Diary 8th And 9th February 2018

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Diary Thursday 8th February 2018 The eve of my 56th birthday, the last day I will ever be 55. I had to see my welfare officer to discuss my job search activity since my last appointment. He seemed happy with my progress and booked me in for in two weeks for my next hearing, forgetting his recent decision to see me once a week rather than twice a month. I came home for a while before attending the community centre to do some job searching and then headed to the railway station to collect a rail ticket for my trip to Manchester for Sunday (buying them in advance online and collecting them at the station is cheaper than buying them on the day). Diary Friday 9th Of February 2018 I woke up a year older but feeling exactly the same as before. There was a talk at the community centre by Irene Cottam, a remarkable lady who served as a fire-fighter in Preston during the Second World War. She is now 95. She got on very well with the American soldiers and airmen who were stationed here, many of who shared their rations with her. She saw many terrible fires, including the Freckleton Air Disaster of 1944 when a B-24 crashed into a school during a terrible storm, killing over 60, most of them children. A docklands fire when a ship split in half cost several lives too, and she witnessed what was believed to be the last Flying Bomb to reach England during the war, though it exploded harmlessly over marshland. She was also a proficient dancer and gymnast. Her display of medals, tributes and mementos of her incredibly brave service was very moving. Among her work, she drove a truck full of petrol cans into a fire area. I got several cards, some money from my Mum and hundreds of Facebook birthday greetings too. Such a lovely birthday. Arthur Chappell