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Hiya Barbara, Good to have ya back and sounding so....so..well like the Barbara we all know and love. The painting is quite moving. It is dark as you say but I do see there is a glimmer of light which is teasing the shadows so maybe it represents the earlier days of your revival. Best wishes for a new stage of your life in 2011. I look forward to bumping into you again. Kindest regards, An old friend and colleague. x

I bought Shakey's old leather jacket. Paid well over the odds and once it was cleaned up and re-lined. What an ace retro jacket and then worth the money. Had a lot of time for Shakey. Is he still about? Shirt off his back - nah! Is Milb still knocking around Ramsey? Second to last time I saw Milb he had just had half of one of his ears bitten off, second time he was in a wheelchair Both still to be seen frequenting the Ramsey hostelries of a weekend. Shaky been a commissioner for years now.

....and Bobby "knock'em stiff", Titty lip, Jimmy Mac who used to collect glasses in the Royal when it was refurbed late 80's frequently found draining the dregs in the beer yard out back, Ivor Crowe (god bless him), Billy Boo (a humungously tall man who rode a scooter and wouldn't say "boo" to a goose another regular in the old royal "snug", Ali Shillitoe and his cowboy hat, Shaky....just a few Ramsey characters in my lifetime.....am sure more will come to mind later...

Hi Barb, Well done. You, like Tom, are so inspirational and your brutal honesty is refreshing. I feel you are missing a calling....your prose is beautiful. All those years of using your words as Tom's eyes has enriched your view of everything. Maybe need to get yourself signed up and publish something. xxxx A former colleague at Zurich xxxx