we were fortunate enough to be working on the day shift, we were often able to watch the various aircraft practising. It was great to see the vintage aircraft in flight.

Jennifer was expecting her second child when I arrived and on the eighteenth she went into labour. While her husband was taking her to hospital, I took Aron over to see friends at Cambridge.

Duke Street

Luke was born on the nineteenth and we went to see them. When we arrived the sister said we could not go in but I told another white lie saying I had driven all the way from Northampton and had to be back for six o'clock to start work she relented and let us in. Back in Northampton, Margaret's mum stayed in hospital for three months and when she came out, they moved from Salcey Street to a two bedroom flat in Duke Street, opposite to where I lived.

In March I decided to move back to Northampton and managed to get a bed sit in Charles Street, just above where Margaret and her mother lived so spent most of my time with them only going back to my bedsit to sleep while I continued to work at the Chronicle and Echo

One afternoon when I was in their flat, I looked out of the window and could see thick black smoke. My first thoughts were that it was the Chronicle & Echo. I went there as quickly as I could and discovered that it wasn't the Chron. While I was there, the phone rang and it was one of the reporters asking if we knew where the fire was. I dashed up onto the roof and I could see that it was coming firm the Brackmills area. I went back downstairs and phoned the reporter to tell him. It turned out that the fire was at British Pepper and Spice

On the 25th of May 1989 my brother Malcolm became Mayor of Northampton and I received an invitation (sorry summons) to attend the annual Mayor Making Ceremony at 11 am at the Guildhall. As I stated before, my parents had adopted Malcolm when he was eight years old. In his speech he said he wished they could have been there to see him but unfortunately they had died before the occasion. I felt very proud.

By this time Margaret’s Mum was in a wheel chair but would not go out in it in case people stared at her. On Carnival Day I said I would take her down to the Savoy to watch it and she would see Malcolm. She reluctantly agreed and off we went as the Carnival went past she said he waved to me but I knew he was waving to everyone. Whilst we were there Margaret's brother and his wife came down and after the carnival had passed by, we all went home for tea.

The Garibaldi

After we had finished our tea, I offered to take Mum around town centre that Sunday as it wouldn't be crowded and she could have a look round, as she hadn't been to town for some time. On the day, we went to the market and back up Abington Street. I thought it would probably take about an hour but she wanted to look in every shop and it finished up taking two hours. On the way home we went into the Garibaldi in Balliff Street, as I had arranged to meet Margaret there at about eight o'clock. There was young girl in there who was also in a wheelchair and mum really enjoyed herself. Once she had got used to going out in the wheelchair we couldn't keep her in.

Chronicle and Echo

I left the Chronicle & Echo in the early 1990 when they decided to reduce our wages. I went to G M Lighting as a security guard but was there for only 3 months before I applied for a job as gatehouse security at M F I. for me, it turned out to be a very good move. The lorry drivers from France used to bring in duty free beer and brandy which was very helpful, to say the least.

In the meantime, while Malcolm was The Mayor, Princess Diana came to Northampton to receive the Freedom of the Borough. After first attending a service at St Sepulchres Church, they then went on to the Guildhall where she received the Freedom of the Borough Scroll and then took the salute at a march past. I asked Malcolm what she said to him , He said when they came out of the church she said "isn't that church cold"

Margaret and I never went out without taking Mum with us. One day we went to Bognor Regis to visit my aunt. On the way back Mum wanted to go to the loo so I drove into Newbury and found a pub. I went in and explained our situation and they were very obliging. I have never seen a person on a Zimmer Frame run so fast but she made it ok.

Another time, we went to see Jennifer's husband's family who lived in Mablethorpe. We took our next door neighbour Phyllis and her dog Tina. During the journey home, as we were approaching Market Deeping Mum, Phyllis and Tina were asleep in the back of the car. We came to a level crossing which I passed over a little on the fast side which made the car bounce a bit. This made all of them jump, including the dog but they were ok.

Phyllis was a brilliant neighbour. If ever Margaret and I wanted to go out she would come and keep Mum company. We usually went out for a meal on Saturday evening and we always took Phyllis with us.

One New Years Eve we went over to the Locks Pub at Welton where we were enjoyed ourselves enormously. We had taken Mum with us and I expected her to get a bit tired, so about 1am I asked her if she wanted to go home. Her reply was somewhat surprising as she said "no I’m enjoying myself". We eventually managed to drag her away at three o'clock in the morning...

Christmas at M F I meant that we had Christmas dinner served to us by management which was always very enjoyable.

At Mum's, we inevitably had all the family round for a party.

