Childless Parents Newsletter, Autumn 2020

Newsletter for Childless Parents | www.tcf.org.uk 8 I asked for some words from people about happy memories, or connections they shared with their children. I would love to hear more if you would like to share them John Robertson shared this with us One of our favourite TV shows was ‘Allo ‘Allo. Katherine and I both liked the way it poked gentle fun at everyone British, French, German ,Italians We made many trips to France and whilst being very respectful and mindful of any nearby French people couldn’t help but lapse into comic French. We would always wish each other “Good Moaning” and at some point Katherine would tell me to “Listen very carefully, I will say this only once”. It still pops up now and then on TV and brings back a memory of those beautiful sweet days. Margaret Pinsent also shared this with us Music, a connection My beloved son, Dylan, was passionate about life. My boy did not do things by halves. His love of tree climbing as a boy became a career in Arboriculture. Cycling became downhill mountain biking, careering down mountains, with ‘airtime’ as he called it, off rocks 8 feet down to the ground. Skimming and body boarding as a child, became surfing high waves in New Zealand, even though all of these risky activities, were not safe for Dylan. He developed a rare form of epilepsy in his 20s, and the meds weren’t stopping the seizures which would come on every 4-6 weeks on average. However, Dylan, my fearless adventurer, never let his medical condition stop him doing the things he loved in life. Dylan was very much a ‘grab life by the reins and ride it’ person. There is another side, a gentler side, to Dylan, evident in his enduring love for music. Dylan grew up with my choices in music and, in his teens, he turned me onto music he’d discovered. Dylan was named after my favourite songwriter, Bob Dylan, and a poet I’d loved since childhood, Dylan Thomas. I had all Bob’s LPs and I’d play them at home; the cassette tapes went into the car player. I’d turn the volume up high and soon enough, Dylan would be rocking to the rhythm, a big smile across his face. Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Meatloaf, Queen, Dire Straits, the Stones, Moody Blues, and many others, with a bit of South American music thrown in. Dylan was born in Venezuela, and we lived there until he was 9. Then we lived in Brazil for a year, where he was introduced to Samba and Brazilian rock. Dylan found a new love in the latino beat. By the time Dylan was around 6 or 7, he’d pick up the lyrics easily and sing along. The cassette player would make way for the radio in the car and we’d blast out Bachata Rosa at the top of our lungs. Once we were home, I’d put a record on, volume up and, in my arms as a baby and, in later years, holding hands, we’d dance together. Memories