Singleton Family

Neil and Becky Wedding

2011-10-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

Tony and I were very fortunate to be able to attend the wedding of Neil and Becky in UK on October 1, 2011. This is our short recount of the spectacular occasion.

Congratulations Becky and Neil!!

One of the first pictures we took was of Neil and Tony ~ putting up the decorations above the restrooms in the barn. Tony had bought Neil the red pick-up truck that was used for the Men's room decoration. Neil and Becky must have gone to weddings for years to get all the clever ideas they used at their wedding. Inside the bathrooms, they put up pieces of wallpaper and left a felt tip pen inside. Guests wrote Congratulation notes all over the wallpaper.

The next picture shows Neil in shorts on his wedding day by one of the VW Campervans he was using to transport guests. The weather was in the 80s the whole week (the highest temperature ever recorded in this week in UK).

This picture is of Neil at the White Lion before the wedding. This is also where the evening meal was held for a lot of the family and relatives on Friday evening.

Grandpa Tony is attempting to tie Abe's tie.

First we were treated to champagne served on the platform before the train ride.

A picture of Neil (standing) on the train ride, Jonathan on the right.

Signs were placed on every seat before the wedding ceremony.

The Barbershop Quartet that entertained the crowed while Becky and Neil signed all the necessary papers.

Becky and Neil after they were married.

Place cards for seating arrangement for the meal ("Please be seeded" with a packet of seed inside).

The napkins at every place was a dish towel with "Becky and Neil, Tie the Knot" attached.

This straw with paper mustache attached was in the floral arrangements (in honor of Neil's mustache). Kids had their pictures taken (Abe).

A picture of the banquet tables before everyone was seated.

Jonathan, the best man, giving his speech. Speech is printed below. Neil said in his speech that when he asked Becky to marry him she said "y (eh)", later she said "yes" ~ hence the huge "yes" decoration.

A picture as a proud father with Neil.

A picture as a proud father with Jonathan (Rachel on the right).

The wedding was spectacular and guests danced the whole evening.

More pictures can be seen here on the Walmart site. You need to sign up, but there is no charge. Some of the photos are Jacqueline's.

You Tube Videos taken by Tony and Sharon
Barbershop Quartet
Steam Train
Wedding Ceremony
Wedding Guests
Posing for Pictures
Speeches and dancing

Not sure how long this link will work but here is the Rock N Roll Bride issue with Neil and Becky's wedding in it ~ November 14, 2011 issue

And Neil and Becky's website

Jonathan's speech ~ he was amazing with the delivery of this entertaining speech. Tony was very impressed and so proud of the job that Jonathan did with the speech.

THE SPEECH

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls...What a wonderful day this is!!...No? I’ve been waiting for this day for many years now…far too long. Yes, at last I am contractually released from my obligations as prime guardian and carer for the person we have here. I see some of you look confused!? It is, indeed, quite complicated. Let me begin. Most of you know me as Jonathan, the brother of the gentleman here beside me. This, however, is a lie I have been living for the last 39 years. My real name is Operative Sig (puts on white coat), head of genetic research and social integration at MI5! I’ll explain more.
Here is a copy of the title page of our original contract, a bit worse for wear. Remember, it’s nearly 40 years old. Not a lot of people know this, but a major breakthrough in designer genetics occurred on the 16^th of September, 1972…the birth of the first creature of its kind, a sort of sedated monkey but with more or less human appearance (apart from a worrying pre-disposition towards voluminous facial hair). The creature was codenamed a Neo Elementary Intelligent Life form or NEIL, for short. The working title for the operatives in the field, however, was “Not Excessively Intelligent Life form”.

Some blame a mix up with the test tubes and some bleach and motor oil...but the result was indeed a small blonde child with a cherub like face and a feisty temperament. (baby picture) A small team of experts from the Singleton Corporation were given the job of “raising” the child to see if indeed it was possible for the creature to learn the ways of the human race and indeed act in a “normal way” for later integration into modern society. We are lucky today to have all the original members of the elite squad entrusted with this difficult task.

I believe the mother figure, code name SUSAN, is here? Raise your hand please! She was in charge of nappy changing, haircuts, and feeding.

Also the father figure, code name TONY, was liaison with the higher authorities and in charge of power tools and driving skills...hand up please! I can’t divulge their real identities at this time for fear of reprisals. The rest of the boy’s education was down to me...make your own mind up if you think we were successful in our task or not. Now as I look at your faces, I see that many of you seem to doubt the credibility of my discourse. This I can understand. It is a lot to take in. So, here, I offer some of the scarce clues to the harsh reality and hard work involved in the NEIL project.

golf

Inception, or to use the layman’s terms, “birth” of the child was shrouded in secrecy. If you look up 16 September 1972 on Google, you will see that absolutely nothing of any interest whatsoever happened on that day. No famous people, no political disasters, nothing...all we can find is that Manchester City beat Tottenham, 2 to 1. FACT...clearly reading between the lines, this is a cover-up. The records were whitewashed for security reasons, hiding one of the most important events of the 20^th century and the semi-legal goings on in the Grantham hospital at the time!! Food for thought??? So our work began. NEIL, as we fondly called him, started making great advances. My job was to teach him to a high level in the sciences and the arts...and to try and make him a “good boy”. I taught him about gravity and the breaking point of plastics, exhibited in the well-known case on Christmas day, 1974, when he sat on my brand new action man jeep with his fat nappy clad arse!!! As you can see, we had a lot of work to do…the basic precepts of golf; i.e., hitting the ball towards the hole seemed to pass him by (golf photo),

Birthday party

and then there was his all-consuming desire to be centre of attention even when he had nothing specific to add to a conversation (birthday party).

School photo

We have a vintage recording of the problems the team came up against on this very topic of conversation (silly sausages tape ~ unable to get tape), but before long we started to get him on the rails…proper haircut, nice smile (photo neil school), we began to enjoy a relationship based on mutual respect, I believe. Here, as a reminder, is a copy of one of the music classes I gave. I felt it fundamental for the child to understand popular culture. As you can see, he was quick with the local slang also. Unable to get tape ~Shall we hear that again? As I mentioned, we always had great mutual respect. I taught him about trust by forcing him to lie length ways in front of a hastily constructed Evil Knieval ramp made out of a pile of bricks and a rotten bit of chip board while I tested his faith in family and life itself by proceeding to jump over him with his own BMX at speed...an excellent class that was! Unfortunately, no photo documentation exists as my superiors would have frowned on such overt risk taking. Another lesson in advanced physics springs to mind…the day he threw a dinky toy helicopter at my face and the sharp tail got lodged in my forehead. You see every action has an equal and opposite reaction…the force needed to chuck the helicopter is equal to the screams of pain of the impaled victim…in this case, me. Oh, how we laughed!

Then there were the arts...here is an early example of Neil’s line drawing from an early Easter card (photo Neil’s art Easter), and, of course, prose and poetry were not far behind, although the concept of poetry that rhymed was obviously beneath him. He went straight to some weird abstract contemporary poetry (photo Neil’s prose).
The prose is "There once was a chick which had a mother The mother went smiwing with the baby chick then the baby chick got lost so the baby chick went to a plioceman" "Hope you have a happy Easter To Mum and Dad Love from Neil"

I also taught the boy how to dress properly, by example, as seen in this archive photo (adam ant photo). Neil was a kind of Marco Perroni to my Adam Ant at this stage...a kind of annoying second class disciple of my own excellence. But...all was about to change. At the tender age of 16, the boy left the bosom of home life for the dangerous world of further education in the grand metropolis which is Lincoln. It was a risky business as we obviously couldn’t be in such close control of the specimen. However, amongst our nerves a small miracle happened. I remember it specifically on a visit to Lincoln one day where he was studying at art school. Up until that I’d never felt that I’d been surpassed by my “brother’s” talents. But this was amazing. Obviously his time in Lincoln was very well spent and I was astounded to discover this innate talent that the boy had found within himself, possibly suggesting a successful future in that field. Yes, I remember that day happily as I related my experiences to my associates...that Neil was really, really,….really excellent at playing darts. Now quite where he practiced this talent is unknown. There was no dart board in his flat...and on further investigation, apparently the college didn’t give classes in that particular sport. One can only conclude that he had found another secret location where his extraordinary gift could be honed??? But, to this day, the whereabouts of that establishment remains a mystery.

HOWEVER, this being the early nineties, we were in deep recession and work for dart players was somewhat scarce (photo of Neil grumpy).

So, after trying his hand at taxi driving, shoemaking (with specific expertise in clogs, as I remember) and also radical experiments in the profession of hair dying (photo Christmas bow tie),

he was forced to give up his dream and settle for a normal job as a poor graphic designer (photo serious job). Here we have some early examples of his freelance work for Barrowby Village Council (photos of Grantham Gazette).

It gives a brief insight to the mind of the young man, with school uniforms he says (and I quote), “I think school uniforms should be worn at all times nessacary. For instants on a school trip or outing where people of the public and foreigners will see you.” He goes on to say, “I think pupils should PAY for not wearing school uniforms and then the full amount can go to something in need of repair on your school”. As you can see, an entrepreneur from an early age! The money making theme continues on the cookery page for some reason.

On the subject of making pocket money...”some people write children’s stories and record them on cassette, then lend them out to family and friends for a small fee...others ring bells for a certain occasion at their local church and charge, say...25 pence for every wedding”. As you can see today, there were no bells and Neil has indeed saved that 25 pence.

Neil’s liberal and easy going nature is clear in this coverage of the National Union of Teachers strikes back in the 80’s…“I’m not sure how much the teachers at the Grantham Central School get paid, but I am sure they don’t work enough to have earned a raise.” Do we have any teachers here with us tonight??? You may want to approach Neil on the subject later on.

My personal favourite, I’ve saved till last. This really shows the attitude that made Britain great...thinking out of the box with concise methods to save on family economy. You may want to take these lessons home with you in these tough times of world recession. I quote again the master, “We’ve written down ways of saving money or just not spending it so much. The first way is not to have a holiday! Instead just do some gardening...or if it comes to the worst and you haven’t got a job or retired, etc. then why not build yourself an Atlantic Ocean replica model exactly to scale in your back garden. OK! Maybe you have not got the room. I’m sure someone would sell you a piece of land on the cheap!” There you have it...in a nutshell...the world is in the state it is because we have a shortage of seafaring ship replicas in our back gardens! Now, most of you know about Neil’s passion for fast cars and shiny chrome, and I don’t want to spend too much time here explaining his lust for performance, high quality detail and unfaltering, if indeed, a tad repetitive, perfectionism in his ground up builds.

Sufice to say, we are all in awe of the boy’s patience, so here’s an image I think which encompasses all that he has learned over his 20 or so years, building classic American muscle cars (C5 pic), but it’s not all been good news. Now as you all know Neil lives down in the big smoke where it is very difficult for my stylistic influence to reach him. He was heading off the tracks again, I was sorry to say, and getting in with a rough London crowd.

