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? So how did we get here? You can read a little more of our history here if you wish ...

In celebration of our wedding back in 1976, for our Pearl Wedding anniversary in 2006 we had a fantastic party at our home in Milton Keynes. Following this, for our Ruby Wedding anniversary in 2016 we hired a canal-side venue for a grand day of celebrations with our friends from the canals and from the land. Then for our Golden Wedding Anniversary in 2026 we hired a local hotel for a fabulous meal and an afternoon get-together for all our families and best friends.

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 on our narrowboats "Thistle" and then "Keeping Up".

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, we reckoned that our days of truly exotic holidays were 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.

We spent the next few years exploring the canals on our narrowboat "Keeping Up", until after 30,000 miles we decided to sell her and use the money to re-start our World travels.

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 (the names may have been changed to protect the innocent)

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. Lauren now works as a nursery nurse and is really enjoying herself looking after all the young children.

We have always had a dog (or two), and all 8 of them have been rescues. In March 2016 our current dog, Jessop, joined our family and he is thoroughly enjoying his life with us. He is getting rather old now, but he is determined not to let his age stop him from enjoying himself; what a great role-model he is.

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