Author: John Douglas Eccles

I think I may not be on my own in thinking that 2016 was not the best of years for many people. But if you look back in history there are many other examples of annus horribilis and you don’t have to look that far back to discover that’s the case.

Many people judge a year by what they have gained or lost and I am just as guilty of that, but I suppose its the human condition.

So what did 2016 do to me and mine. It was a pretty good year, we are all still here, healthy and a little wiser. Apart from loosing a very good friend in January the grim reaper has not been very busy around these parts, he’s been far to busy taking the talented, rich and famous. Which goes to prove riches amount to nothing in the end, when your time has come, your time has come.

We had a wedding, offspring number one our son Simon got married to Kayleigh and carried on the great family tradition of the Eccles men punching way above their weight. And a great day was had by all.

Our daughter Sarah has had yet survived another operation and has recovered heroically, never complaining once and making the most of what life has dealt her. She is still the best person I know to have a night out with, you never stop laughing from beginning to end.

Lady Ann and myself are still here and chipper although we are beginning to feel a little like the Grandparents out of the Walton’s.

So whats in store this year?

Well, after I retired in December (as Ann points out, I lasted four days) I start a short term contract till March (which will finance a very nice Holiday). After that is out of the way we are going to travel a little and above all start taking life a little easier.

So folks have a great 2017 and may you get what you need rather than what you want and as I discovered a few years ago as long as you wake up in a morning you are already quids in.

I took this photo on the 1st of January this year looking forwards with great optimism but by any measure this year has been a disaster, it has taken away all the anchors that hold my understanding of the world which I thought I understood and all my cultural and social references are disappearing faster that the speed of light.

I know this sounds a little dramatic but this year has seen my teenage years wiped out in a several devastating  strokes. What makes it even more cruel is reading about it without any notice on twitter which has often taken my breath away for a moment.

I know that becoming old is the natural way of things but never in my wildest dreams in my twenties did I think that it would be this traumatic. Everything I thought I knew and understood has now flown out of the window and I am now in free fall.

Now the old Hippie in me thinks that this is a cool concept but the reality is far more scary. I am trying to second guess my place in the universe and it is almost impossible to predict. Now I know I am a control freak but I now feel like an old telephone switchboard operator when someone has taken out all the cables. (at this point I know I have lost at least half of my readership).

So this Christmas I am going to go with the flow as Lady Ann says and see where it takes me. Half of me is hoping that it takes me to somewhere safe and the other half is hoping it will take me to somewhere that I have never been and is ever so slightly exciting.

So guys whatever your Christmas brings you I hope you are surrounded by your loved ones and you find what you are looking for because I can only think that 2017 is going to be a bit of a roller coaster ride.

All that remains for me to say is I hope you have a Merry Christmas, a happy and healthy New Year.  But on a personal note please be kind to each other, it’s the only way we get through the tough bits.

Remembrance Sunday is always a sobering experience for anyone with shred of humanity. I have just returned from our remembrance service which as I expected was a very moving and life affirming experience.

Our service takes place every year at the Pots and Pans memorial which can be seen from almost every part of Saddleworth and stands majestic against the skyline which is made up of some very large hills.

Now the older I get the more of a challenge it becomes but the feeling of peace when you put some altitude between yourself and the busy world we live in the more you can think about the magnitude of sacrifice that was made on our behalf.

According to the internet (so it must be right) The memorial is situated 427m or about 1,500 feet above sea level and the views are remarkable. So now the bad news, even if you get to within walking distance which is about a half mile walk you find the path rises about 800ft which makes it tough walking for a feeble specimen such as myself.

At one point this morning whilst gasping for breath whilst stood pretending to take photographs, I did think for a moment I might not make it. But a friend a few years ago gave me some great advice about walking uphill, so I thought I would share it.

Take small steps, take Sixty steps then rest for Sixty-seconds and carry on until the reach the top. It works for me, I started this when the going got tough but by the time I was half way up I needed less and less rest and I arrived in a state ready to take part in the service rather than leaning against the rocks gasping for breath.

Just as I arrived at the top the band struck up with the first hymn, one of my favourites that I remember from School, Onward Christian Soldiers. I did try to join in but the lump in my throat made it very difficult.

As the service progressed through to the two minute silence I was amazed at how quiet it was, even with so many people present all you could hear was the wind. It is a strange feeling being stood with so many people and it being so quiet.

I always think that two minutes hardly seems enough to show the respect that these poor young men deserve for the ultimate sacrifice they made.

I have been lucky enough in my lifetime not to have had to go to war, but for these brave souls it was not by choice, many volunteered but some were enlisted which is even more remarkable.

As well as the walking up hill lesson I learned something else over the years. Once you reach your journeys end it is not over. As Tolkien said in The Lord of the Rings, A journey is there and back again.

History is littered with people who arrived but weren’t lucky enough to make it back, just think of Scott of the Antarctic, a lesson to heed if ever there was one.

This morning was no different, going down hill for me is a far more scary prospect. At my age I have found I don’t bounce like I once did. So with that fear at the back of my mind and with more than a little apprehension I made my way down without breaking any bones whatsoevever. Which on that hill is no mean achievement I can tell you.

So after my annual adventure over the moors to pay my respects all that remains to do is head of home to a brew and a spot of lunch and count my blessings and hope that all the brave dedicated people in our armed forces manage to stay safe in this ever more dangerous world we live in.

If you remember in last weeks blog I was commenting on when your work colleagues retire you have no one to have a good moan with. Well, unfortunately for me my employer must have read it, felt my pain and did something about it. They have made me redundant.

Now it didn’t really come as a shock to me, funding cuts are making Further Education almost undeliverable and it’s no easy task offering the best educational experience for students on an ever decreasing budget.

