© gbswales 2015
About Me
Family
I was part of a relatively small extended family when I was young. I can remember both my
grandmothers though my maternal one was a larger part of my life. She died suddenly at the
age of 72 when I was just 10 years old and my father’s mother died a few years later. I had
occasional contact with some aunts an uncles on my Father’s side but my mother was estranged
from her brother. They finally reconciled at my wedding to Susan in 1978 brought them back
together. The few relatives that I kept in touch with have now died - my father being the oldest
sibling. We lived for about 10 years in Biggin Hill where my son Daryl was born in 1981. I was
able to get a transfer to the Swansea office of ACAS and we moved to Llanmadoc, Gower in 1985
My parents sold their house in Surbiton and moved to a bungalow on Gower the next year.
Sadly my mother died in December 1988 but lived long enough to see her grandaughter, Erica
who had been born in January of the same year. We enjoyed a happy life in Llanmadoc taking
an active part in the local community participating in carnivals, and plays etc.
Sue and I seperated in 2001 followed by an amicable divorce and I moved into my Father’s
bungalow near Bishopston. About a year or so later he devoloped cancer and died after a fairly
short illness just one month short of his 90th birthday.
I spent a few years stuggling with my sexuality eventually coming out as gay - I think that the
oppression and even persecution of gays during my formative years had led me to deny it, even
to myself. In 2004 I suffered a bout of chronic pancreatitis and this life threatening experience
brought me out of my shell and it was early the next year that I was lucky enough to meet Bird
who is now living here as my partner. He was living in Bangkok and we met online but quickly
our friendship moved to much closer feelings and we met in person for the first time the same
year when I visited Thailand for a month. After one failed visa attempt he managed to get a
visitors visa and we met many times in Thailand and the UK. He came to live here permanently
in 2008 and we entered into a civil partnership that August. People often do not get a second
chance of happiness and I am so grateful for the love that we share. The most recent additions
to the family are my son’s wife Natalie and their two boys Oscar and Sam and I confess to being
a proud grandad.
Some friendships over the years
I have been lucky to have enjoyed the friendship of many people over the years and, whilst
apologising to those I have left out, I will summarise a few here. In my childhood my closest
friends were Robert and Jane though they did not gel together and I usually found myself friends
with one or the other at different times. They both lived in the same flats as me and the grounds
or our respective homes were the principal play areas. I lost touch with Jane at aout the ager of
10 when she moved away but my frienship with Robert continued until we moved to Surbiton
when
I
was
17. Many years later I tracked them both down and I visited Robert in Camberly just after he
retired. Jane I found through Friends Reunited and have corresponded and swapped photos -
she is living in Canada with a family of her own.
Some family pictures (please click
thumnails to see them full sized
Like most other young people in my day I went on to have a few more relationships and I dont want to bore
everyone by listing them all but will mention two that I was very fond of, Susie (right hand picture) who lived
in Chessington and for a while worked wth me at the Employment Office in Kingston, we
were together for just over a year before splitting up. Again we remained friends and I
met her again a few years later and attended her wedding. By then she was working
for the Building company Bovis who had a bird as their logo. She was (I suspect along
others, nicknamed the “Bovis Bird” .
Susie had been quiet gentle and romantic whereas Gail (picture left) was bubbly, excitng and could be great fun
to be with. She was a professional actress and I met her through a friend at the amateur drama group I belonged to.
I have fond memories of a weekend spent with her in worthing where we stayed with her mother, who was a real character. I am still in
touch with Gail, who now lives in Twickewnham and is married with a son. Chatting to her about my relationship with Bird I discovered
that we both had spent hollidays in and loved Thailand.
Another friend that I met after my divorce was John - we used to chat online via MSN messenger until one day I travelled North to meet him.
This led to a lasting friendship that I treasure, along with the patience and wise counsel he gave me when I was in need. Sadly due to his health and now
mine we dont see each other much but still keep in touch by email. He lives in Brighton with
our friend Robin who I know takes good care of him. In the left picture we are dining at
Donatellos in Stockport. a superb restaurant that he introduce me to. The picture on the
right shows John and Robin when they stayed with me for Christmas one year..
Apologies to friends not mentioned here and my plan is to build some more gallery pages featuring a few of the hundreds of photos I have.