David Letter

Hello David and Moira... thought I would drop you a line and let you know we are now safely back in NZ and have reverted to our usual quiet way of life.

It is our winter here now of course and our arrival home was marred by wet and cold. But for the past ten days we have been blessed with frosty cold nights and lovely sunny days with temps up to 15C. by lunchtime, surely it can't last much longer! Spring is now close and the first willows will be showing colour by the end of this month, August and the daffodil's are out now, the snowdrops have been out for sometime. Our winters aren't very long... about two months maximum. Some plants grow all the year round.

We enjoyed very much our trip to the UK most especially our visit to you. We wished we could have stayed longer. Of course we didn't quite know how the situation was with you and we didn't want to impose. The high light of my visit was our excursion down to South Shields. How the place has changed, I couldn't find anything familiar until we worked our way down to the harbour entrance area and there was Ocean Rd., changed but recognisable.

I think brother John has been in contact with you, David. I'm glad I mentioned to him the proof reading and return of the second part of your memoirs. He had misunderstood. I hope when you finish them that I could have a copy. I read a few exerts from them and I found them most interesting. When you have finished them I have a question(s) for you regarding various Brough family members. Not now but later. I will not burden you with them now.

Since arriving home I have sat down and read your book, David and enjoyed it very much. Our eldest son, Ian read parts of it too whilst we were in England and found it most interesting as well. I hope you won't mind if I make a copy of your book on to computer and if any family members are interested I can pass it on. Not only is it a record of the Brough and the Bell families, I realised it is also a social history record of a way of life long gone and unknown to our children and those who will follow them. We came in at the tail end of the old way of life and grew up in the early beginnings of life as we and our children know today. H'mm, this getting a bit heavy.

Well our visit to Ponteland and meeting you both again was one of the highlights of our trip. I would like to think we can do it again sometime. I would also like to think we could get hooked up by email and I could send you some of the short pieces of 1-2 A4 pages I have written about my life and the people I've met along the way. Nothing on Aspatia...yet, but plenty on Ullswater and my RAF days. I hope to knit them into a composite piece one day.

Well I will say goodbye for now, and bye the way, I always remember Ponteland when I have a shower. Pat brought those lovely pieces of soap and you both usually come to mind as I shower!

Love and best wishes from Eric

PS Our Email is pat.eric@xtra.co.nz or olderic1934@yahoo.co.nz or if you are near one of the family computers look on my small web-site olderic.blogspot.com