So am I outraged, upset or angry?

The answer is no. The college I have worked for have been great to me over the years and they are making an offer that will mean I can take my foot off the gas and enjoy myself before I get to old to do so.

During the twenty or so years that I have been involved with the college I have taught well over 6000 students and many of them have gone on to have great careers in Film, TV, Radio, Digital industries, and PR and that is very satisfying to see.

What really has surprised me is that how quickly the news has travelled. I haven’t even finalised the arrangements and people are getting in touch to see how they can help. I am amazed and really humbled that people would take the time to send me a message to say they are thinking of me and if I need help then just get in touch.

More worryingly I have also had a couple of job offers so I wont be starving anytime soon.

Lady Ann has said she is looking forward to seeing more of me and is already making a list of things that need doing so I won’t get bored (her words not mine) and if the list isn’t to long I will have a chance to take a breather before embarking on the next instalment of life at Eccles Towers.

So even though this part of my career is over anyone who knows me will realise even though I could retire, I probably won’t. Film makers and creative people love what they do so it really isn’t a job, its a lifestyle choice. The difference being that I can choose projects I want to work on rather that projects I have to work on and there is a world of difference between the two.

So all the remains to say on this subject is that I cant wait to get started in a part-time fashion obviously, and a great big thank you to everyone who has helped me over the years and made my job brilliant.

I feel a little bit funny tonight, not funny laughing but funny unsettled. I have reached that unmentionable age where your friends start to call it a draw and retire. Now, this is all well and good but that means I have no one left of a similar age to have a good moan with.

I know what you are thinking, you can have a good moan with anyone but there are two golden rules to moaning. One the person you are moaning with is your age and at least knows what you are moaning about and the other is that they know who you are moaning about.

Now I know this seems like common sense but it is pointless moaning with someone who is thirty years younger than you because they do not have a clue what you are moaning about.

For example my social and cultural iconic references are J. F. Kennedy, Mohammed Ali, Martin Luther king and on a lighter level the Beatles. Now I know this seems like a load of old has-beens, but they deserve a little more respect than they receive.

They all had one thing in common, they had a belief that good would overcome evil and that the human spirit could triumph in the end.  It may come as no surprise that these people paid the price for sticking their heads above the parapet.

But that is what my generation expect. I do not want people to expect average, I expect everyone to be extraordinary, I want people who can motivate nations to rise to a common objective and trust me these people are very rare in this day and age.

So as I sit here looking back with rose coloured glasses, when was the last time anyone made you feel proud.

It has been far to long ago for me to remember and that is very sad.

Sunday night should be the last chance of the weekend to wind down and try to either recover from partying hard or trying to remember all the great things you did since you walked out of the office on Friday night.

This weekend has been busy by our standards we have had to up our game because the Grandkids have stayed with us. Now that in itself isn’t usually as traumatic as it sounds but this weekend we have had to sort out other stuff as well.

Saturday we had to go prop shopping for a commercial I am making which means sorted bits and bobs and costumes for a 14 year old actress. I ask you how hard can it be to buy a couple of tops and a blazer.

At this point I should mention the actress in question is my grand daughter Saskia (nepotism is alive and well) and all I can say she is very picky. Saturday consisted of visiting several high street shops with Lady Ann, Saskia and James who I must be said has as much interest in shopping as I do.

He does however have a unique skill that it took me years to master and that is the art of looking as if you have lost the will to live, and very good he is at it as well.

So the biggest part of the day was taken up in various coffee shops whilst the women went shopping. So arriving back home I was quickly reminded that I needed to go and check on Saskia’s horse at the stables which we duly did.

So at seven thirty this morning I am back at the stables feeding the horse again before I leave to meet friends at a Car show in Pontefract (on my own and very good it was to).

So I arrived back mid afternoon, had a bit of a nap and thought what a good way to round the weekend off by watching the Grand Prix. My plans hit the skids about eight when Saskia tells us out of the blue she needs some stuff for food technology for tomorrow morning.

So Ann hurriedly went through our cupboards and found most of the ingredients on her long list but the deal breaker was she needed 600 grammes of white fish! So after travelling about 10 miles in search of white fish on a Sunday evening we had almost give up but then I had a brainwave.

Lets see if a fish and chip shop would sell us a raw fish!

Now have you ever tried to explain to the local Chinese Chip shop that you would like to buy a raw fish a bit of a challenge but hey guess what they delivered in spades. They were fantastic, life savers.

So it is now Ten o clock they have gone home the house is once again quiet and I am breaking a golden rule (no alcohol on a school night) by having a large Gin and Tonic to recover from the busiest weekend we have had in ages.

It seems like a lifetime since our holiday and like most academic institutions ours is no different in welcoming new students onto campus. To me this is the best time of year, you find out what your classes are going to look like and watch these individuals overcome a range of experiences that they probably haven’t experienced before.

Most of our students come from Oldham so you would think they would have no problems getting to know each other but meeting people for the first time is always stressful no matter how often you do it. They are no different.

Watching little groups form over the first week is fascinating as well as very entertaining. Everyone is trying to find out who the cool kids are and others drift into the corners trying to drop below the radar.

So here I am sat at my desk with another academic year to look forward to and wondering how many more years I will have the energy to do this job. On a good day it is brilliant, on a bad day it is exhausting, the issue is when you get up in the morning you don’t know which it is going to be, if I did some days I wouldn’t bother getting up.

So to all parents everywhere who are now sat having a post-apocalyptic summer break brew I am envious, I will have to wait about nine months for mine. As a friend said on Monday as she was stood at the school gates after dropping off her daughter ‘How come all the kids look like they are starring in the only way is Essex and all the parent look like they are in the cast of the living dead.’

She has a point!