Before going into my next part I must mention the wild life I used to see. At G M Lighting, whilst watching cctv during the night, we would see foxes, hares, and rabbits but it was at M F I that I saw the best, all kinds of birds, bluetits, chaffinches and the like. We used to put nuts out for them and the squirrels used to come and steal them so we eventually put bowls of nuts near to the gatehouse where we could sit and watch them enjoy themselves.

By the end of 1990, Margaret and I had decided to get married and we set the date for early 1991. We were married at the Guildhall on the 21st January, with my brother and Margaret's sister as witnesses. All my family attended including my granddaughter Angie, who was in foster care. Her foster mother accompanied her. The only one not there was my middle daughter Denise. She had married my ex wife's brother and I gave her away but it was awkward, as her mother was there and I had to sit next to her at the reception. We didn't speak and after the toasts I went to the other end of the room to get away. We sent them an invitation to our wedding but they didn't reply and I haven't seen her since their wedding. When we came out of the Guildhall the bells were ringing at All Saints so for us, that made the day.

The reception was held at the Polish Club in Craven Street. One of our neighbours did the buffet and also made the cake. When we arrived, the decorations were still in place from the Polish New Year celebrations, so that really made it look great. After the reception mum went to stay with Margaret's sister for the night whilst Margaret and I spent the night in a hotel
After settling in at the hotel, we went for a meal at the Locks Pub at Welton. One of the barmaids there had attended our wedding and taken some photographs and when we arrived they were in an album with a miniature wedding cake and a bottle of wine so that made the event even more special.

Margaret's brother Derek was concerned, before we got married, that we would put Mum in a home but we were able to assure him that we were going to look after her thus putting his mind at rest.

The same year, Margaret's niece Michelle got married at Buckingham. We attended the wedding along with Mum. The bridesmaids wore yellow and Michelle's sister, Kerry, was chief bridesmaid and as she stood outside the church on the grass she said" I feel like a bloody daffodil".

In July we decided to take Mum on holiday and decided to go to Newquay in Cornwall We took the country route and stopped at the Little Chef at Taunton Dene for the night so as to break the journey for Mum. The staff there told us about a good pub which was nearly five miles from the Little Chef, called the White Swan. It was very good and they made us very welcome. The following morning we left Taunton at about nine thirty and arrived at our destination at about half past one. Our hotel in Newquay was called the Kilbernie and as supper wasn't until 7:00pm, we decided to have some sandwiches and a drink before we unpacked and got settled in.

We went for a walk along the cliffs and Mum seemed to be really enjoying herself. The hotel dining room was amazing with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the food was very good too. By the time we had finished our meal mother was feeling tired so I waited in the bar while Margaret put her to bed and then joined me down stairs for a drink. That was our first night.

In the bedroom was a sign saying please do not feed the seagulls as our room over looked the cliffs. The following morning there was a tap tap on the window and when I drew the curtain there was a seagull sitting on the sill. Margaret had some biscuits so she broke some and fed the bird and after that it was back every morning at the same time.

Every night except Saturdays the hotel had live entertainment which included line dancing.

On Sunday we decided to go for a walk around the town as we had never been there before. Our stroll meant that we had a good look round the town centre before we went down to the harbour. It was beautiful and very peaceful. We found somewhere to have a lunchtime snack and by about two o'clock, as mum was feeling tired, we went back to the hotel so she could have a rest before dinner. Margaret and I had a drink in the bar.

That Monday, we decided to take Mum to the zoo. When we arrived there I asked for 2 adults and a pensioner and the lady said wheel chair and pushers were admitted to the zoo free of charge. So I asked for 2 adults she told me that I was a wheelchair pusher so only Margaret had to pay. After leaving the zoo we went for a walk around the flower gardens, Mum loved that.

During the week we traveled all around the area, Mevagissy, Polperro and Fowey. It nearly broke my back pushing mother up the hill in Fowey.

One day we decided to visit the miniature village just outside Newquay. When we got there we paid full price for us and Mum got in half price. The following day we went to St Agnes where there was another miniature village. As we had been given vouchers to get in half price, it turned out that Mum got in for nothing and we only had to pay half price for Margaret and me.

We also went to Peranporth on the way back from St Agnes and I took Mum down on to the sand. We had only been there for a little while when I suddenly realised I was getting stuck luckily another gentleman was there and he helped me to pull Mum out.

After we left Newquay, to come home, we stopped at Taunton again and went to the same pub we had visited the week before.

In 1991 we all went up to my granddaughter who was in care at the time. And we also went down to the New Forest so mother could see the ponies and then went down to Milford on sea so she could see the Needles on the Isle of Wight. We were quite busy throughout 1991 the pub at Welton had closed so for our meals out, we decided to try the Wharf at Bugbrooke. Mother really liked it there.

