RIP Uncle Bill


On Friday 13 October 1944, Daisy Keates, the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, gave birth to her fourth and final son, William George, in the Borough Hospital, Southampton. Bill, as he came to be known, was the first of Daisy’s children born in hospital. After five years of war, being bombed out and moved countless times, she was not in the best of health. Daisy’s husband, Albert, had been working all over the country at whichever dock needed men, so she had to cope with bombs, rationing and three young boys alone. For most of the war, the Keates family had been living in the thick of it, right in the centre of Southampton, either in Northam Street, Lime Street, Queens Walk or Utility Flats, Canute Road. By 1944, they were back in Northam Street, in a two-up, two-down terraced house with no indoor plumbing and a toilet at the bottom of the garden. It was not the most auspicious start for young Bill Keates.

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The eleventh hour

18 June 2022

At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, the Allies and Germans signed an armistice. It didn’t officially end the Great War, but it was the beginning of the end. The armistice expired after thirty-six days and was extended several times before the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919 brought lasting peace. Each year, on the day the guns fell silent, we stop, remember our war dead and lay wreaths of poppies to recall the flowers that sprang up in the fields where the soldiers fell.

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Remembering Big Dave at Netley parkrun

Normally, my Saturday morning begins amongst the trees on Southampton Common, and involves a chat with my parkrun friends and a wander around the Old Cemetery. This Saturday was different. We headed in the opposite direction, towards Netley. The last time we went to Netley parkrun, was Christmas 2018. Before that it was January 2017, for Big Dave Hawkins’ two hundred and fiftieth run. This Saturday, the Netley parkrunners would run for Big Dave, but sadly, not with him.

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Remembrance, flowers, graves and grass cutting

15 June 2019

Yesterday, after Commando’s Running School appointment we drove into town to get something from the bike shop in Cumberland Place. There was a coffee in it for me so I didn’t much mind. It was also a chance to walk through East Park and have a look at the Cenotaph.

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One hundred years

11 November 2018

Originally my plans for the morning were to walk to the military cemetery at Netley with CJ. The weather forecast was not good though and, after getting soaked through yesterday, it didn’t seem worth the risk. Despite the distinct possibility of rain Commando was going out for a run with the fast boys. He suggested we get the train to Hamble and walk from there. Once he got back from his run he’d pick us up in the car. He might even get there before the silence at eleven o’clock. It sounded like a plan so, after a swift check of the relevant train times and prices, we set off for Bitterne Station.

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Goodbye, hello, Remembrance and mud

10 November 2018

The end of October brought the end of the warm weather. It had been one of the longest, hottest summers in living memory and getting out jumpers, hats and gloves seemed like a welcome change of pace. So, wrapped up warm against the chilly autumn air, we set off across a Common softened by mist and bathed in golden light for our second parkrun of the month. It was going to be a day for goodbyes.

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Heaven and hell

13 September 2018

Back on the first floor we entered the upper gallery of the hospital chapel. In front of us was a glorious stained glass window and a beautifully painted ceiling. For the poor wounded soldiers, fresh from the horrors of the front line, the sense of peace and quiet here must have felt a little like heaven. We stood for a moment or two drinking in the atmosphere and then walked slowly along the line of pews reading the stories of some of those who once worshipped here.  Continue reading Heaven and hell

The importance of Remembrance

11 September 2017

Another dark and dismal Saturday morning at parkrun was brightened a little by  the golden autumn foliage on the Common. It feels as if the leaves are clinging on for longer this year, maybe because we haven’t had too much windy weather yet. There wasn’t too much time to hang around admiring the show this Saturday though, because we had a remembrance service to go to. Continue reading The importance of Remembrance

Mist and other ephemeral things

2 November 2017

For my first walk of November I had the most glorious autumn morning. When I left Home the sky was blue and the sun was trying hard to burn off the morning mist as I crossed the railway bridge. On such a lovely day it was impossible not to walk along with a huge grin on my face, even if it did make me look like a loon. The plan was to walk into town to have a look at a new sculpture I’d heard about.  Continue reading Mist and other ephemeral things