It started to be obvious to me that Neil was trying to go all gangster and wild boy on us. It was all bling, sub woofers and shell suits for awhile (photo shell suit),

which is where the heroine of our story steps in to save the day...Rebecca Goode...the princess on a white steed, luckily came charging in to rescue our poor knight, who was floundering with his fashion sense in a big way (photo of betty on horse). SO! You must be wondering, why today? Why is it that today all these national secrets can be legally divulged on you, the unsuspecting audience.

Well, in my original contract from 1972, it stated that I was obliged to be primary carer until such a time as either (1) my sanity and clarity of vision was impaired; (2) another carer with sufficient qualifications could be found/forced/tricked into taking on the job; and/or (3) the project was declared a success if the specimen fell in love (B and N on sofa).

Now in this case, in a kind of triple convergence of the planets, all three of the clauses can be brought into effect. (1) clearly I am clinically insane and cannot proceed; (2) Betty has offered, of her own free will, her services as primary carer, no money, drugs or alcohol were involved in the decision...allegedly (well, maybe a drop or three of whiskey..eh? and gin…oh, and some rum and brandy, no? but, apart from that, absolutely nothing!!!!), and(3) more importantly Neil has fallen in love, thus proving the project has worked and that I am free. So, on that bombshell (always wanted to say that), I hereby raise a toast to the new primary carer in Neil’s life, codename Betty!!! (photo Neil and Betty). Hurray. Long may you retain your sanity, my dear….and Neil, thank you for being such an excellent case study, Brother!!

Best Photo - "funniest"

2010-12-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

In Fall, 2000, Terry & Jacqueline visited us in the US. We took a side trip to the Seattle area. On of the funiest moments of the whole trip was Terry starting down a grassy hill, sliding, falling, and getting mud all over his tan trousers. I couldn't stop laughing, and thought this incident deserved a place in the "funniest pictures" blog. You really had to be there to see the humor, but Terry will certainly remember the incident.

Tony's Projects

2010-01-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

I know that all of you know just how clever Tony (your Dad, brother, and/or uncle) is, but I think you may want to see pictures of some of his clever projects. Over the years he has taken pictures of things he has done. Now I'm putting them on the blog in honor of his 69th birthday. These are accomplishments within the last ten years since he came to Idaho.

A log box, situated on our deck right by the back door ~ easy access to wood during the cold, snowy winter months (painted to match all the house trim).

For Dennis' pizza store, Tony built a huge trash container (complete with routing out the word "trash" and painting the word white). I think he was so pleased with his job that he built a miniature trash container for the office to match his new desk.

20 ton press built around an air/hydraulic jack.

A trailer for hauling our ATV (4-wheeler) to the campsite, yard waste, lumber from local hardware store, and miscellaneous items.

A new set of steps up to the patio as well as new railing all around the patio

Two different kind of step stools for his shop

Drawers for many miscellaneous items in shop.

Wall cabinets and base cabinets in shop

Plate racks for decoration

A shoe rack cabinet and a printer cabinet for other people

A remodel of the kitchen cabinets

A picture Tony took on one of our trips, then printed on 4 pages and put together to hang up in his shop with the nail that was made in this blacksmith shop.

Pizza store counters made for Dennis & Jeanna's

pizza stores.

A rail built to display Sharon's paintings. Tony also built all the frames for the pictures.

A desk built for Tony....a facade built for Sharon's old desk....two filing cabinets built to go beside the chest of drawers.

Refinished old bar stools

Mud flaps made for motor home.

A lean to built beside the garage for storing ATV

A box built for keyboard before leaving UK

Planters built for outside the house.

Light fixtures built in dining room.

Fence built along driveway.

Sewing machine repairs also keep Tony busy. This is probably the oldest sewing machine he has worked on....from the University of Idaho.

Increasing shop size to make room for the metal lathe.

Repairing ATV

Doors built for Sharon's cross stitch (small holiday icons to be put on the door for various holidays). Tony built eight of these doors and now Sharon has to cross stitch about 80 icons.

More views of Tony's desk.

Platforms built for Dennis & Jeanna's den for TV viewing.

Belt grinder used for removing large amounts of metal

Made an extension on this tote for a friend so that the tote could be used behind his pickup and camper

Took bricks off of front of house (lower portion) and replaced it with wood.

Christmas Gifts to Jonathan & Family

2009-12-21T22:01:00.000-08:00

Check your paypal account for money to buy these items we would have chosen for you ~ or pick out something you prefer. Merry Christmas!

Jonathan ~ We wanted to suggest a GPS for you but found out that using A GPS in Spain is illegal.....so we would have got you this indoor outdoor thermometer

Basic 3-Channel Radio Frequency Thermometer
Displays indoor and outdoor temperature
12/24 hour clock with alert
High/low temperature memory
Programmable temperature alert
Remote transmits up to 100'
Degrees C or F selectable
Remote and base station low battery indicator
Auto-scroll function
Calendar
Remote jack for optional 10'' temperature probe for use in pools, freezers and soil
Model# 91455

Rachel ~ we thought you might enjoy a water fountain

Beautiful 11" indoor water fountain with a waterfall pouring from one pot into a another one. Polyresin construction. 2 Water flow speeds and UL certified. Approximate Dimensions: 11" H x 7" L. Cord is 6' 2" long.

Abe ~ for you we would have bought a Battleship Game

Defeat the enemy fleet and rescue your men in the classic tactical combat game. You're the commander of your fleet, so prepare your strategy and lead your troops to victory. Call out your coordinates and mark your hits and misses. Try to destroy your opponent's fleet before they destroy yours, then remove the mission sheet from the command unit to reveal the battlefield. The new double-sided battle grid brings even more excitement to Battleship!
For 2 players
Includes 1 grid
1 base with drawers
10 ships
2 men
145 white pegs
80 red pegs
Mission card
4 rubber feet
2 grid attachments

Lily ~ for you we would have bought this Crayola Twistables Sketch & Draw Set

With the Crayola Twistables Sketch and Draw set, kids can create colorful art anywhere, anytime. The pack is portable.
20 twistables colored pencils
15 Mini Twistables Crayons for thicker lines & shading large areas
4 Super Tips Markers
2 in 1 tip makes thin lines
1 Twistable graphite pencil

We hope you are having a very Merry Christmas and will have a great New Year.

Grandpa Tony (Dad) & Sharon

Christmas Gift for Neil & Becky

2009-12-21T21:56:00.000-08:00

Neil & Becky ~ for the two of you we chose a GPS that we would have purchased. Check your Paypal account for enough money to buy this if you choose.

We hope you two are having a very Merry Christmas and will have a great New Year.

Dad & Sharon

Binatone B350 UK Satellite Navigation
Catalogue number: 206-5387
3D Mapping Yes
Accessories Included Includes USB cable & in-car charger
Assembled Weight 0.135
Assembled Weight Units kg
Battery Life up to 4 hours
Brand Binatone
Dynamic Re-routing Yes
Features of Product Full Maps of the UK & ROI. Super bright, 3.5" anti-reflection touch screen . Super slim profile. Thousands of Points of interest including petrol stations, Hotels, restaurants and local attractions. Multiple languages and user friendly interface. SD Card slot - Use your Sat Nav as a Digital picture and document viewer
High-sensitivity Receiver Yes
Horizontal Display Resolution Pixels 320
Internal Battery Type Rechargeable Lithium Ion
Mac Software Included Download from manufacturers website
Maps Included Yes
Memory Type Internal
Minimum PC System Requirements Microsoft XP
Navigate To Postcode Full 6/7 Digit
Navigate To Street Name No
PC Software Included Yes
Picture Viewer Yes
Points of Interest Included Yes
Portable Yes
Power Supply UK and Ireland
Safety Camera Warning Yes
Screen Size 3.5"
Spoken Directions Yes
Suction Mount Included Yes
Touch Screen Yes
USB Interface Yes

Christmas Greetings from Tony & Sharon

2009-12-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

This is our Christmas letter for 2009, written by Tony. If anyone would like their Christmas letter to go out to all the Singleton family on the blog, you can email it to me. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Hi you guys and a Merry 2009 Christmas,

We’re here again in front of the computer trying hard to remember all the things we’ve done this past year and why we did them. The first three months we spent in Arizona as before, this got us away from the harsh Idaho winter and into the far warmer conditions near the Mexican border. Boon docking or dry camping, as its known, out in the desert for half of that time is rather nice especially with our own car and ATV and friends to go on long rides and adventures with. Having said that we had to be towed across the desert because our ATV broke down with serious transmission failure thus meaning a complete strip down when we get back home. But by the beginning of April it began to get too hot so back up North we came.

Sadly this year we made two long trips to Nebraska for two funerals of Sharon’s aunts Despite the sombre occasions it was really good to get to see some of her friends and relatives out there – her mother and all her three uncles and aunts are in their late 80’s and early 90’s and have been married 65 years or more.

I finally finished making an oak pedestal desk for our office, a project started last year in an attempt to hide away all the cables of the computer and printer. Then Sharon wanted something similar to match it but not quite so lavish – she now has an oak "skirt" round her desk which seems to fit the bill.

There was so much rain and snow here during the winter our back lawn was flooded when we came home. This coupled with the risk of our motor home sinking into the mire prompted us to get a friend to excavate a large area about 15 inches deep and fill it with aggregate so we could have a reliable place to park it. Then we opened up the workshop to create enough space for a medium sized centre lathe for me to "play on".

Sharon made preparations for family gatherings on Easter Sunday, Mothers’ Day and of course the 4th of July. On one of these events there were 28 people trying to sit round our 12-seater dining table. She continues to paint pictures, blog, crochet, and cross stitch. She convinced me to make her rails to hang on one of our hallway walls so her paintings could be displayed. The grandchildren are here often ~ which keeps her young.

When time permits we still love to go camping to our favourite Meadow Creek spot. I’m afraid swinging an axe to split our quota of winter logs is getting just a touch too difficult so we had to give in this year and buy some from one of our camping friends. I then made a mechanical log splitter.

We spent a really nice week with my cousin Linda and Mike up in Glacier National Park, Montana. Not to see the glaciers, they’ve all gone, but to see how they totally reshaped some of the mountains up there. On the way we visited a pottery shop, a coffee bean factory and a drive round a black bear park. Later in the year we drove out into the wilds of Idaho to a little place called Dixie from where we took a lengthy ATV ride down some 4000 feet to a remote area beside a swift river where they actually had a small sandy beach. People really lived down there and their only access was by small plane or ATV across a narrow bridge.

A week over Thanksgiving at Sharon’s brother’s homes in Riverton WY and Green River WY was a lot of fun and we were fortunate with the weather. We have a Christmas party planned here at home and one more small trip planned to Leavenworth WA for the Christmas lighting festivities with friends the week before Christmas. We look forward to visits from UK relatives next year after our return from being "snowbirds" in Arizona & California.