On Sunday afternoons I used to take Mum and Uncle Bill out for a ride whilst Aunty Phyllis used to walk across the Racecourse to our flat and help Margaret get the tea ready. Now Uncle Bill had only seen hayricks before and he could not understand why they were wrapped in plastic. One Sunday, after we had just left Leamington Spa, we came up a hill and round a roundabout, there was a cafe. I pulled in and went inside to order and explained about mum and uncle and, bless her, the waitress brought our order out on a tray, complete silver service, it was a very nice touch.

One day we decided to take mother up to Matlock, in Derbyshire, so she could see all the scenery. Unfortunately she fell asleep and when we got to Matlock, I parked up and Mum woke up and asked "what god forsaken hole is this" but when we took her into town she brightened up, looking in the shops and walking by the river where we found a cafe and had a bite to eat.

Another laugh we had was when Mum's granddaughter Carol brought her son Scott down, he was only five years old. He went under the chair to stroke the cat and it scratched him. He went and told his Mum, came back, bent down and said "I'm bringing my gun and going to shoot your head off".

Christmas we took Mum over to the Wharf for Christmas dinner it was beautifully set out with all the trimmings including crackers; she was well pleased. On Mother's Day we decided to take Mum over to the Wharf and we invited an old gentleman who lived in the same block of flats he was 99 years old. He brought Mum a box of chocolates. When we arrived there was a party going on for an old lady. After we had our meal Frank went over and asked how old she was, they told him she was 94 and he said you are only a spring chicken they asked me how old he was and were surprised when I told them he was 99.

He was still swimming at the age of eighty and Anglia News came down and filmed him .They gave him a video of it and as he didn't have a video player so he came in to watch it. He celebrated his 100th birthday on 27th Jan 1993, the day Margaret's mother died. All the cobblers team came to see him when he was in St Edmund's Hospital as he once played for them, the year, I do not know!

We took my Mum to Whipsnade zoo and also down to Bognor Regis to see my Aunt Gladys in 1992.

We went down to Newquay again in 1992 but mother slipped in the bathroom at the Little Chef and was in so much pain they sent for the doctor he said we should get her home and get her x-rayed so we had to cancel the holiday. When we got home it revealed she had chipped her coxis bone.

That same year, Mum went to the toilet and slipped over, resulting in the zimmer frame jamming against the door so I couldn't open it. I had to call the fire brigade and when they came, they thought they would have to take the door off the hinges but then one of them, who was quite a bit smaller than the others said that he thought he could get through the bathroom window, which he did He was, though, worried about the mud down the wall but I told him that the cat made more mess coming in and out. Mum was taken for a check up and everything was fine.

Also Margaret developed C.T.S. (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) in her right hand and when we went to the doctor he told her that the waiting list for an operation was about a year. As I was working for M F I, I had medical insurance with H S A (a private medical company) so I told him to go through that company. We saw the consultant on the following Thursday and she had the operation on the Monday at St Matthews Nursing Home. When I went to pick her up the first thing she wanted was a cigarette and by the time she got home she had got through three. As it was her right hand she could not do very much for herself, so I helped out all I could. This went on for about six weeks but I didn't mind.

In the meantime, Margaret's Mum had been getting weaker and had to go to hospital twice. The second time was after she caught her heel and after being home for a week it began to go sceptic. At our doctors surgery there was a certain doctor who kept saying she should be in a home. One night, I had to call out the doctor and made it quite clear that we did not want this particular doctor to call on her. Within two days we received a letter from the surgery informing us that we had been removed from their list.

We enrolled with Dr Woolmore in Billing Road who surprisingly was the same doctor who had dealt with my children when we lived in Edith St. It wasn't too long before we had to call him out to see Mother. As soon as he had examined her, he sent for a district nurse who turned up the following morning. When the nurse saw mother he said "I'll be back in an hour" and when he came back he had with him a special mattress for mum. He also arranged for us to see a social worker so that we could get respite care. This meant that Mother went to Collingtree Nursing Home for what we thought would be for about two weeks. Mum always said that it was me that put her in there and sometimes she would not talk to me. When this happened I would wander off and talk to some of the other residents but she always got Margaret to fetch me back. We went to have Christmas dinner with her but she kept falling asleep.

On New Year’s Eve Dr. Woolemoore was called and he immediately ordered her to hospital. Gangrene had set in and on the same night her leg was amputated. Margaret and her Sister stayed with her all day. When she came to in the morning, she was delirious telling Margaret and me to go to school.
She returned to Collingtree but was getting weaker Margaret and her brother Derek took it in turns staying all day and all night.

I was at work when one of the security team came to tell me to go to Collingtree but when I arrived there Mum had passed away. The date was 27th January 1993. When we got home I told the family I would do the running round for them. The funeral was at St Sepulchres and burial at Kingsthorpe Cemetery.

So ended two and a half years of happiness and sadness...