Here are some photos from Irene and Peter's life near the South Coast
Shirley
Saving hard, but still unable to get on the housing ladder in London, Irene, Peter, Debbie and Mark finally decided to move to the South Coast. Irene and Peter chose Southampton and Debbie and Mark chose Portsmouth. This is 64 Atherley Road, where Irene and Peter lived in a bedsit... ...the property (and area) have been gentrified since then!
Woolston
Here is the entrance to 30 Robere House-a flat that Irene and Peter rented in Woolston, near Southampton.
This is the Itchen Toll Bridge that was built in the 1980s. It connects Southampton to the eastern suburbs.
Bitterne
In January 1982, Peter got a contract with Leenshire in Winnal, Winchester, writing software to drive their displays, so Irene and Peter bought their first property: 91 Bryanston Road.
This the rear of the property. The concrete base that Peter laid is still there!
Early days in Bryanston...
Irene and Peter in the garden at Bryanston. Irene had decided to go blonde! 8)
New Year celebrations in Bryanston...
Irene, Mark and Debbie (taken by Peter)...
Irene, Peter and Debbie (taken by Mark)...
Mark Irene and Peter (taken by Debbie)
Peartree Green is where Irene and Peter used to play "Badders"
Here is Bitterne Manor. The Carpet Warehouse that provided our carpets and flooring is still there!
Wedding
After three and a half years of pestering, Irene finally agreed to marry Peter in 1982...
...here they are outside Southampton Registry Office, with "Fiesta"-their first car!
The ceremony took place in this beautiful "chapel"
Irene signing, with Peter in attendance!
Mr and Mrs Bland! :)
Outside the Registry Office.
In the garden adjacent to the Registry Office.
Ready to carry Irene over the threshold!
Honeymoon
For their honeymoon, Irene and Peter did a thousand mile road trip around England!
Here is Irene in "Fiesta", parked adjacent to Lake Coniston...
...and here is the driver! :)
Early Eighties
Here are (left to right) Irene, Paul (Mark's brother), Debbie and Mark in Littlehampton Harbour in 1983.
"Chelts"
In the early eighties, Debbie and Mark decided to get on the property ladder by buying a house in Cheltenham Road which they called "Chelts" 8)
Beast and the Beauty! 8) Note the Kudu skin on the wall and the sheepskin rug on the floor!
Enjoying booze and snacks (left to right) Irene, Peter, Fred and Mark.
To compensate Irene and Debbie for years of austerity, we started a tradition of going overboard with the presents at Christmas!
Lovely tree and Debbie's home-made sausage rolls!
Irene and Ted alongside the tv and video recorder. (Mark and Peter were avid collectors of VHS videos - before the advent of CDs and DVDs)
Irene and Peter outside Chelts with Snowy (their pride and joy) 8)
...and the front view (with slightly rare number plate) 8)
Timbers
After a couple of years (1984/85) when Peter worked in the Defence Industry again, the intrepid duo decided to climb further up the housing ladder. They eventually plucked up the courage to buy "Timbers", a detached house with large front and rear gardens.
Here are the Estate Agent details!
Lovely "Fiesta" with the black vinyl roof! :)
Irene fell in love with this mermaid ("Miranda") in the garden centre, so Peter lugged her back to be the centrepiece of our waterfall.
Here's our stone patio with Miranda overseeing her domain!
The waterfall. Levelling and back-filling was quite tricksy! Irene can be seen having a rest on the "stoop"
As Irene's annotation states, here is our back garden with a lovely little tree that she named "Fir Eyes" :) Of course, Irene could not resist livening up the dull brickwork! Peter used the leftover stone to build a couple of benches that Irene named "Stonehenge"
We converted the other flower bed into a fish pond with goldfish that Irene called "The Drifters" :)
The top of the garden pretty much complete. Irene is waving from the kitchen window. :)
In autumn 1986, Peter got a contract at IBM, Hursley. They decided to upgrade from Fiesta and "Flash" (their motorbike) to a Ford Orion 1.6i Ghia ("Snowy") Snowy became their pride and joy and they kept him for more than 13 years! You can just see Owly, perched on top of the lounge window! :) In winter 1988, due to problems with neigbours, they decided to sell Timbers. They exchanged contracts before Christmas and decided to have a well-deserved winter holiday in Tenerife.
Tenerife
Irene and Peter flew out to Tenerife on their first winter holiday, where the temperature was a balmy 20 degrees. They stayed at the Bitacora hotel over New Year including a Gala Dinner.
Here is Peter, sampling a cocktail.
The Bitacora has two swimming pools, one of which has a slide. Peter made full use of it (including posing for a photo)!
Irene, ready for a dip in the pool.
Peter, looking over the gardens.
They even had a tennis court
.
Irene, looking very glamorous!
Very detailed gorilla sculpture.
The birds were very tame.
Irene, looking elegant against the sea view.