Retirement is still good to us but we’re all getting older so drink the good wine first!

Happy Christmas
Sharon and Tony

Questions to Answer, Answers to Amuse You

2009-11-17T08:51:00.000-08:00

1. Tell about where you lived when you first left your parent's home.
2. What was your job at the time, or what were you doing then?
3. What were you doing when JFK was assassinated? (I realize some of you are too young for this question, so just let us know what you remember learning about the assassination).
4. Share a favorite funny story about someone in the family or about yourself.
5. What is your favorite movie of all times?

Dawn's answers

Hello folks, How's it going? All good this end. Here are answers to Ques. You may regret the story one, tis a long one! Take it easy, Luv Dx
1. Tell about where you lived when you first left your parent's home. ANSWER-I officially moved out when i was 20yrs old & moved to Henlow in Bedfordshire to work at a Health Farm (Henlow Grange, funnily enough)! I was there for a year & managed to live in
2 "Staff" houses whilst there, sharing with 3-5 other people. Was fun & stressful. 2. What was your job at the time, or what were you doing then? ANSWER-I was a basic beauty therapist at the health farm, doing massages all day long. It was totally shattering, but now looks great on my CV. Made a life long friend there too.
3. What were you doing when JFK was assassinated? (I realize some of you are too young for this question, so just let us know what you remember learning about the assassination). ANSWER-Er....who. NO, i'm just kidding!! ooh, all i remember of it, were stories, conspiracy theories & wasn't he copping off with Marilyn M??
4. Share a favorite funny story about someone in the family or about yourself. ANSWER-Hmmm, could tell stuff about Tara, but she has way too much on me, so no..I'll tell u a story.. Living in Coate, on a farm surrounded by fields was fab (i was 19ish)& our cat Cleo loved it.. all the mice, shrews etc.. One nite, after a hefty nite of drinking in the pub with my farmer pal lads, i was dropped home, somehow got to bed, and went to sleep.. I became aware of a strange feeling on my leg.. A scratchy feeling.. I brushed whatever it was off my leg. My brain then slowly kicked in & i awoke with a start. The "thing" i brushed off, had fur..and a tail.. IN MY BED.Back then (before laser eye surgery) i wore specs. Could i find them in my semi drunken state. NO. I had the light on, fumbling around for my specs, blind as a bat (or blind mice), i gave up & slept with the light on in case i caught sight of a blur moving.. Next morning, being 19, i decided to get up & give Mum & David verbal abuse for this situation (well it wasn't my fault). David, went to my room to investigate & returned in Hysterics.. I had apparently, when brushing said fur thing with tail, knocked the little blighter unconcious & little mousy slept next to me in bed all nite.. I think he died from shock! Cleo, got chucked out that morning with me screaming at her. Tres funny now, but at the time, i felt violated!!!! I will never have a cat again, Guinea Pigs rule!
5. What is your favorite movie of all times?ANSWER-Er, i have about 100 of those back home in DVD cupboard.. Hmmm, ok, i do go back to "Notting Hill" a lot, a good all rounder, and yes, a chick flick. "Just Friends" is also in top 5. Thats all folks!!!!!Cheers Dx

Sharon's answers

1, 2, & 3. When I first left home, I went to Omaha NE to attend a business school. I walked into the school the first day, and turned around and left to get a job at an insurance company. I didn't want to pay the money for school when I could be making a wage instead. I worked there for four months. During that time I was interviewed for a position in Washington, D.C. for the Department of Agriculture. I took the Washington, D.C. job in January 1962. My next job was with the Dahlgren Naval Weapons Lab in Virginia during the Viet Nam war. The Lab was on the Potomac River where they were constantly shooting/testing warheads down the river. I was working at the supply department at Dahlgren when President Kennedy was shot....we immediately heard the news and were all excused to go home. This was Friday noon, and we did not go back to work until Tuesday. I spent the whole time glued to the television set. It was a traumatic time at the age of 20.

4. Funny Story - The funniest story about me that my family likes to relate consistently is when I was about 10 years old. My cousin and I (about the same age) were playing beauticians. We were both sitting on the bathroom sink looking into the mirror above. The sink broke away from the wall and water spurted out. I quickly called my Dad at work to come home to help. We kept getting clean towels to clean up the water and kept throwing them in the bathtub, never thinking about ringing them out....we just got more clean towels until my dad got home to turn off the water.

5. Favorite Movie - The best movie I ever saw was "Madam X" - as I remember, a black and white movie. The worst movie I ever saw was "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". I had nightmares about this movie for years afterwards. Of the newer movies, I think the Bourne movies are great - "Bourne Identity", etc.

Tony's answers

1. Tell about where you lived when you first left your parent's home. At the age of 21, Susan and I married and moved to 13 Debdale Road, Barrowby (a village just outside of Grantham). The house cost 2,400 gbp. We were stretched to pay the 14 pounds per month mortgage which was approximately our joint income for a week.

2. What was your job at the time, or what were you doing then? At 21 years old, I was five years into a nine year apprenticeship aimed at being a design draughtsman at Kontak Manufacturing Company in Grantham.

3. What were you doing when JFK was assassinated? I have no idea. It had little or no impact on me personally.

4. Share a favorite funny story about someone in the family or about yourself. Sharon has to help out here. When Tony moved to America, we were driving down the road. Some car ahead did something "stupid" in Tony's mind. He said "Isn't that just like a woman driver". Unfortunately, he had a memory lapse and was looking at the right side of the front seat, saw a woman sitting there. He had to be reminded that the driver was a man on the left side!! Another funny story ~ when we were traveling in South Dakota when the Sturgis motorcycle rally was going on ~ Sharon took a nap. When Sharon woke up, some motorcyclists had just gone by and Tony waved at them. Tony told Sharon that every motorcyclist that went by waved at him ~ "They were the friendliest people". Sharon had to fill Tony in on the fact that when motorcyclists passed him on the highway, they always raised their left hand ~ the signal that they were moving to the right of the highway ~ not waving at him!!

5. What is your favorite movie of all times? "Predator" with Arnold Schwarzenager was a brilliant movie! Especially the effects which were dramatic at the time the film was released in 1987.

Terry's answers

1. When I first left home, I went to live near a town called Bridgnorth in Shropshire.This was to be my inauguration into the Royal Air Force. Twenty guys to each billet with two coal burning stoves to keep us all warm. It was February
2. I spent just over four months there square bashing. Marching and polishing boots. I even got threatened with a court marshal for not having a shave. How the hell he could see that I don't know as I was only seventeen and a half.
3. I was stationed at RAF Locking radio school on an intensive eighteen month electronics course. (Not learning how to fly Jonathan) Can't remember what I was doing when I found out.
4. The date was 21 July 1969. I was stationed in Singapore with Jan. We had a small black and white Sanyo TV and although we had a choice of about 6 channels, only one or possibly two were in English. Everybody who had a TV was glued to it to watch the landing on the moon. Ground breaking stuff and a momentous occasion for the whole of mankind. I was staring at the TV when Jan uttered those words I will never forget.... "Is there anything on the other channel?"
5. Favourite movie is without a doubt "The Godfather" I have seen it many times and have read the book. This question jogged my memory to see if I had a recording of it and I do, so I started watching it again. Marlon Brando is superb and I think this was the start of Al Pacino'S fame.The way the film swings from the happy wedding party to the sinister walk down the corridor of Lucca Brazzi. You have got to see it.

Jacqueline's Answers

1. Tell about where you lived when you first left your parent's home. - Moved out into a "Bedsit" in Chippenham until I got married.

2. What was your job at the time, or what were you doing then? - I was working in Westinghouse Brake and Signal in the Sales Office Foundry Department as a Secretary having qualified through their "in-house" trainee department.

3. What were you doing when JFK was assassinated? (I realize some of you are too young for this question, so just let us know what you remember learning about the assassination). - Really don't remember much about this event only the fact that it was obviously constantly in the news and on the TV.

4. Share a favorite funny story about someone in the family or about yourself. - Looking back on the event now it was funny - at the time I didn't think it was - June and I went out to a dance in a Village Hall near Malmesbury where we were living at the time - I met this rather nice guy and during the course of the evening he asked me out on a date great I thought. At the end of the evening I collected June and my coat from the cloakroom. I couldn't see the guy I had met and thought it rather strange he had not waited to firm up on a time and place to meet for our first date. I told June about this and apparently this guy had gone up to June thinking it was me and made all the arrangements to see her - hey ho.

5. What is your favourite movie of all times? - Wonderful Life
Frank Capra's classic sentimental drama is practically guaranteed to bring a tear to the eye of even the most cynical viewer. It tells the tale of a hard-working family man (James Stewart) who comes to think his life has been a complete waste of time and tries to commit suicide. He's visited at the last minute by a guardian angel who makes him realise his true worth by offering him the chance to see how those around him would have been affected had he never been born. Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Thomas Mitchell and Frank Faylen are among the excellent supporting cast

Dawn Makes Headlines

2009-10-01T03:33:00.000-07:00

We received an email message from Dawn as follows:

Hi Guys, how the devil are you?
Blog is looking good by the way (well,fab actually)!! Nice piccies of Nelly, hehe!!

I don't know if this is of interest to you, but Dad suggested I put it on the blog, but as usual, I couldn't work out how to do it! Must ask Dad to show me!!

Its a newspaper article that is running this week to try & publicise the salon. It's the 1st attachment, and ignore the bits about price etc from the editor. Not the best pic of me, however, my delightful model is none other than Mrs. Becky Philips!!!! Bless her. Any hoo, best get back to work.

Take care...........Lots of loveDx

Also, comments about Neil's birthday blog:

jonathan said...
still don't understand the story about the chick and the policeman! was neil taking drugs during that period!, also on the beach that's my favourite ford escort policecar (common theme ) which famously got lost between 2 massive rocks on the beach. also dad's riding the blue bike with white tyres (previously mentioned in the blog as being the fastest thing on debdale road.regarding the gazzette...speechless...best quote has to be "the teachers obviously dont work enough to get a raise"welcome to the incredible world of neil singleton not that much has changed!oh and happy birthday! Wednesday, 16 September, 2009

jonathan said...
interesting that there's a picture of the vw camper that neil now owns and is restoring! cars were really expensine in those days Wednesday, 16 September, 2009

jonathan said...
another thing, dads belt on the beach scene...its here, i robbed it years ago for my leather coat and it only snapped a few months ago! Wednesday, 16 September, 2009

Neil said...
Oh my god - What a spod! How did all that get done in between living the normal life of a youth (on a bmx with friends - honest).Still great to see some of the old stuff. Many thanks Dad & sharon Wednesday, 16 September, 2009

Now, we need help with the Singo blog. Any ideas???

