I was so very sorry to hear about the death of Mr Short, my old French teacher at Hall Balk School for Girls in the 1970s.
‘Lend us some money, I’m a Bob Short’ was one of those little jokes attached to him. He was the father of novelist Joanne Harris, though you could tell that if you saw them together because Joanne just looks like him.
I can see Mr Short (can’t call him Bob) now, walking into our lessons, darkest hair, always immaculately dressed in a suit and tie, big shoulders, very handsome man in a 50s film star way.
He took absolutely no rubbish from any girls and I can never remember him shouting. I shed a tear when I heard. He was such a good teacher - and one so many of us remember fondly from our childhoods. Au revoir, Monsieur Short.
Oh the indignity of taking a fluffy dog to the groomers to get a ‘do’ (cut, blow, nails, even a blueberry face mask) only to get a call from them before we’d even got home to say she just wasn’t having it and was snapping when anyone went near her.
As sweet-tempered as she is with us, whom she’s grown to trust, she’s a young rescue dog and who knows what her earlier life was like.
She was turfed out to live on the streets of Chapeltown and then picked up and put in a kennel. We don’t deserve dogs, we really don’t. But if anyone knows of a groomers that does damaged dogs…
For anyone interested, Graham Ibbeson has a small bronze replica of the Kes statue standing outside the Alhambra.
When these were first issued they sold like hot cakes and one has just been released for sale that was reserved but never paid for. It’s £1,500 and a limited edition piece with a certificate of authenticity. It’s the chance to own a very special piece of artwork but once it’s gone, it’s gone.
So should you be interested, please get in touch with the Chronicle office who can relay a message for you - 734734.
And finally, to Ms ‘B’ of Keyboard Warrior Street, Poison Penville, who wrote a rather vile letter accusing me of giving out wrong information to people and that I had a ‘vendetta’ against the hospital.
Nope, I’m not wrong. You have three years to bring legal action against a hospital, not one.
And you can bring up bad practice years after the event. There are caseloads sitting on desks everywhere to be investigated dating back many years.
I’m being advised by legal and medical experts, I haven’t got my information from someone who knows someone down the pub.
And as for the vendetta - nope, I’m just a daughter looking for answers after a beloved mother was badly let down by a service we have always advocated and supported.
Plus, I always made sure I lauded the good care she had in spadeloads. Maybe if you were standing in my shoes you’d feel exactly the same, Ms B.
I’m glad for you that you aren’t because what I’m going through, I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. And I don’t need your nasty, badly- researched criticism heaped on top.