Today I set off at 05.50 hours to drive up to Co. Durham to do the deal on a "new" car to replace my old Nissan Note that with 182000 miles on the clock went bang in February with a blown turbo.
For months, because I am now 73 I was finding it almost impossible because of my age and retirement status to get a lone for a replacement until i stumbled on a company a few weeks ago with reasonably good interest rates.
And so I saw one that I really liked, and after feeling dispondent and somewhat depressed for months without a car and basdically house bound as my kids needed theirs for work.
So went up to pick it up today and bring home.
Whilst waiting a couple of hours for the loan to go in to the dealers bank from my loan company i walked to the local shop for a butty and a drink.
On the way back I sat in a little road side garden with seats, and realised it was a memorial to a mining disaster at West Stanley just down the road in 1909 when a 168 men and boys died in the explosions that day in February, and very earilly the same day, february 16th that my car packed up. the oldest victim was a man of 66, and probably worked all his life down the pit, and the youngest were 6 young boys, turned men of 14 years of age..............
It made my joy of the day turn to tears literally as I stood there reading all the names of each and every man and boy, and thinking just how lucky I have been.
There but for the grace of God go I.
A very sobering thought today that brought me down to earth, as we have in Fleetwood where I was born and brought up, as with other fishing towns seen the results of fishing disasters, but NEVER on such a scale as that for a small village as Stanly Co. Durham.
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Topic: As my mother used to say! "There but for the grace" (Read 1287 times)