These are the questions I have asked everyone to answer:

1. Tell about where you lived when you first left your parent's home.

2. What was your job at the time, or what were you doing then?

3. What were you doing when JFK was assassinated? (I realize some of you are too young for this question, so just let us know what you remember learning about the assassination).

4. Share a favorite funny story about someone in the family or about yourself.

5. What is your favorite movie of all times?

Hopefully we will receive answers by email for a November blog

This is Your Life ~ Neil Singleton

2009-09-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Neil

The few pictures below are all we have...but, information about your chosen career ~ there's plenty of that in your early years!!

Publishing and photography with Neil's pickup ~

This seems to be the beginning of Neil's "artistic" talents in the publishing business ~ a "Happy Easter" card to his parents ~~

As I understand, at a very young age, Neil wrote, printed (on a BBC Micro computer, using Adobe Pagemaker), and distributed the "Grantham Gazette". Below are a few of the pages, in no particular order, to give you an idea of the "how and why" Neil is now in the publishing business.

>

September Events

2009-09-01T03:11:00.000-07:00

Birthdays

Neil Anthony Singleton, September 16, 1972

Nathan Weavers, September 20, 1971

Becky Louise Newman Phillips, September 28, 1986

Anniversaries

Tara & Nathan, September 13, 2008 - 1st year Anniversary

Terry & Jacqueline, September 9, 1999 - 10th year Anniversary, Now and Then

August Birthday and Wedding

2009-08-01T03:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the delay in getting the August blog posted.

It looks as if the wedding was a huge success. Congratulations!

Mike & Becky, wedding, 8/1/2009

and.....Happy Belated Birthday to Terry...he looks happier in the retirement years than he did in the 1940s. :-)

Terry August 2, 1944

More Art

2009-07-13T06:20:00.000-07:00

Not to be outdone, Abe has come through with his art.

According to Rachael this picture is:

"Abraham’s view of a family breakfast ( marker pen on chipboard ) – Jonathan,Lily & me at the kitchen table one Saturday morning."

Regarding our windmill/insulator picture ~ sorry we can't get a windmill to you Jonathan. We actually bought that in Arizona a year ago for $6.00.....guess that would be about 3 pounds in UK money. If you lived in the states we would have gotten one for you. I think we brought back about 10 of them for different friends and relatives. Unfortunately, about once a year your Dad has to repair all of the ones of friends and family close by. The tiny windmill was a gift from my brother about 30 years ago to remind me of my home state of Nebraska. The log, of course, has the USA and the UK insulators attached to it.

Thank you Jacqueline for your kind words regarding the paintings! After posting them it makes me think that I should try again to paint some time this summer. Always thought I would like to set up an easel outside and paint the scenery.

July Birthday

2009-07-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

Mike Phillips, 7/1/1981

28 years old and about to be married to Becky.

Congratlulations on both events.

(Enlarge the picture and you can see who/what Mike is smiling at by looking in his sunglasses.)

Questions to Answer

2009-06-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to all the father's in the Singleton family and extended family.

Thanks to all of you that answered the recently posed questions. Not a 100 percent response, but I hope you will have fun reading the answers that were received.

These are the questions:

Relate your happiest memory as a kid

Where did you go swimming?

Tell a favorite memory of your father (In honor of Father's Day in June) :-)

Tell about a bike you had

Tell about your first very own car.

These are the answers in the order that they were received~~

Jonathan's answers:

Happiest memories: playing in the sun in the front rockery at debdale road with my plastic soldiers, drawing dragsters, thanks to a load of old custom car mags found at the skip, drawing lancaster bombers (from the front) going as fast as lightning down debdale road on the old blue bike with white tyres.

Swimming in grantham leisure centre, and nash out door pool where I famously had a fit and conked out. Also sutton on sea

Dad, making the bionic man video and hanging out of the sun roof of the brown cortina at the aerodrome. Dads big forearms! And his party time organ playing with everyone gathered round

Bike , already mentioned the blue one, then there was the tomahawk 9 small version of the chopper), then, mum thought dropped handlebars where dangerous so had to take her to talk to donray so he’d tell her otherwise for my first racer after passing 11 plus.

Fang the van, bought in telford or somewhere £350, rotten front wings, mum and dad thought I was crazy, but fixed it up and saw me through university for about 5 years, 1972 moggy minor van red. Sold without mot for £350 after 5 years use and god knows how many litres of engine oil.

Tony's answers:

My happiest memory as a kid - Very early memory and not a happy one was when Dad was having a shave in the kitchen during the war. He was looking into the mirror and a bomb dropped down the road and shattered the mirror and a couple of windows. Bath night was a bit of a hoot. We had a galvanized steel bath with handles that was brought in from outside, placed in front of the fire, and slowly filled with hot water (kettle by kettle) before the two of us were forced to get in and wash.

I did everything possible to get out of going swimming because I didn't like the water. We hid in places in school when it was time to walk a quarter mile to the pool (Tony still doesn't like the water at 68...note from Sharon)

Tell a favorite memory of your father (In honor of Father's Day in June) :-) - One of my favorite memories was the 52 mile all day trip with all four of us in the van to go to the seaside. That's where the phrase "last one to see the sea is a sissy" which was always a challenge from Dad when we were two or three miles away. Another occasion was when I was given a can of water and a paint brush to paint a wooden fence around the chalet at Butlin's Holiday Camp. (Could never understand why the fence needed so many coats ~ it kept me busy all day long.) Another time was when we would walk to Auntie Ada's down to the harbour in Ramsgate and accidently, on purpose, find coins in the grass verge on the way down. It transpired that these coins were thrown ahead of us by Dad, unknown to us.

Tell about a bike you had - don't remember where I got my first bike ~ it must have been for one of my birthdays ~ as I remember, I was about 8 - 10 years old. I needed the bike then for paper rounds and things to get some money.

My very first car was a 1951 Austin A40 Devon like the one in the photo. I sold the Motorbike and bought it in 1961 for 125 pounds from Mick and Heather Barratt. At last after all those years of paper rounds starting at 3:00 am every Sunday morning and all those bike rides to work and all the gear we had to wear on the Ariel Leader we could now go on a trip in the rain and stay dry. This car came with a heater which had been fitted by some previous owner, a radio the size of present-day PC and fitted in the boot with cable controls and electric windscreen wipers. It had a 1200cc engine which would let me go up Gonerby Hill in 3rd gear without even slowing down and had lots of sentimentality for me because it was the saloon version of dad's latest van which I used to drive for him. We took the car all over the place including Scotland and Wales with a hired 10ft caravan on the back, we had to change the head gasket many times due to an inherent design fault (one in Elgin on the beach in Scotland) and we had to have a gearbox replaced for towing the caravan too hard. Lots of stories about this car, some good, some bad, but I would love to have another drive in it today.

Dawn's answers:

1) Going to the beach on a winters day & just running around. I loved Steam Ralleys too.

2)Oasis leisure centre had flumes & slides & a wave machine, cool!

3) When Ma was in hospital, Pa took us to a minature village, dunno where. That was cool.

4) A British Racing Green bike, that would be cool now but i looked like a right square wally on it, thanks parents!

5) A Classic car. We can't remember exactly wot it was.. A Vauxhall Victor i think. Black exterior, white roof. Red leather bench seats. Hand break was a pull one under the wheel. Was wicked, but kept breaking down on me & costly on the fuel.

Terry's answers:

1) Going to Butlins Holiday Camp at Skegness and fancying a girl with a pony tail on the roller skating rink.

2) Used to go swimming at the open air pool at Witham park. I was hard in those days!

3) Dad used to take me to play billiards(only occasionally would he play snooker) every thursday night for two or three years. Just the two of us.

4) The only bike I can remember having was one where I fitted drop handle bars to make it into a racer and then coming off it on my way home from Dave Maltbys at night in the snow.

5) My first car was an Austin A70 (circa 1947) bought by two of us in Cyprus. After a while I bought the guys share and it was all mine. Seem to remember paying £25.00 each for it. I did some work on it and took the air filter off(quite big) and put it in the boot. It caused quite a stir when I was stopped and searched at a Greek road block. They found this in the boot and I think they thought it was part of a machine gun. Funny now, but not very at the time.

Jacqueline's answers:

My happiest memories as a kid was when we all lived at the Grange near Malmesbury. Building dens out of the straw bails, playing hide and seek in and around the farm buildings, fishing in the local stream with jam jars tied up with string, riding my Dad's BSA 250 and managing to bump it into the rabbit hutches. Also "tied up puddings" in other words steamed puddings - "tied up puddings" came from my Brother Alan as he would bring home bits of string from the cow cob nuts bags and ask Mum to make a "tied up pudding" of course in those days you used to have to tie a piece of muslin over the top of the basin whilst it steamed away - yum.

Swimming - hated it and still today I don't really enjoy it especially if I get splashed - yuk.

Tell a favorite memory of your father - Difficult call this one. One memory I have which I thoroughly treasure is one Sunday the family had a day out at the seaside in Weymouth. Well Mum and my sister June really liked to sit and enjoy the sunshine whereas me and my Dad and two brothers chased around the beach, played football, hired a pedalo, built sandcastles and just generally enjoyed each others company. That was a brilliant day. Another superb memory I have of my Dad was when we took Mum and Dad to Majorca for a holiday and we hired bikes. No not my Dad - he wanted to "ride tandem" so Dad and Mum hired a tandem it was so brilliant to see my Dad enjoy himself so much as he was in the driving seat and in control just larking around. I enjoyed all his "Irish Jokes" and Shaggy Dog Stories particularly the time when we went to Wales with Tez, Mike, Tony and Mum and Dad. We sat in a pub and all evening Dad and Tony were telling jokes. It had Mike, Mum and myself in stitches so much so that my sides ached from laughing - brilliant. I MISS MY DAD.

I had several bikes but my favourite by far was my brother's Moulton bike - very classy. It was the first I think I'm right in saying that had small wheels. After Steve had finished cycling back and forth to school on it I had the pleasure of taking it off his hands. I recall stripping it down into what seemed a million bits and laying them all out in the garage. The reason for the strip down was because I wanted to paint it and make it a little more "girlie". I did manage to get it back together and was very proud of myself.

My first very own car was a Triumph Spitfire in emerald green back in the mid 1970's. Still remember the Reg Plate now XPC 465 N. Fantastic loved it to bits. Owned it for many many years and was heart broken when I had to trade it in - mixed emotions really very very sad at having to get a "sensible car" but oh so excited and delighted as I was expecting Michael which more than compensated for my loss of my beautiful "Spitty".

Relate your happiest memory as a kid Where did you go swimming? Tell a favorite memory of your father (In honor of Father's Day in June) :-) Tell about a bike you had Tell about your first very own car.

