Letterbox
Dear Norma
You might be interested in the attached photograph which my wife,
Jay, took a few weeks ago. The picture is of myself and my eldest
brother, Alan, taken on his veranda in Victoria on Vancouver
Island. We had visited him to help celebrate the marriage of his
daughter, Ann, and also Alan’s eightieth birthday.
Please note the recent copies of ‘The Key’ which are
prominently displayed. I appreciate from previous editions that
you have a considerable international circulation and think that
you might run a competition for the most unusual sighting of the
magazine in some far-flung international backwater. Your
magazine, together with a family tree which my sister Winn’s
daughter, Gill, has been researching, provided sources of much
conversation.
I have been sending copies of ‘The Key’ to Alan for
some years and he is always interested to see mention of his old
friends and relatives and particularly looks for information
about Ted Evans, Bob Cornforth, Bob Laker or Alan Hunter. Colin
Berwick’s articles about the village sometimes focus on the
‘Tute’ and inevitably our cousin Fred (Twaddie) and his
pals come in for honourable mention. Alan is still capable of
spotting wrong attributions of people in photographs. He saw
himself in a photograph of the church choir where our mother was
mentioned instead; presumably because her friend, Annie Austin
was also included. Mother was never in the choir but we were all
expected to be members at an appropriate stage of our
development, irrespective of musical skill or inclination. Alan
recalls visiting Skelton Castle each Christmas and singing in the
main hall; after which the Colonel served them whisky, sherry or
lemonade, depending on age and sex.
Alan has lived in Victoria for thirty years or more. When he
moved to Canada with the Canadian Air Force in the early sixties
it was to Vancouver Island. He then found himself posted to New
Brunswick in Nova Scotia for a few years amidst the snow and ice.
At the end of his contract he immediately put his family in the
car and drove them straight back to the island and a much more
temperate Pacific climate. I believe that he may have left the
island on perhaps four occasions in thirty years, including the
wedding which took place in Vancouver, but he is back as soon as
possible to enjoy his garden and his grandchildren.
Wishing ‘The Key’ and yourself every success......
Colin Lancaster, Ilkley, W Yorks