Newcastle Swansong?

July 2008

Aunt Sarah has an admirer.  After years of living alone, she is being wooed by a fellow septuagenarian and the talk is of more than friendship.  "Good luck to them," I hear you say.

Whilst nothing is yet certain, I'm already caught up in the mounting euphoria, dreaming of suitable wedding outfits that an affectionate niece might wear. Something floral, in mauve and white, perhaps, and with a nice big hat and a matching handbag.  Yes, that will do nicely. Please may it be summertime? 

It occurs to me, though, that this could well change the nature of my frequent visits to the North East. Aunt and niece long ago discovered the interests that we share — performances at The Sage, walks in the countryside, visits to National Trust properties, good food and wine, and (of course) shopping. How might the presence of a third person alter this?  For the better, one hopes, but one thing is certain... it will be different.  So, as I waited for my Cross Country train at Cheltenham, last Tuesday morning, I was overcome
with the feeling that this visit could well be a Swansong.

November 2014.  Some things never change -
the same Killingworth Morrison's and the same
shopping list.  Only the shopper has aged a bit.

The station clock marked the passing minutes, until declaring it to be the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month.  A Great Western train from Slough had arrived a few minutes before, and now its train manager stood motionless, beside her charge. Nearby, a gent in pinstriped suit stood to attention and an elderly man beside me, poppy in lapel, closed his eyes.  I rose from my seat and bowed my head as, for two dignified minutes, the station fell silent and we remembered man's inhumanity to man.

As quickly as it had arrived, the moment passed.  The business of a mainline station resumed and the little Great Western train scurried under the bridge and out of sight. Still in contemplative mood,  I began to retrace in my mind the good times aunt and niece have enjoyed since first we met in July 2007, the speed with which we adopted our relationship and the wonderful way in which that relationship was cemented when Auntie visited us in Cornwall at the end of the year, endearing herself to both of us.  The next few days would, I knew, be every bit as good.