Sharon's answers

My happiest memory as a kid - My family went to the Black Hills and stayed in a knotty pine cabin. My cousin, Donna, and her parents were with us. Whenever I go to the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, I always look for that cabin. Another family vacation was with family friends to Elitch Gardens near Denver, Colorado....a huge amusement park that is still in business today.

Where did you go swimming? My home town had a very nice swimming pool (a diving tower, and two smaller boards for diving). My parents always bought us a season pass to go swimming if we took swimming lessons at the beginning of the summer. Consequently, I took courses for years and have taught most all my neices, nephews, and grandkids to swim.

A favorite memory of your father - Years ago my brother and I used to be very good at opening Christmas gifts early and wrapping them back up again so no one knew we had snooped. At least we thought no one knew. One year we were doing our "snooping" at Christmas gifts and when each of us got the wrapping off of our packages from Dad, the box was nailed shut. It was also impossible to get the paper back on the wooden box. We have laughed about this for years.

A bike I had - the first bike I had cost $5.00 (used, of course). I didn't really know how to ride a bike very well when my Dad took me to pick it up. He let me ride it home and I remember running into a parked car on the way.

My first very own car ~ My first very own car cost me $100.00 in 1960. I believe it was a 1950 green Chevrolet. When the car needed more oil than gasoline at fill-up time, I stopped driving it. This was about the time I moved to Washington D.C., so I bought another older car when I got there by train.

Rachael's answers:

As a child I went swimming at Cannock baths with the school (and loathed it). As a family we went to Great Wyrley High School Pool on a Saturday (?) morning. A friend of my parents worked there, and it was open to staff members & their friends. It was there I learned to swim.

My first “big”bike, ie not a trike,was a purple budgie with white wall tyres. I remember being very proud of it. Neil managed to get hold of a photo of me riding it in a nurses uniform aged 5ish, and included it in his wedding “speech”.

The car I own now –a blue peugot.Jonathan bought it as a 39th birthday present for me.I love it.

Tara's answers:

Used to go swimming with friends on a sat morning at ferndown sports centre.

My first bike I remember was yellow with purple mud guards and White wheels! Classy.

I remember the summer I had chicken pox- it was a very hot summer and my dad built me a slide in the garden to play on and cheer me up. It was fab! We ran a hose pipe on it with a paddling pool at the bottom and slid down at top speed. Loads of fun.

Oh and I remember dad pushing me on my first bike after he had taken the stabilizers off until I rode it alone. You still holding on dad? "Yes Tara" and I'd left him far behind!

Neil's answers:

Happy father day dad!!!!.Christ it’s all been going on on the singo blog. Watercolours, dragons on rocking horses, death by schnow-plough parties, and general daft pics of big brother, Jonathan. Lets hope I’m better at deadlines in my chosen career than what I’ve managed to turn this around with.

Happiest memory as a kid:Finding the ‘cool Nasa’ cap we’d just been given from friends that I thought was lost for ever when blown off whilst I similarly tried to stand out the sunroof with dad driving full pelt along Gorse Lane (fast). We got home and it turns out it blew straight into the trailer we were towing full of rocks for the rockery/fireplace – Result!!

SWIMMING: Once I was allowed to progress onto the big boys pool rather than only being able to swim laps of the varoocka foot wash pool with armbands it was Nash trash and the leisure centre, Grantham. I think I only went because of the chocolate vending machines on the way out.

DAD MEMORY: It always used to puzzle me why dad breathed through his potato filled belly rather than his lungs???!!!. I would be sat all over him while he was trying to sleep off a heavy Sunday lunch in the reclining chair and his ‘then’ big gut would go up and down with each breath almost throwing me off the side of the chair. I still try and replicate it to this day but end up getting a bit dizzy and feeling sick. But I think the best was the period of time we as a family were trying to get dad to stop smoking. This was like a free ticket to buy anything that exploded/stunk/fizzled or snapped shut from the joke shop in order to stuff down the end of his Embassy cigarettes – GOOD TIMES!

BIKE: Raleigh Ultra burner (oval tubing) painted up like a Gt Pro performer. And then a Hutch Trickstar and then.....anything else Andy Ruffle or Gaz top rode.

FIRST CAR:Black moggy saloon for £150. Drove back from Lincoln and stood as an ornament on the drive until it got sold for a bit less. There seems to be a common link here with me and cars

Jonathan's Life in Pictures

2009-06-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Jonathan....this is your life in pictures....just a few that your Dad had.

Dad and Jonathan in miniature village

Jonathan on climbing frame built by Dad.

Mom, Jonathan, Dad

Jonathan & Tara

Mom & Jonathan

Rachael & Jonathan, 2002

Abe added to the family, 2003

Lil, Abe, Rachael, & Jonathan, 2006

June Birthdays and Anniversaries

2009-06-01T01:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary Jonathan & Rachael, June 1st, 2002 (7 years)

Happy Birthday to the two June birthdays in the Singleton family!!

Jacqueline - June 1st

Jonathan - June 11th , the big "40"

(Both of these birthday pictures were taken when Sharon and Tony were visiting UK in the fall of 2008 - Jacqueline was geocaching at the time; Jonathan's picture was taken at the morning after wedding brunch)

If a birthday or anniversary is coming up and you want me to put a special picture on the blog, just email it to me before the first of the month that the event takes place. Thanks. ~~Sharon

Insulators and Paintings

2009-05-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

Below are pictures of two telephone insulators attached to a log....the bottom insulator is from USA. The top insulator is from UK. When Tony and I were in UK last fall, I saw the UK insulator wedged in a telephone pole near where Jacqueline and Terry keep their motorhome. Jonathan was able to get it unattached from the pole for me. I just wanted Jonathan to know that his efforts were not in vain.

It may not be Vincent van Gogh or Claude Monet but these pictures of Jacqueline's water color paintings are very good. I think the deal is that if I post these I have to add some of my paintings also....so here goes.

Jacqueline:

Sharon's paintings using oil paints

Sharon's paintings using water color and acrylics

Any other artists out there in the Singleton community....send pictures for me to post. It looks as if Jacqueline's lessons are paying off. Great job.

I still need some answers to the questions I sent to everyone ~ Mike, Becky, Tara, Nathan.

These are the questions:

Relate your happiest memory as a kid.

Where did you go swimming?

Tell a favorite memory of your father (In honor of Father's Day in June) :-)

Tell about a bike you had.

Tell about your first very own car.

The Murder on the Piste

2009-04-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the cast of the Murder on the Piste,

Starring Claus Von Langlauf (Ski instructor & local playboy) and Matt A. Horn (Mountain guide).

Jacques Frost (Helicopter pilot) and Tracy Crevasse (Holiday rep).

Onna Tobaggan (Ski shop owner), Walter Emmental (Wealthy businessman and tight assed git)and Sophina Salopette (Sculptress).

Claus and Ava Lanche (Skiing champion).

Claus & Sophina.

They all look so innocent don't they.

What is Ava studying and who is Jacques reflecting on?

The time is the present. We were all invited to Richard Pickle's swiss ski chalet in Kloisters. Unfortunately, Richard met his untimely death during his early morning ski run, and was found dead, lying in the virgin snow. Who dunnit?

The murderer or murderers are around this table. WHO?

April Birthday for Abe - Six Years Old

2009-04-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Sixth Birthday Abe ~ this is a small portion of your life in pictures. Hope you are having a great birthday.

2003

April, 2003

May, 2003

September, 2003

October, 2003

November, 2003

December, 2003

2004

2005

2006

2008 pictures plus a Christmas list to Father Christmas

And....one more Easter post from Tara

Sorry for the delay - Nathan and I had a hectic weekend in England. We had Libby and were visiting the In-laws. Saw Nathan's Nan and Grandpa- it was his 88th birthday. Lots of food and drink consumed. Lots of sunshine. Libby and I went hunting rabbits but found none as they were all away delivering easter eggs - we think.
Best wishes to everyone
Love Tara

Thanks to everyone for the Easter information. 100% response from the Singleton family. Can't say the same for my family!! Hope everyone had a great Easter....that the murder mystery went well, that Jonathan's bar business was successful, and that Neil got to feeling better. Our day was great...Tony survived all the kids (although he and my brother Bill escaped to a local store for a while). ~~Sharon

Easter

2009-04-12T00:09:00.000-07:00

HAPPY

EASTER

Sharon & Tony are hosting a brunch for all Sharon's relatives that are within an 80 mile radius - Twenty-two guests invited:

Harriet (Mom) & Bob

Bill (Brother) & Janet, Tom

Paul (Brother), Geoffrey & Hayley

Dennis (Son) & Jeanna and Cally, Casey, Caily, & Cody

Ken (Son) & Denise and Brandon, Larissa, Brittany, Austin, and Kierra, Sean

Menu will include:

Biscuits and Gravy

Egg Casserole and Potato Casserole

Bacon

Apple & Orange Juice, Coffee

Entertainment will include hiding and finding dozens of Easter Eggs. We wish all of you could be here also!!

From Terry & JJ

Friday with a bit of luck I will be playing golf with Steve.
Saturday, nothing as yet.
Sunday we are going to Mike & Becks for a family roast dinner with her dad and one of her sisters.
Monday we are hosting a murder mystery evening. "Murder on the Piste"
Kinda busy eh?
From Jonathan & Rachael

Hello there ! And happy Easter to you. Our Easter plans (as finalized this morning- Wednesday) are.........I’m taking the children to stay in a little cabin (with all mod cons) in a wood near Sitges. Our friends and their daughter have the cabin next door. As it’s only an hour from here, Jonathan should be able to come and visit – he has to stay here for most of the time to run the bar.
From Neil and Becky

Unfortunately I’ve got Tonsilitus and an ear infection so no fun stuff. Becky will be off seeing parents while I will be in Quaranteen doing work from home for a massive deadline of the ‘50 years of the Mini’ celebration magazines. But we are going off in a Camper round Portugal once that is all finished so this cloud does have a silver lining, Happy Easter for then anyway

From Dawn

Apologies for delay!!! Happy easter to you both, hope ur having a lovely one. I'm working lots of easter, but after work today (Saturday), I'm off to Swanage for some cocktails with pals then back on monday for a "Murder on the Piste" at Dad & J.J.'s. Enjoy, Dx

Thanks for your responses...it helps make this blog a little more interactive!! Watch for Abe's birthday blog on April 15th.

And....sorry Becky...I didn't know about your January 14th birthday...it won't happen again!!!!

And now.....for all of you....try this. Happy Easter.

HOW SMART IS YOUR RIGHT FOOT?

You have to try this. It takes two seconds. It is from an orthopaedic surgeon. This will boggle your mind and you will keep trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot. But, you can't. It's pre-programmed in your brain!

Without anyone watching you (they will think you are GOOFY......) and while sitting at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.
Now, while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air with your right hand.

Your foot will change direction. And there's nothing you can do about it! You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you've not already done so.

