Allan and Debbie's Family

Note: this page was written by Allan with input from Debbie.

Well, here we are near the canal in Milton Keynes. Our two children have grown up and left home, we've both given up work, and together with our new dog Jessop we're really enjoying our new-found freedom. How come I seem to busier than ever before?

Back in 2006 we celebrated 30 years of marriage with a fantastic party at our home in Milton Keynes. For our Ruby Wedding  anniversary celebrations  in 2016 we decided to hire a canal-side venue for a grand celebration of 40 years of marriage; take a peek now at the pictures of our celebration party.

Our latest phase of life really started in July of 2003 when after more than 35 years of ever-increasing frustration I persuaded BT to let me go. Over the years I'd watched people being paid huge amounts of money to leave the company; but every time I asked for the same I was told that my department was earning lots of money and they were far too busy to let me go. Debbie had already been able to give up work, and we really wanted to spend more time together, so a new strategy was called for; I had a big argument with my boss and he was so keen to get rid of me that he agreed that BT would pay me to leave and also pay my pension from age 55. Pausing just a few seconds to sign the paperwork, I joined the ranks of the unemployed and we sailed into the sunset. Or to be more precise, Debbie and I disappeared on our boat and didn't return home for nearly three months including a couple of weeks on the River Thames and a couple more on the Rivers Trent and Soar.

Back home for the winter, and having to be a bit more careful with the money now that we had no income at all (I wasn't quite 55 yet!), the time was spent on more domestic pursuits such as a spot of much-needed decorating, and planning our 2004 boating expeditions. This time we were away for about 5 months, visiting such diverse places as Birmingham, Peterborough, Cambridge, Bedford, Gloucester, Bath, Hampton Court and Oxford; read all about them on our Canal pages, as well as our more recent trips all over the country.

So then we came home again. Having reached the grand age of 55 I became officially a BT pensioner. With only a pension to survive on, our days of truly exotic holidays are probably past (but we've got some great memories - see our Holiday pages) although we were able to visit Russia in memory of Debbie's late mother who knew that Debbie had always wanted to go there, and have even managed to make a return visit to see how quickly that amazing country is changing.

Our son Frodo was living with us again when I retired. He'd got a degree in Physics and Business Studies at Weathertop then worked behind a computer screen in Hobbiton for a while before getting bored and going to Mordor for a year. But he came back after 9 months because it felt too hot to be Christmas, and was living in our spare room while looking for his ideal job (ie one that wasn't in an office) so that he could afford to buy a house of his own. He got married to Galadriel in 2008 and now they live in Lothlorien with their children Merry and Pippin

Our daughter Vicki lives in Peterborough with Paul her husband and Lauren her very grown up teenage daughter. Lauren was in a great hurry to enter this world, and when born prematurely she weighed just one teaspoonful more than a packet of sugar (2lb 3oz). She and Vicki were rather ill for a while but all was well in the end. Vicki works for the transport company Norfolk Line where she enjoys telling truckers where to go. Lauren meanwhile is a very determined young lady; growing up fast and determined to stand tall and enjoy the world. She has shown a real ability at performing on stage; after a stunning performance in her school play she was head-hunted by the Westwood Musical Society to appear on stage as a member of Fagin's gang in their production of Oliver at Peterborough's Key Theatre; she started at secondary school in 2013 and is really enjoying herself there. Again, you can read more on Vicki's page.

Until recently we had two dogs, Molly and Telford, who like their 4 predecessors were rescued; in April 2014 Molly died of old age, leaving us with many happy memories but with a big gap in our hearts. Telford adjusted to his top-dog status fairly easily and enjoyed a further year of life with us before suffering a series of strokes and joining Molly and their predecessors at the Rainbow Bridge. It seemed strange spending the summer without a dog but in March 2016 another rescue dog, Jessop, joined our family and he is thoroughly enjoying his life with us.

So how did we get here? Read on ...

All pictures on this site are © Allan Jones unless otherwise stated