Peter, looking less so! 8)
Unfortunately when they came back to the UK, the temperature was -14deg! The plane had to make two attempts to land but finally made it-to tumultuous applause for the captain! When they got back to Snowy in the long-term car park, the key snapped off in the lock, so they had to get a taxi back to Timbers! On arrival, they found that the central heating radiators had frozen and on defrosting, the pipes burst, sending black water cascading down the walls! They got an emergency plumber round and he was panicking, but Irene remained calm and organised everything! :) With not much time before completion in Spring, Irene and Peter engaged in a major clean-up whilst the windows were replaced (a bit of a challenge considering the temperature!) When they moved from Timbers, it took two pantechnicons to hold all their stuff!!
Highfield/Porstwood
On leaving Timbers, Irene and Peter decided to rent a flat whilst looking for their next property. They ended up renting part of a property in Highfield from Mr. Sharp who had spent most of his life in the Navy. He lived in the other part of the house which had a seperate entrance.
The house was in Shaftesbury Avenue-a posh part of Portswood!
The semi in the middle is where we stayed. We were good friends with Alan and Charlotte (the neighbours on the left) and a lovely old lady called Gertie was our neighbour on the other side. It made a nice change to have friendly neighbours!
Here is Irene looking very glamorous on our balcony at the back of the house!
Irene and Peter...
...Irene and Ted...
...Ted was a very high class teddy that Irene fell in love with in Harrods when he growled at her!
Here is the high street in Portswood -a great little shopping area just one mile north of Southampton...
...they also have a Waitrose that moved from West Quay Shopping Center to here.
D&M Wedding
In September 1989, Debbie and Mark finally decided to get married. They chose Portsmouth Registry Office for the ceremony.
Signing with a quill! Cool! 8)
Attendees group photo. Left to right... Jean and Phil (Mark's brother); Mark and Debbie; Irene and Peter; Fred
D&M outside with Snowy in attendance as wedding limo! 8)
Working in Sydney
In Autumn 1989, IBM were unable to extend Peter's contract futher since he had worked there for three years (slightly in excess of the two year maximum!) 8) In February 1990, Peter got a call from an agent about his OS/2 Presentation Manager skills which were quite rare at that time. Turned out to be a three month contract for Citibank in Sydney! Peter turned to Irene and asked her what she thought-the response was instant: Take it! The Citibank package included Club Class flights for Peter (which he negotiated to Standard Class flights for both of them); accomodation and daily expenses! They flew to Sydney via Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific. Great service! There were a few hours between flights so they went walkabout in Hong Kong.
This guy was amazing... ...Irene and Peter saw him pulling a couple of tourists along in his rickshaw and he didn't even break a sweat! 8)
Irene enjoying a harbour cruise (note the fabbo airplane brooch!)
After a looooooong journey, they finally arrived in Sydney. Citibank provided one bedroom accomodation in The York Apartments. Irene was severely jet-lagged from the journey, so slept a lot in the first few days!
They had a gymnasium...
...a swimmimg pool and a jacuzzi!
The office was conveniently situated about 50 yards from The York Apartments!
Peter used to meet Irene underground in Wynyard Station for lunch.
Irene's favourite place was the iconic Queen Victoria Building (QVB)...
...she loved the high class shops, but her favourite was the haberdashery shop in the basement.
Rising way above the central shopping centre is the Centrepoint Tower. The top section revolves slowly containing three levels: a viewing platform and two restaurants.
Here is the restaurant where they serve you at your table (there is also a self-service restaurant on the floor below) The views are spectacular!
Sydney has an extensive underground complex with lots of eating places.
Irene loved shopping in David Jones foodhall. They had a greengrocery section that was kept so cold that fog rolled off the produce! Irene and Peter regularly frequented cafes in the basement and on the first floor.
The Rocks is an area of Sydney with an extensive Sunday market. Irene and Peter used to love browsing around the various stalls!
Circular Quay is where you can get ferries to different parts of Sydney Harbour.
Sydney shops close at lunch time on Saturdays and residents relocate to various beaches around the harbour! Irene and Peter's favourite was Manly.
A short train ride away in Flemington was Paddy's Market. They sold pretty much anything from fruit and veg to clothing and souvenirs!
Sydney Opera House-probably the most iconic landmark in Sydney!
Citibank rented this plush studio apartment on the 25th floor of the Koala Park Regis block for us. They paid for a 6 month tenancy, even though Peter's contract was only for 3 months! The view over Sydney was spectacular! One lunch time, Irene cooked lovely yellow mushrooms from David Jones (in butter) for Peter!