March Family Events

2009-03-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

Three Birthdays in March

Lily March 6th

Sharon, March 8th

Dawn, March 21st

January Birthday Events

2009-01-05T07:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Tara

January 5th, 1972

Happy Birthday, Rachel

January 7th, 1969 - the BIG 4 0

Happy Birthday, Tony

January 20th, 1941

Going South - Reason

2008-12-31T20:43:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of our snow at our home last year while we were in Arizona. This is why we leavce to go south to become "snowbirds" every year since retirement. The snow was worse this year (record breaking) - dumping over eight inches of snow on Saturday before we decided to take off.

We decided to leave on Sunday, 12/29, because it looked as if there was a break in the weather. We began by moving the motorhome out of the drive. Because it was so icy on the roads we thought it best to take it over to our nearby grocery store parking lot to load. This was accomplished with ease by 7 a.m. Then we hooked the car to the trailer to pull it out. That didn't go so well. With the ice on the drive and the 5 foot bank of snow.....it took us over four hours to simply get the trailer down to the parking lot where the motorhome was waiting.

After a couple of hours Sharon called son Dennis and grandson Casey to come by to help. Dennis and Tony decided the best thing to do was to slide the trailer on the ice away from the snow bank by pulling it. It's hard to describe what all we went through just getting out of the drive, and I wish I had been taking pictures to send along with this blog. However, I think if I had even dared bring out my camera, Tony might have snapped! His nerves were just a little on edge after our ordeal.

Lukily, we judged correctly. The drive was relatively easy with no snowfall, roads were wet but bare the first day. We sailed through the 1100 miles with no mechanical problems and arrived in Quartzsite on New Year's Eve in time to make chili for all our friends and have a New Year's Eve party in the motorhome.

This is what Tony was been doing almost daily for a week in Moscow, with some help from me.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and will have a Happy New Year!!

Singleton Great Grandparents/Grandparents/Parents

2008-12-24T22:00:00.000-08:00

This will probably be the last Singleton post for 2008. And...also the last pictures and information that we have of the "grandparents" generation.

This bible is 110 years old according to the date inside the cover. Bible belonged to Emily Pithers, showing date of Christmas 1898, and name of giver I.E. Sory. Information about Emily Pithers according to the descendants of William Singleton that we have: "JOHN HENRY SINGLETON was born 06 Aug 1867 in Eaton, England, and died about 1948 in England. He married EMMA HARIETT PITHERS between Oct - Dec 1899, daughter of JAMES PITHERS and SOPHIA. She was born 01 Aug 1878 in Battersea, London, England, and died about 1968 in England." Problem with dates and names here. Info lists name as Emma born 1899. Bible lists name as Emily, alive in 1898.

This picture shows a page inside a different bible. A notation inside "Evelyn Mary Olive from Mrs. Tom Heathcote, November 6th, 1904." Does anyone know who Mrs. Tom Heathcote was? Information about Evelyn Olive according to the descendants of William Singleton that we have: "GEORGE STANLEY SINGLETON was born 22 Feb 1905 in England, and died 09 Apr 1972 in England. He married EVELYN MARY OLIVE. She was born 04 Oct 1905 in England, and died 22 Feb 1990 in England." It seems this is off a year also if bible was given to her in 1904.

Uncle Bill (born 04 Jan 1903) Singleton on left, other person unknown

Picture caption is "Grandad, Grandma Craig, 1969, 66 Market Street." Tony labels it as "Uncle Harold" (Evelyn Mary's brother).

Grandma Emma Hariett Singleton (Emily) on left (other person unknown), Hill View Nursing Home, 1962??, very old place. Tony remembers that the washing machines were driven by a big steam engine. Not sure about the date. This would make Emma (Emily) 84 years old when this picture was taken.

Tribute to Terry

2008-12-16T18:05:00.000-08:00

This is a collage of some of the pictures we have of Terry - in no particular order. Have fun!!

Terry in Wales, 1998

Terry at a Steam Rally in the 90s

Terry & ?? in 90s

Terry trimming tree at Tony's house in UK in 90s

Terry on left of these two pictures - not sure who the other guy is.

Caption says "Terry w/tasche, 1969"

Terry on right

Terry in sweater knitted by Tony.

Picture on left shows 1963 on back

Picture on right - 5-1/2 years old

Picture on left 6 years old

2004 Trip to USA

Nov, 2005, UK

Oct, 2005, Spain

Workshop Endeavor

2008-12-12T05:02:00.000-08:00

Tony has been working hard on a new desk for himself. I'm sure he knows that when it is finished and placed next to my desk in the office, he'll probably have to build another one. I learned from my Dad's buiding days that the second one is always better!!

Tony drew the design on Solidworks shown in Pictures #1 and #2 and wrote the explanation for all the pictures in an email he sent to one of my interested brothers....so, I just grabbed the pictures and explanation......and here they are.

This is just to show how good he is....something he won't do!! And....Terry, it is still your turn to be "roasted" on the blog, but it may have to wait until after Christmas and when we are in Arizona.

#1 is the front of the desk showing proposed rear PC access to cables etc and Printer/Scanner access.

#2 is the working side showing PC access to drives and drawers (haven't yet decided on handles). Visible items are red oak, invisible are birch plywood.

#3 is one pedestal carcass

#4 is the other pedastal with one of the five drawers mounted.

All the cut pieces of wood you see on the right are dough dollys in the making. Dennis needs all these for the pizza stores. Tony is waiting for the casters to be delivered to finish them.

Sharon & Tony wish you a Merry Christmas

2008-12-10T05:25:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas letter written by Dad/Grandpa (Tony) (Uncle Tony). Push play by the Smiley Icons for our interactive Christmas Card.

Hi all you good people and a Merry 2008 Christmas,

Time again for another report on yet another full and active Summer and Autumn, all starting with a far too early return from the south in April. Up here in Moscow we had continued snow and rain right into June and to make matters worse we’d burned all our supply of logs from last year with no prospect of getting anywhere near the snowbound campsite to get more.

We bought a new car in April to replace the aging 1980 Dodge Colt which we donated to Sharon’s youngest, Kenny, thinking that it would go to a good home knowing that it was his Grandma’s. Jobs around the home started with making rug frames, repairing sewing machines, adding more roof space insulation, remodeling the deck, taking out the front hedge, trying to revive the lawn, and so on and so on.

To try out the car we took a trip to Wyoming to see brother-in-laws Jim and Dick and their families but stopped en route in Salt Lake City to visit the magnificent Morman Temple Square, where we heard the 300 strong choir rehearsing one evening and a practice session on the world famous organ during the afternoon.

A little later in the year we took Sharon’s mum and Bob over to South Dakota and Nebraska for a week to visit all the relatives and friends there. We spent as much time as possible between jobs this year at the campsite on our ATV and in September we travelled to UK to my brother Terry and Jacqueline’s home in Wiltshire for his eldest daughter’s wedding.

This gave me a rare opportunity to meet up again with sons Jonathan and Neil & Becky and to resample good old fish and chips, pork pies, Bovril, real bread and decent beer. As if we hadn’t had enough fun this year we flew down to Daytona Beach in October with brother-in law Bill and Janet to stay at Sharon’s eldest son’s apartment - Dennis rents out this apartment and we took advantage of it being unoccupied for one week.

When we’re not enjoying all these activities I keep busy in my little wood shop making shop and home furniture and Sharon has now embarked on weblog writing to show the rest of the world details of our respective families and their accomplishments and lineage. A few sidetrips included tubing behind a boat, parasailing, geocaching with grandkids, a wedding in Coeur d'Alene, riding bikes down the Hiawatha trail, Boyer Dam with grandkids, and pool/birthday parties at Dennis & Jeanna's pool.

Health wise we’re still in pretty good shape but I must say that little aches and pains are definitely on the increase. We’re having a Christmas party here on the 20th to get together with those friends that haven’t already left for Arizona. We’re looking forward again to see them there and with decent road conditions we’re hoping to leave right after Christmas. This year we will be taking the ATV as well as the car with us. Then we can explore the Arizona and California deserts.

We hope that everyone we couldn’t get to see this year is fit and well and wish you all a merry old Christmas and a happy new year.

Merry Christmas from Sharon

Merry Christmas from Grandpa, Dad, Uncle, Tony

Our blogs
Sharon & Tony Travel Blog
Singleton Family Blog
Phillip Family Blog

Contact Information email - singo2@verizon.net
Skype Name Tony.Singleton
phone - 208-892-8146
cell - 208-301-2060
Address - 627 N Jefferson, Moscow ID 83843

Christmas Greetings

2008-12-08T06:14:00.000-08:00

Tony and I are going to save a tree this year by posting our Christmas letter to all of you on this blog site on Wednesday, 12/10. If any of you would like to send your best wishes to all the family through posting on this site, please do.

If you would prefer that I do the post for you, just send me your Christmas greetings (via email) and I will do the post.

Enjoy!!

From Dad/Grandpa, (Tony), (Uncle) (play)

From Sharon (play)

Tony's Scholar's Reports

2008-12-05T15:18:00.000-08:00

Jonathan & Neil - have fun looking at your Dad's grades. I think he seems a lot smarter than these grades show!!! Have fun. As always, click on picture to see in a larger screen. Never fear, Terry, your turn is coming soon.

Niagara Falls Lamp

2008-12-02T07:24:00.000-08:00

I went out on the web to try to find a picture of the lamp everyone is remembering - Niagara Falls.

Tony tells me that the lamp was oval....of course, he doesn't really remember the picture on the lamp. He just remembers the inside of the lamp because he took it apart to see how it worked, of course. In later years, he remembers repairing the lamp

My Mom and Dad also had a Niagara Falls lamp, and I remember it being round - but have no recollection of what made it work.

I found this lamp at this site - Antique - selling for $150.00, in case anyone wants to have one in their home to remind them of their youth.

This one was listed on a UK web site.

To the left is another sample of the Niagara Falls lamp, but it was produced much earlier than the ones above, I think.

And, finally, A lamp with two different views and a close-up also.

