Geographically, Barnet became the epicentre for the family, with Sid and Myrtle moving there from Golders Green in the 1960s and Horace and Elsie also moving from Blackheath to nearby Arkley in the same decade. Frequent visits were paid by Pam, Colin and the children to their older relatives, with all family members staying close in all senses. Age however caught up, with Elsie passing in 1973, Sid in 1974 and Horace in 1980. Myrtle did not pass until 1991, and lived alone after Sid died for a number of years. Colin spent many hours visiting her in Barnet, and later also at an old people’s home in Hadley. Myrtle was a great one for recording family stories, and has left many written memories for the family. Colin also understood the importance of this, and filled no less than 3 journals with thoughts and reminiscences from his life, which will be a huge comfort and family resource as the years continue to pass. Colin always had time for members of the family, and would help in any way he could. During his working life at the Customs & Excise, he left early in the morning for work in order to be home from London no later than 6pm, and cries of “daddy is home” would ring through 18 Vale Drive, as would the rustle of the bags of sweets kept in a cupboard near the front door, of which the children were well aware. He made time to play endless games, and when the children got older, was there to offer advice, as his grandchildren later also found out. Countless letters written are a testament this. Being a Scot, and one brought up during the second great conflict at that, Colin was always extremely careful with money. Mealtimes were filled with exhortations for us to finish our meals, as “during the war” such food could never have gone to waste. Pam had a similar outlook. However, when it came to later helping the children (and grandchildren) financially get on their feet, Colin did everything he possibly could, using savings that “might as well go to good use” to assist with education, the buying of first houses / flats, and so on. At his work, Colin progressed to being a “Higher Executive Officer” in the Customs & Excise. He valued his free time, often attending concerts or lectures during the lunch hour. Towards the end of his career he was employed with re-writing government literature for the easier reading of the masses. For example, “increasing the administrative burden” became simply “giving us much extra work”. He was sufficiently skilled in this area to win in 1988 one of only three central government “Plain English” awards from the Plain English Campaign, for (of all things) a publication on beer duty. Teetotal Colin proudly collected it with a colleague in a ceremony in London. Writing was indeed an area where Colin had much to say, and he was not shy in correcting family members regarding their use, or misuse, of the English language. Children and grandchildren become sufficiently sensitized such that Grandpa was the automatic person to whom we all turned to check any piece of writing, although the feedback was perhaps sometimes more thorough than we had bargained for. The checking of letters to Grandpa was almost automatic, with the alternative being apologies proffered before any such letter was even started. Interestingly, among Colin’s letters is one from his father that could almost have been written by Colin himself: it was actually written by Sid to a 14 year old Colin, gently pointing out certain mistakes and preferring that they not be made again. Colin retired from the Civil Service in 1989, with an office boat cruise on the river Thames being his retirement “do”. In a party at home to celebrate his 60th birthday, with many old friends invited, Michael Close gave a memorable and heartfelt speech, describing Colin first and foremost as a “family man”. This was extremely touching and meaningful to all present, Colin himself included. Retirement in no way brought a restful life, and certainly not on the family front, with grandchildren and other demands coming forth. Shirley’s daughter Katy was born in 1980, and was the first to command attention from a doting Grandpa. Lucy was born to Heather the year after Colin retired, in 1990. In both cases, with fathers off the scene relatively early on, Colin became the male figure that both children could look to and count upon as they grew up. One thing that Colin did not do when he retired was anything much in the way of cooking. He had promised Pam that he would cook at least once a week when he retired, since she was familiarly “fed up with” doing so on a daily basis. However, this never quite came to pass, much to Pam’s chagrin. Their very mild “married couple” bickering never ceased, with old issues such as the relative merits of football as compared to ballet usually at the fore. Colin rarely bothered to strongly defend against any complaint, with most such conversations simply ending in laughter at the familiarity of an argument that had taken place yet again. A regular feature of family life was visits to not just family but also friends. Trips to and visits by the Close and Roser families continued annually for many years, and Colin also made sure to keep in touch with sister Jan and family, although with the longer trip “up north” visits were a little less frequent. Holidays were always a huge feature of every year, with Colin typically planning things down to the last detail in advance. Canal boat trips were dominant through the 1960s and 1970s, with just about every waterway in the south and midlands of England being visited as the years went by. Later, foreign holidays became a feature, with a first trip to the USA in 1979. A few years later a major trip to Canada was a highlight, with Pam able to visit her cousin Bessie in northern Alberta, a cousin of Horace and Elsie’s who emigrated as a child.