Disconcertingly, since my prostrate cancer diagnosis of 2021, my own Bridport family have become conspicuous by their absence.

I won't elaborate too much here but, sure, facing my own mortality without help or support from that direction has been, and continues to be, quite a challenging and bewildering reality.

Nevertheless, being a pragmatic and quite self contained human being, I think I cope pretty well.

It all feels like a million years ago now but there was a time when life was very, very different.

Back in 1977, I'd moved from Yeovil to Bridport and had started working in The Greyhound Inn, (Now a Wetherspoons pub), which was the town's most popular bar.

I was sitting by the window in Liptons, the coffee shop above the town centre premises that is now Boots, the chemist. I was with my best friend, Tim Stocker, quietly chatting and gazing out at the traffic. Tim was laughing because he had just witnessed the mad Major stepping out between the vehicles, directing traffic below us in the street.

It was dinnertime, Monday 18th of May, 1980 and it is easy for me to recall the time and date because other surreal events also happened that day!

While we talked, Tim noticed something falling from the sky and, for a few moments, the pair of us thought we were witnessing a flurry of snow  – but it was a beautiful and sunny May day so it couldn’t have been snow.

The roofs of cars and the window ledge the other side of the glass was being covered by a thin film of grey / white flakes and Tim realised that the flakes drifting in the spring breeze were tiny filaments of ash.

We reasoned that, somewhere nearby, a dwelling or shop might be ablaze, on fire.

Then I was distracted by something else.

Across the road, walking up West Street, directly outside Smith and Smiths, I caught sight of a beautiful, blonde haired girl.

I said, “Wow Tim. Look across the road!” and pointed to the vision I had just witnessed.

Gliding up the street like some aloof Vogue model entirely oblivious to the stares of others, Tim caught sight of her just as she entered the corner of South street and disappeared through the entrance of the George Hotel doorway.

“I think I have just seen the most beautiful girl on earth!” I uttered.

How do I remember that day? Well … It was the day after the St Helen’s volcano erupted in Washington, USA, causing damage amounting to 2·5 billion dollars.

The explosion blew the whole mountain side off and sent a massive ash plume high into the stratosphere.

That was the ash that was pitching on the cars in Bridport … and, presumably, much  of the planet!

A month later, I saw the girl again, in the top bar of The Greyhound Hotel, where I worked part time as a barman and I served her a double vodka.

At closing time, men were buzzing around the girl like butterflies around a buddleia bush and folk were planning to move on to the Asker’s Motel nightclub to party late into the night.

I stepped out from behind the bar to clear glasses from the tables and our eyes met and I said something like, “Are you going on to Askers … or do you fancy helping me with the washing up?”

She laughed and pondered the question for a few seconds as I turned and started walking back towards the bar area … and then I stopped, looked at her and made a gesture to throw her a tea towel …

“I could do with a hand” I said.

Jackie gave me a positive response, I threw her the tea towel and, as everyone else filed out and down the stairs, Jackie and I set about washing up the glasses and ashtrays.

That night, Jackie was happy to be invited back to my little flat and, in a most delicate and gentle moment…….. we kissed.

I remember the first few months we dated. It was very casual. We just met up at weekends or shared a Saturday night out. The arrangement worked ok for a while but then Jackie decided she didn’t want to be just a part time girlfriend and we mutually agreed to end our relationship though, subconsciously, I think we both knew we wanted something different … or something more.

At that immediate time, I just accepted the situation; didn’t think much more about it and Jackie said bye, walked out of the flat at Rope Walks and headed home. However, within several minutes, certainly within less than half an hour, I felt butterflies in the pit of my stomach and realised I could not let Jackie slip away so easily.

Panic

A panic enveloped me and, for the very first time in the entirety of my 24 years, a serious urgency to, somehow, rewind back time and, likewise, transform a future I was yet to step into, took hold of my complete psyche.

With novel and alien emotional feelings I had never experienced or ever felt before, I realised I could not let this girl exit my life.

So I ran …

I ran the mile to Jackie’s parent’s home and, in that 5 minutes, rewrote and redefined the complete course of my whole destiny.

A destiny that would bring me love story and transform the entire meaning of my life.

Mount St. Helens is a stratovolcano located in the state of Washington in the United States. It is the most active volcano in the Cascade Range and has a history of frequent eruptions.

On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens experienced a catastrophic eruption that was one of the most significant volcanic eruptions in the United States in the 20th century. The eruption was triggered by an earthquake that caused the mountain’s north slope to collapse, leading to a massive landslide. The landslide, along with the explosive eruption, caused widespread destruction and loss of life.

During the eruption, a large ash cloud was ejected into the atmosphere, spreading ash and volcanic debris over a wide area. The ash cloud reached a height of about 80,000 feet and drifted across much of the United States, causing widespread disruption to air travel. The eruption also generated pyroclastic flows, which are fast-moving clouds of hot gas and ash that can reach temperatures of up to 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. These flows travelled down the mountain and devastated the surrounding landscape.

In total, the eruption killed 57 people, including several volcanologists who were studying the mountain, and caused more than $1 billion in damages. Despite the destruction caused by the eruption, Mount St. Helens has continued to erupt periodically over the years, and the area around the mountain is now a popular destination for tourists and scientists who want to learn more about volcanoes.