My Royal Air Force Days

2008-11-30T01:15:00.000-08:00

I thought I had better get in first with a potted history of my RAF days. So here I am, Acting Air Vice Marshall Singleton reporting for duty. This was my joining photo taken at RAF Bridgenorth for basic training in 1962( I was threatened with court marshall for not having a shave) . Then posted to Compton Bassett for a year radio training which is 6 miles from where we now live. Next 6 months at RAF Locking for final training, and Sept 63 off to Cyprus for 2 and a half years. Back to UK and I went to High Wycombe where I met that well known gent Ken Whitten followed by a 3 yr stint in Singapore(Ken was also there and I had to invite him over for weekends so that I could get his beer ration). Then posted to Henlow(ugh) and quickly volunteered for Malta. Returned from Malta in Feb 73 for final 6 months at Little Rissington and then out into the world of civvy street. There were ups and downs of course but I still think they were the best years of my life.

lammy heaven

2008-11-28T09:27:00.000-08:00

ok now you're talking my language..., heres some pics of my lammys, the old li150 (1958) as used here as our wedding car, mum decorated /camoflaged it and josep drove rachael the 200 or so metres of rough terrain to get to the tree (the wedding tree). the other picture of me fixxing the carburettor spring was taken when i should have been getting dressed about an hour before kick off, the carb dicided to stick open meaning that rach would have arrived not quite as sedately as we had planned!!

the other jet 200 (1982 ) in its hayday just prior to being flmed for an advert (forget what for), i had to entrust a very mod, looking actor to drive the thing for the film , he;d never driven a moto before, all went well.

unfortunately many of the lights got nicked one night during out trip round menorca. we spend the night in a tent inside an old military bunker on the beach, and in the morning some sod had half-inched the stuff!!

still have both but both need another refurb

by the way one of my happiest memories of the wedding and probably ever is driving back from the river on the wedding day all suited up, no helmet, followed by friends and feeling like i was living some sort of 1960s, dream...great!

Lambretta Story, Circa 1958

2008-11-26T18:52:00.000-08:00

This is the scooter, the Lambretta LD150 that caught fire. I dragged it into the small workshop one night to do some work on the fuel shut-off valve because it was far too cold outside. I drained the tank beforehand, of course, and once inside, removed the valve. Unknown to me, the valve was designed to leave a half gallon of fuel in the tank as a reserve supply. This came gushing out into the shop, which was being warmed by a paraffin heater. You can guess what happened next. The fuel caught fire. The workshop was so small that I had wedged the scooter behind the only door, making it very difficult to open the door and get out.

The rest of the story….Mom and Dad saw the flames from the kitchen and came to the rescue. In Dad’s rush to get to the workshop, he kicked over the bowl of fuel that I had drained earlier, thus getting fuel on his slippers. Hence, the expression, "adding fuel to the fire". The burning fuel spread outside and set fire to one of Dad’s slippers. He didn’t seem very amused at the time.
The fire was soon put out without assistance from the Brigade. The whole scooter was stripped down and completely resprayed.

Footnote: The whole time Tony was dictating this story to put on the blog, he couldn’t keep from laughing just thinking about it.

Stay tuned - we may do one of all modes of transportation from the UK bike to the USA motorhome at some time.

Dawn Gets Publicity on Blog

2008-11-25T07:38:00.001-08:00

Email message from Dawn to Sharon

Hi Sharon, how are you?? I had a look at the latest blog and Uncle Tony is looking fine!!! Some great pics on there, how funny. I'm forwarding you some pics of my latest family additions!!! Hope ur both well, Love Dx

Dawn's latest family additions. The guinea pigs are cute and the names are so clever.

Skipety Pig.................................Marzey Pig

Cocoa Pig...................................Fuzzy Pig

Four Generations

2008-11-25T01:30:00.000-08:00

December 1969. Left to right, Mr. Cupit, Mum, Tony, Dad, and front row Mr. Cupit's Mum, Harry Stow (Mrs. Cupit's dad), Mrs. Cupit, Susan and Chimp (sorry--Jonathan)

Oldies from Terry

2008-11-25T01:20:00.000-08:00

Here we go again. This is Tony and myself who at the time were the scourge of the neighbourhood and were subsequently given an ASBO (antisocial behavior order) each. Tony was 5 yr & 4 months and I was 1 yr & 9 months. The next photo I believe was taken at Grandma Singleton's and features mum, and Tony who is learning potty training without the potty.

The Elders

2008-11-24T15:26:00.000-08:00

Here are a few extra photos I have just found.

A rare one of Harold, Mother and Roland together.

A very good one of Dad playing his favourite game.

He used to take me every thursday night to the billiard hall

for about two years. I'm still pretty good so long as I can

see the balls.

Tony (Dad) (Uncle)

2008-11-18T14:25:00.000-08:00

Now it's Tony's turn to be featured on this blog. Guess who will be next!!

Anthony Singleton, born 20 January 1941, in Grantham UK

Keep checking back for some Grantham Boys' C.E. School Scholar's Reports that have been found and scanned!!

These first pictures are in the 1940s of Tony
"Hello Mummy" written on back of this picture.

"I tant see that ditty bird" written on back of this picture.

Age - 1 year 10 months

No notes on back of these pictures.

Tony and the Grantham Granadiers Badge, 9-1/2 years old

1948-49 school year (age 7 or 8)

No notations on these pictures of Tony

1957 (age 16) on Lambretta

Tony (no date)

Stan, Evelyn, Tony, Susan

Jonathan, Tony, Neil at Evelyn's house on Dudley Road

Tony in shorts (1990s)

Tony with wax figure of Richard Branson (1990s)

Questions to Answer - Answers to Amuse You

2008-11-14T15:06:00.000-08:00

This "Questions to Answer - Answers to Amuse You" blog is to stir up some more enthusiasm and interaction in the Singleton Blog. I see by the "traffic feed" that most all of you are reading the blog. That's great. Thanks. The "traffic feed" that I have noticed recently has shown that people from the following places are also making their way to the Singo blog.

Oldham, Oldham UK
Ogallala NE
London UK
Buckingham UK
Pullman WA
Jonesboro GA
Coeur d'Alene ID
Washington D.C.
Madrid Spain

When we get on the blog, the traffic feed lists Coeur d'Alene ID. I'm not sure why since we live 80 miles south of Coeur d'Alene. So....this accounts for seeing Madrid Spaid instead of Jonathan and Rachael's small town in Spain. Also the UK cities - we can't exactly pin point to whom they belong. The other places - GA and NE can be attributed to the fact that some of Sharon's friends and relatives are looking at the Singleton family blog as well as our travel blog and the Phillip family blog. The Washington D.C. one is a mystery to us. OK....now it's official....Sharon has become an obsessive blogger....trading the smoking obsession for blogging.

Anyway, back to the point of this blog. In the later years of Sharon's Dad's life, during Phillip family dinners, we all took turns asking Dad questions about his life - questions that Sharon had gotten from a very cool book called "Dad, Share your life with me" written by Kathleen Lashier. Hopefully all of you will also answer the questions either by a comment at the end of this blog, an email to Sharon or Tony (singo2@verizon.net) , or preferably by writing another post to this blog. If blogging is not your thing, you can email the answers and we will post your answers on the blog. The questions are below as well as Tony's answers to them.

Tony's answers:

What bones have you broken and how? Left wrist bone. Trying to vault off the deck of a flatbed truck and missed the end of the deck, landed on the concrete with a straight left arm – this was just after I started the ASC business – 1977.
How much do you remember paying for an ice cream cone? I remember paying 3d in the 1940s (threepence) (old currency) (for U.S. people – this is ¾ of a cent). The 3d was for a wafer – ice cream slab between two wafer biscuits. Price for a tub was 4d if you wanted more ice cream and a wooden spoon. We used to live next door to an ice cream shoppe. This was an ice cream shoppe in the 40s and changed to a cigarette store in the 60s – Harold Welbourn’s Sweet Shoppe.
Is there anything you have now that you have kept from your childhood? Tony’s first reaction/answer was "beauty", "cuteness". "It certainly isn’t hair! Just a lot of memories."
Tell about board games and card games you played as a youth. Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, Wist, Rummy, and Snap. Snap was a game we were playing with our parents at a very young age. Simple game that brings out your alertness.
Tell about a time when you got lost. Couldn’t find the car once which was a bit worrying, but don’t think I have ever gotten lost. (footnote from Sharon: Tony obviously has forgotten about our time in Boise ID when we were lost!!)

Now it's your turn....everyone....we hope to hear the answers from EVERYONE - spouses and partners included. If you want to see Sharon's answers, you'll have to go to the Phillip blog. Then all those relatives will wonder why people from Spain and UK are reading that one.

And...now for the good and/or bad news...the cute book with all the questions has a question for every day of the year. Isn't that something to look forward to and very exciting!!!

2008-11-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

You've all seen the video on Youtube of the tiny terrors. Well this is the old fashioned version of Adam and his Ant.

A very austere looking father and his two sons when ties were in fashion.

1999 Sharon & Tony

2008-11-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

I think maybe some of you may be interested in your Dad's (Brother's, Uncle's) life in the United States since Tony came over here. So....we'll begin with April 24, 1999...our wedding. Pictures show Tony carrying the sign to point people in the right direction.

We were married by a preacher in the Grange (a farmer/rancher building that is used for meetings and gatherings). The next picture shows a bit of the landscape around Pullman and the Grange as well as Tony & Sharon prior to the wedding. Our "wedding coordinator" a friend of Sharon's persuaded us to help strip and totally repaint the whole inside of the Grange just before the wedding. In return, she took care of all decorations and food for the wedding and the reception. There were about 75 people at our wedding. One end of the Grange was for the ceremony and the other end for the reception.

This picture is of Tony & Sharon cutting the wedding cake with granddaughter Cally looking on. Cake was made by Sharon's sister-in-law, Judi from Seattle.

And then a picture of Tony speaking to Sharon's Dad, Ken, after the wedding. Not sure you have heard the story about Tony going to Ken and asking for Sharon's hand in marriage. Sharon wasn't there, but the story goes that after Tony nervously asked, there was a pause, and then Ken said "She can't cook, you know". :-) Now if you were planning a trip to visit, and you are getting worried about where your meals will be coming from because I'm sure you know Tony is not a real whiz in the kitchen....what Ken really meant to say is that "she doesn't like to cook". However, Sharon thrives on organization when company comes - and cooking is part of that organization....so no need to worry...you'll be fed when you visit.

After getting married, we took a trip to UK for three months. During that three months, we spent a short time with Neil in London, Jonathan & Rachel in Barcelona, and Terry & Jacqueline. We took a honeymoon to France, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, and Spain. Pictures are of Sharon and Jonathan in Jonathan & Rachel's apartment in Barcelona, Sharon sitting on Jonathan's furniture - first the "sofa", and then the chair. Believe the chair was in a store where some of Jonathan's furniture was being displayed.

The next picture is of Sharon in Barcelona walking down the LaRambla - which was within walking distance of Jonathan & Rachael's apartment. As you can tell Tony was the picture taker on most of this trip. :-)

The next pictures are of Tony; and Terry, Jacqueline & Tony in the middle of a crop circle in UK. They indulged Sharon (probably because she was new to the family) by going to the crop circle because she had never seen such a thing. :-)

Next pictures are of Sharon & Tony looking at the interesting sofa and table & chairs - possibly in London when we were with Neil....which reminded me of our latest trip to London when Neil & Becky took us around the South Bank and we saw huge pieces of furniture being displayed!

After returning, we stopped off in Seattle for a niece's college graduation, and then rushed home to finish preparations for Sharon's Dad's 90th birthday party for over 30 people at the condo recreation room where we were living at the time in Pullman WA. Picture is of Tony playing Twister at the condo recreation room - Sharon put this one in for Jonathan & Neil - just so you know how Sharon has corrupted your proper British Dad.

