7.30 a.m. I woke this morning from a dream. I was dreaming that I was at sea on my boat the Silverburn. I was sailing alone. I don’t know how I came to be at sea alone on her, but alone I was. I had no idea in which direction I was sailing so I called out on the VHF several times, but there was no answer. I figured that eventually I would run out of fuel and would just have to sit out there until another vessel came to my aid. Well, another vessel did not come to my aid, instead morning did. Thank goodness for that, I can relax now for it was only a dream.

Sometimes I wish cancer was only a dream. The point is though, a dream is what it is, or will be. It’s not a nightmare and one day I will wake from it. I’m not sure yet if the dream will end with another vessel coming to my aid, or I will simply eventually reach the safety of the shore. So long as we carry on and never give up hope, that distant shore gets closer and closer every day.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a man called J.K. He worked with my Dad emptying coal boats in Castletown. He had a large family and once the boat had been discharged, J.K. headed for the pub with his pay packet and discharged most of it over the bar. He was generous in the extreme to all he met on his way home. As he wobbled from the pub to his house, he would fling packets of crisps, nuts and chocolate bars to all the kids he met on his way home. He probably arrived home with very little left for his own wife and children. J.K. drunk most of his wages, however, he was very generous with the little he had left over. J.K. had a dream though. Every week he would fill in his football coupon. His dream was that one day he would come up on the pools. When this happened, J.K. was going to continue to look after his friends in wealth, just as he had in relative poverty. With his winnings, J.K. was going to buy a coal boat. Yes a dirty old coa lfired steam coal boat. He would sweep out the coal hatches and was going to take all his friends around the World with him on this coal boat. Dad and I were going with him on this extravaganza. I can just imagine J.K. and all his coal boat emptying workmates lying in some posh marina amongst all the millionaire’s yachts. I can imagine the thick black smoke from her funnel rising up above the red sails of the splendid yachts. I can picture J.K. sitting on a wharf and asking the champagne swilling yachties if they would like a bite of his one foot thick cheese sandwiches! I doubt very much that the yacht owners would have offered J.K. a sip of their champagne. However, I am certain that J.K. would have offered them a mug of his strong tea, and a lump of hard cheese. J.K.’S coal boat may well have been in the wrong place. However, as always his heart was not. J.K.’S dream never did come true. But then I guess it was more of an aspiration than a dream.

I wonder just how many other people have sought extreme wealth, so that they can cart their workmates around the World in a dirty old coal boat. I guess it’s not the kind of script they come up with at Hollywood. Still I guess if I had not woken at 5 a.m this morning from my dream of sailing alone in my boat, I would not have been disappointed if the vessel that eventually came to my rescue, had been J.K. in his coal boat, and oh what a happy trip home it would have been, down there in the dirty old coal hatch amongst all J.K.’S workmates.

Well that is it for another day people. We have the gathering tonight with it being Friday. We will gather around the bar and no doubt tell the same stories we tell every week and laugh even louder than we did last week.

Until tomorrow then folks, this is Tom Glassey with News at 9.40., on the banks of the Silverburn River.