Here's Peter sporting his Aboriginal art top! The sofa converted to a double bed
North of Sydney are the Blue Mountains, so called because of the blue haze from the Eucalyptus trees! Irene wanted to get up close and personal with koalas. Couldn't get much closer than this! 8)
Who's the cutest? 8)
This kangaroo seemed to take exception to being approached, leaned back on it's tail and booted Peter onto his backside! Cheek! 8)
Darling Harbour was one of Irene and Peter's favourite places. In 1988, they opened the monorail-a convenient (if expensive) way of getting around Sydney and Harbourside (a complex of shops, restaurants and a conference centre) One lunch time, Peter and his workmates decided to attend the Ferrari Exhibition at the Conference Centre:
Shame they won't let you drive them! 8)
Rare convertible Dino Ferrari!
Mondial convertible.
Racing thoroughbred!
Ferrari 330 P4-very rare!
Citibank asked Peter to stay for an extra month to finish off the work and eventually Irene and Peter set off for home. The return trip was with Singapore Airlines (also great service), stopping off in Singapore for a few hours. Irene and Peter were struck by how well maintained the city seemed to be!
Shortly after returning home, the interpid due were off again, this time to Gran Canaria for a holiday that they had booked prior to accepting the contract with Citibank! At the resort, they found a place with lots of slot machines. Peter asked Irene which machine was going to pay out next and she thought for a bit, then confidently pointed to a machine. Peter duly put in 100 pesetas and it started paying out! They got a cupful of pesetas which they asked the proprietor to change into notes. He grudgingly agreed! 8)
Health
During their time in Sydney, Irene was continuing to experience joint pain, so they went to see a doctor. She referred Irene to an orthopaedic specialist. He did some tests and diagnosed Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). 8( They were so pleased that it wasn't Osteoarthritis...how wrong they were! RA is a devastating auto immune disease that attacks the entire system, for which there is still no cure. 8( Irene's incredible resilience was to be sorely tested! The specialist gave them the test results and suggested that they see a Rheumatologist on returning to England.
Testing Times
Back in England, Irene and Peter continued to rent part of Mr Sharp's house in Highfield as they searched for their next property. After looking around for some time, Peter eventually got a software testing contract with IBM in a "shed" in Eastleigh! 8) However, it took a lot of searching to find their next property.
Here is "Hillway" in Chandlers Ford (a suburb between Southampton and Winchester)
Unfortunately, due to issues with the property, Irene and Peter reluctantly decided to stay on at the Highfield flat and rent out Hillway.
Peter's next contract was at IBM Omega House in Eastleigh town centre-a much nicer venue. 8) Towards the end of the contract, much to Peter's delight, the project moved to IBM Hursley!
Around the same time, after a disastrous let, Irene and Peter finally managed to evict their awful tenant and decided to move in and try to solve the issues with Hillway.
In spite of the many issues with the property, Irene and Peter were more than compensated by the abundance of wonderful creatures around the property: Blackie was a male blackbird with a severe attitude problem-he was convinced that he owned the property and defended it against all comers, no matter the size! He even nagged Peter incessantly whilst he was cleaning out the guttering! Fearless and Thicket were two lovely squireels. They used to regularly visit and explore the lounge. Poor Thicket was cross-eyed and kept bumping into things! Later on, they brought their three babies along. Peter named them The Thugs after they bit off all the heads of two dozen marigolds planted around their tree! Irene also trained a pair of doves to eat from her outstretched hand! One evening, Irene and Peter looked out at their back garden and saw a hedgehog with her baby. He was rolled into a ball and she was pushing him around-amazing sight! There was also a very brave robin who used to sit on the handle of Peter's spade and wait for him to mow the lawn in order to feed on the disturbed insects. Even starting up the very noisy mower didn't bother him in the slightest! One weekend, Irene and Peter were tidying up the gardens and Peter decided to trim the fir trees on the borders. This produced a lot of debris that Peter duly loaded onto Snowy. This made Snowy look like a camouflaged tank! Irene fell about laughing as Peter drove off to the tip! 8)
As Hursley was only about three miles away from Hillway, Peter decided to improve his fitness by cycling to work and back. Coming home was a challenge, since there was a big hill in the middle!
1993 started well-Peter got a contract at the London Stock Exchange in The City. Unfortunately, they cancelled the project shortly after the contract started! 8( After searching around, Peter finally managed to get a contract with IBM Havant.
During their time living at Hillway, Irene fell ill, but luckily their GP was very professional and not liking Irene's symptoms, he referred her to a specialist. She was eventually diagnosed with T Cell Lymphoma-a cancer of the lymph system! 8( The professor in charge of her case prescribed Chemotherapy to treat the disease. The Aussie doctor in charge of the Chemotherapy really liked Irene's attitude-she used to make him laugh! 8) However, the side-effects of the treatment were very unpleasant! 8( To their great credit, the managers at IBM Havant were very supportive and flexible during Irene's treatment.
As ever, Irene's positive mental attitude saw her through the ordeal. After Irene's hair fell out due to the Chemo, she decided to get a lovely, long wig. When Irene and Debbie went swimming, Irene just whipped off her wig and threw it in the back of the car! 8) Another time, when Irene was out walking with Debbie and her wig got caught on a twig, she was in fits of laughter whilst they tried to disentangle it!
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