Our next adventure was in September - a trip to Sedona AZ to see Terry & Jacqueline on their honeymoon. Not many brothers would invite.... or... accept this kind of invitation!! But...we all had a great time. Sharon & Tony riding horses on a trail ride - horses that only went straight to the BBQ - and no other way.

Other pictures are Terry, Tony & Sharon; Terry, Jacqueline & Sharon; and all four of us at various places in Arizona.

November brought a 50th anniversary party for friends in Spokane WA, and a trip to brother Dick & Cindy's home in Riverton WY for Thanksgiving. Tony is shown with Sharon's sister-in-law Kathie carving the turkey for the dinner.

Of course, in between all of this Sharon was still working at Washington State University in Pullman and Tony had landed a job as a hydraulics consultant in between driving farm trucks during harvest.

Now...in case all or any of you were wondering why I (Sharon) have time to do these blogs....like maybe I don't have a life....well, the answer is that all of you are participating in my therapy....therapy that keeps my fingers moving on the keyboard, therapy that keeps me scanning pictures...therapy that keeps the brain active....all therapy that keeps me from smoking. October 21st was the "Quit Smoking" day for me...and because you all have indulged me with this blog....which encourages me to write more blogs, the "quit smoking" is working. Thank you all.

And...I hope you look forward to more episodes in the USA lifestyle, as we look forward to seeing more from all of you!

The latest thing received this morning from Jonathan was this site http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y--bq_eJzT4

Tony had to explain to Sharon about "Adam and the Ants" and Jonathan's "former?" obsession with them. Very cute video. Thanks.

Tribute to George Stanley Singleton

2008-11-07T05:34:00.000-08:00

This is a page from a Bible, originally belonging to Stan's Mom (Harriet Emily Pithers - shown in Bible or Emma Harriett Pithers as shown on genealogy chart sent to you earlier). If you double click on picture you can see that Stan and his siblings dates of birth are listed - Ida and William. Ida was the mother of Dennis, Audrey (listed in Bible), and John Edwards. The last entry "Janet Margaret Singleton" was the daughter of William - She only lived six years.

This Bible begins with Sophia, 1841, and ends 90 years later with Janet 1931. Sophia Cooke, born 10/7/1841 was Stan's mother's mother.

Another page from the same Bible shows "Marriages" beginning with Sophia's daughter - Harriet to John Henry Singleton. The other three marriages entered are the three Singleton siblings - Ida, William, and George Stanley. Deaths recorded on the next page begin with 1893 and end with young daughter of William, Janet, in 1937.

The next picture is a page inside a Common Prayer Book belonging to John Henry Singleton, given Xmas, 1908 by E. H. S. (possibly Emily Harriet Singleton - more confusion on this name - possibly Emily chose to change the order of her first and second names in later years).

All these pictures are of Stan Singleton (Dad, Grandad, Great Grandad). This first pictures shows 1926, Hunstanton on the back. Most of the pictures have nothing written on them.

This picture is dated 1930. Stan at Skegness (no clue about who he is with). Below are a few more leisure pictures (nothing to indicate when the pictures were taken.

This picture was printed on a postcard (something people used to do in the early 1900's).

This is a picture of Tony, John Henry Singleton (Stan's dad), and Stan (threee generations of Singletons). And a picture of what looks to be an unhappy Tony and his grandad John. Guess how the wheelchair was steered.

Pictures of the musical side of Stan - Stan with his accordian; and Stan with his "Accordeon Bandits" (Stan is the fifth person from the left).

Pictures of the daredevil side of Stan.

This is a picture of Stan and his friends. Stan is the first person on the left.

And...a few pictures in later life - this one taken about 1965 at Dudley Road.

This picture is Albert (on left) & Stan next to him at Butlin's Holiday Camp. No idea who the other people are.

Stan and the new moggy at RAF Cranwell gates...there was a similar picture with Evelyn on another blog.

This picture was taken in February, 1947, Morris 10, TL 6069 written on back. Tony remembers driving this machine painted green and with a new fangled electric windscreen wiper, no heater, push button starter switch on the floor and foot-operated headlamp dip switch; plus the story of his dad driving along similar roads in 1947 only to have to reverse several miles because of nowhere to turn around. This was when Tony had to learn the correct way to hold the starting handle and to change a wheel before being allowed to drive.

2008-11-02T03:21:00.000-08:00

Ohhhh matron!

EXTREME SPORTS SINGOS

2008-11-02T03:12:00.000-08:00

Sharon and Jacqueline limbering up ready for action

Erm. I don't think Rach is gonna thank me for this

Why is Uncle Terry looking at the wall fixing with such concern?

"Right, now what happens?"

Someones done this before

2008-11-02T02:49:00.000-08:00

For Jonathan, the definition of blog seems to be loosing something in the translation. It appear to translate as....er....how-you-say...Take the mick out of your little brother by dressing him in fictional shell suits and then publishing them to the world!!!

I of course wouldn't lower myself (until the bottom of the page Ha ha)

Heres a few pics

Lilly has learnt well that in these times of hardship you never quite know when the next meal will come - so stuff it in while you can

"Take you eyes off my bun!!!"

Grandad

Dad

Not many people know of Jonathans extensive collection of automotive door handle etchings through the ages.

As you can see Jonathan has not always been the Fashionista he is now :-)

just a quickie..

2008-10-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

speak for themselves really, dads wearing that same hat from 35 years before, taras small, i've got aweful taste in tee shirts. pam and john look exactly the same when ever, neils even smaller than tara, and even then liked wheels!!

2008-10-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

1959. Dad and the Austin that I used to get travel sick in. These are the garages, at the back of North street, that Dad built with a little help from the two sons. On the right is the original bill of conveyance for the purchase of 21 North Street. Now you know what inflation is!

2008-10-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

The ones I recognise here are Dad, Dennis & Barbara, John Edwards, and Grandma Singleton. The guy on the left looks familiar but I can't name him. On the right is Dennis & Barbara, with offspring Martin and Anne, and Mum and Elvis. This little gathering took place at 21 North Street and for some reason I always remember that lamp shade. Pink plastic.

2008-10-27T09:18:00.000-07:00

There is no date on this but I can remember going to a similar dance to this one where Dad played the sax and Mother played the piano. I think this is Mother playing in the background.Which would put it around 1949 at a guess. Over to you Tony

The Famous Accordeon Bandits that "Oasis" modelled themselves on.

2008-10-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

Dad on the right has forgotten the rest of the cambridge team but has remembered to smoke a Woodbine.

On the left is the only photo I have of Grandma Olive. No dates on any of these.

2008-10-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

Okay OKAY OKAY Time to get in on the act. Starting with this little clip circa 1946 in the back yard of 36 North Parade. Notice Tony is modelling the forerunner of what we all know today as the "Baseball Cap". The room on the left was the toilet and at one time we kept some chickens in the one next door to it.

Assorted Pics from Jonathan

2008-10-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Righto, this is a bit of a trial, to see how this mularky works...err... photos in no apparant order ( that would be asking too much)....., !!).

Neil looking handsome, in his best ..(shell...)suit last christmas

The singo girlies (except ones now ticked off the list)

Dawn always likes to show off in her sports cars!! (roof down)

Abey and Neil on one of Neil's many modes of transport.

Rach in the garden here in butsenit, with corky our cat (R.I.P).

The fabulous 4!!

My favourite foto of lily in teruel a year and a half ago.

Abey and Lily mixing cement in teruel.

Tribute to Evelyn Mary Olive Singleton

2008-10-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

After Tony and Terry's phone conversation and discussion about their mother and their mother's siblings, it was determined that Evelyn Mary (Olive) Singleton never had a sister, only brothers. Here are some pictures of Evelyn throughout her life and pictures of her brothers also. Remember, to the immediate family Evelyn is "Mom" or "Grandma".

Charles Leonard, the brother who emigrated to Australia, probably in the 1930s or 1940s is one brother. Picture shows Charles Leonard Olive with daughter Iris and her family. Next picture shows Charles "Len" and his wife. Next is a very old picture of Charles "Len" Olive as a young man. Newspaper article about Charles's daughter visiting Evelyn.

Pictures below: Beth (daughter of Iris), Tony, Evelyn holding newspaper article. Jan, Tara, Dawn, Evelyn, and cousin Graham Luck from Australia during the visit referred to in newspaper article above.

Evelyn's brother Roland is in the next three pictures. Not sure who the extra two people are in one of the pictures.

Evelyn's brother Cecil was married to Ada. Next pictures are of "Cec". First picture is Ada, Evelyn, Cec. Second picture is Ada, Cec, in back ??, Evelyn. Third picture is Ada, Cec, in back ??, Evelyn. And....one more - Cec, Ada, Evelyn in back, and ?? and ?? Any help on the question marks?

Here are a couple of photos of Evelyn....one at a young age with a dress and a bow....and one at an older age with a similar dress and a similar bow. Cute, right?!

And here's a sample of Evelyn's handwriting - a letter from Evelyn to her mother - as well as the envelope postmarked 1943.

Other pictures of Evelyn at an earlier age. If you can figure out the year, we could post it on the picture.

Next pictures are Evelyn at a later stage in life...again, who knows what year they were taken. Maybe this will be a lesson for everyone - caption and date all photos, although now that most of us use the digital camera, this is probably unneeded, unasked for, and unwanted advice. :-)

With these next pictures, Evelyn is on the left of the other person(s)

In this group of pictures, Evelyn is always on the right of the other person(s)

These next pictures had captions on the back...or Tony remembered something about them.

Stan's mother (Emma Harriet) and Evelyn on the right.

Evelyn at 38 Dudley Road

Evelyn with their first new van

Evelyn and the new moggy at RAF Cromwell gates

Evelyn and the new van, North Parade Bridge, Grantham

Evelyn with Ukelele

Evelyn @ Sandcliffe Road

Evelyn and probably Joyce Frieston (a friend) (both names are labeled on the picture) on the staff at Butlin's Holiday Camp. Tony remembers that this is where he was taught to paint (given a can of water and a paint brush and he kept busy for hours). Jonathan and Rachael...remember this...it might come in handy for an "Abe and/or Lily activity".

This picture was taken of Evelyn (born October 4, 1903) in 1989 at the King's Court Nursing Home in Grantham. It is possibly the last picture taken of Evelyn before she died in late February, 1990.

Any comments? Anyone see any resemblance to anyone else?

Blog submitted by Tony and Sharon

Is this it?? from Neil and Becky

2008-10-24T01:42:00.000-07:00

By Jove Watson, I do believe we are in!!!

ah hah!!!!!! from Jonathan

2008-10-22T14:36:00.000-07:00

so i needed to be invited eh...this some sort of private party then that i didnt know about......