Luck can impact on our lives and one Saturday night in 1961 at the Civic Hall Dance, I got lucky. I spotted a pretty girl with her friend Marlene in a crowd of hundreds and decided to ask for a dance. Her name was Jo and I never suspected that it was the beginning of a wonderful liaison of 60 years. There was an instant rapport and within weeks we were dating and became closer. So close in fact, that we, like many others were rebuked by ALBERT (The employed floor man dressed in evening suit, walking round the dance floor reminding couples to keep a reasonable distance), could you imagine this today’s world?   Jo and I continued to socialise and inevitably we introduced ourselves to our respective families and we were seldom apart. Life was good, both employed and establishing financial security. Our first holiday together was a week at Barmouth in a caravan with the name ‘Fiddlesticks’ hand painted on it. To describe it as basic, flattered it. Four sides and a roof offered privacy and protection from inclement weather, however the usual facilities were communal based in the camp HQ, a short walk away. Jo`s mum Clara accompanied us on that trip and we all enjoyed a lovely break. We were in love, I proposed marriage, Jo accepted and in 1963 we made it official.  Eighteen months later a significant event occurred, our first child Helen was born and it was an exciting yet demanding time for both new parents. Eighteen months later our second daughter Julie arrived and we were delighted. Jo revelled in the role of full time mother whilst I was busy working to provide the best I could. Despite all the demands of motherhood, Jo took immense pride in her appearance and retained all the qualities which appealed to me and everyone who knew her. She was beautiful, funny, caring and humble. I was very fortunate to be her partner although like every other couple we disagreed occasionally, we soon made up and it was usually me that had to eat humble pie. I had complete respect and trust of Jo and always encouraged her to be independent. Jo was a perfect mother, mainly responsible for raising and establishing qualities which Helen & Julie have retained in their persona. I was the bread winner and saw less of the girls than I should have, yet I reasoned that I was providing those extras which improved quality of our lives. Jo was anxious to contribute and was always looking for part time jobs and her mom Clara was happy to supervise the girls. Eventually, Jo secured employment at the Express & Star and soon I noticed that she was contented. Jo was very fortunate that she actually embraced going to work every day. She was conscious of justifying her responsibility in the office but also engaged in fantastic friendships and social activities with colleagues, it was truly, a match made in heaven. During those years we were fortunate to enjoy fabulous holidays abroad, enjoying warm climates at our favourite destinations in Florida, French Riviera, Algarve and Spain. Helen and Julie prospered under Jo’s guidance and matured into fantastic loving daughters. Eventually they found loving partners and produced 4 precious granddaughters, Amy, Eva, Chloe and Kim. They all have those respectful, caring and loving characteristics inherited from their proud grandparents.
The only blot on Jo’s life was her general health, she seemed to have immune deficiency and as a consequence suffered several issues. About the time Jo was due to retire her behaviour was noticeably changing and after a visit to the Hospital a scan ascertained that Jo had a neurological issue. We were devastated but she Jo bravely dismissed her discomforts and battled on. Myself, and family provided Jo with all our love and support but we could tell that Jo was not the Jo of old. As her health declined we sort advice from Social Services who confirmed that Dementia was accelerating and offered a range of appropriate support services. However there was no respite in Jo’s condition and eventually, Social Services recommended Nursing Care which Jo entered in 2015. Jo’s condition declined as Dementia cruelly dismantled every crucial bodily function, leaving a shell of her former self. I continued to visit Jo almost every day during those years until a time when it was obvious that she did not recognise me and there was no communication except occasionally, a hint of that cheeky smile. Every time I visited I was hoping for a miracle recovery but it was only when she passed away that I realised the inevitably of dementia. I didn’t see much of my precious Jo during the past 10 months due to draconian protocols. Typical of the times we are enduring the Authorities insisted that the primary cause of death stated on her Death Certificate should be COVID 19. This despite testing positive only 3 days prior to death, yet Jo had endured 15 years of dementia. I was offended that bureaucracy had used the media to proudly publish statistic of daily deaths, designed to scare the population into compliance.