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Claremont News 2024

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High Petergate, York

Again it’s time for an update from the centre of York. We’ve been busy this year but it’s all good. Getting older should mean slowing down. For us it’s doing things more slowly but important things are still being done.

Joan has continued to volunteer at the hospital two mornings a week as well as being part of the church visiting team. She also met up with school friends for a 60th anniversary reunion. Barrie has again become chair of the successful housing charity Restore (York). We have also made many visits down the A1 to visit family in Cambridge and Chelmsford.

There was a general election with a good outcome. Barrie helped (a little) with campaigning for the Labour Party. We had two street parties and helped mount an air quality action group in the main street at the end of ours.

So as we look forward to the next year we trust you all will enjoy a Happy Christmas and a healthy New Year.

So in more detail

Holidays
Grandchildren
Our Street
School reunion
Friends
Car
Next Year a Milestone

Holidays

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Llanddwyn Island, Anglesey, North Wales

Holidays

Anglesey. We stayed in an Air BnB near the Newborough Forest, the only national forest on the coast of Britain. We spent a day waking to the end of Llnaddwyn Island, one of a few holy sites on Anglesey. It was a great holiday, really refreshing and to a place we had never been. We’d recommend it

France. Brittany was a long drive where we spent a few days with Wesley’s family in Carnac. The Eurocamp site is right next door to the spectacular Carnac standing stones. It’s ages since we were in France and even longer since we were on one of these holiday sites. Lots of fun, baguettes, beer and croissant, not all at the same time of course. Some good walks, especially through the standing stones which are spread along 4km of the countryside around Carnac. An immense monument with a mysterious purpose.

Pretending to be human standing stones. Emily, Deborah, Alex, Joan, Wesley and the real Carnac Standing Stones.

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Grandchildren

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Rowan (4), Anna (7), Emily (15) with a third cake for Anna’s birthday

Our youngest, Rowan, started school this year joining his sister Anna at her primary school. He loves it. Their Cambridge lives are so busy with classes, activities and friends parties. We had a lovely weekend looking after them while Mum and Day went away to meet friends.

Emily has secured a place at a Performing Arts College not far from Chelmsford. She starts in 2025 after GCSEs on a BTEC course. Alex is in his A Level year and applying for university places to study Medical Science. He wants to do research, so an endless academic career seems to beckon.

We love visiting them all and the road to Cambridge and Chelmsford is well worn. Thankfully it’s the same road for the first 150 miles so dual visits are possible without a long detour.

Alex and Emily with Wesley and Deborah on holiday in France

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Our Street

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Film Crew – it’s Lights, Camera, Action in Claremont Terrace

Filming Stars

Not us of course. A scene for an upcoming new TV Crime Drama was filmed in our street in April. For such a short scene there was a lot of gear and activity. Watch out for it on Channel 5 – it’s called Patience – the story of an archivist who unearths cold cases for reinvestigation.

Autumn Street Party

Street Parties

Staging the two parties this year has been quite exhausting; we’re hoping for younger residents to take up some of the graft. The summer party was wet and the one in October was dry. Lots of fun though and useful for new people to meet their neighbours.

Air Quality Action Group

The main road at the end of our street is the most polluted in York with the worst air quality, possibly, in Yorkshire. So an action group has formed to meet the council officers and councillors to force something to be done. The traffic light solution is marginal but once they have proved it improves the air quality other action may be taken using the data collected in the trial. Barrie has been volunteering to collect traffic data in preparation for the trial.

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Reunion

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Pat, Sue, Janet, Chris, Julie and Joan 60 years after the first year at Shire Oak Grammar School

It is 60 years since Joan started Grammar School in Brownhills. This year a good number of the original pupils met up at a reunion party. Lots of reminiscing of course, and friendships renewed with some not having seen each other since leaving school. 

Joan’s five close friends, who have kept in touch in the intervening years, were able to assemble for a new school photo at the school reunion party most of whom were also known by Barrie as they met while Joan was still at school, and married just a few weeks after Joan received her A levels results.

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