- Home
- Site Index
- About Me
-
My Books
- Book List & Themes
- Strictly for Adults Novels >
-
Tales from Portlaw
>
- No Need to Look for Love
- 'The Love Quartet' >
-
The Priest's Calling Card
>
- Chapter One - The Irish Custom
- Chapter Two - Patrick Duffy's Family Background
- Chapter Three - Patrick Duffy Junior's Vocation to Priesthood
- Chapter Four - The first years of the priesthood
- Chapter Five - Father Patrick Duffy in Seattle
- Chapter Six - Father Patrick Duffy, Portlaw Priest
- Chapter Seven - Patrick Duffy Priest Power
- Chapter Eight - Patrick Duffy Groundless Gossip
- Chapter Nine - Monsignor Duffy of Portlaw
- Chapter Ten - The Portlaw Inheritance of Patrick Duffy
- Bigger and Better >
- The Oldest Woman in the World >
-
Sean and Sarah
>
- Chapter 1 - 'Return of the Prodigal Son'
- Chapter 2 - 'The early years of sweet innocence in Portlaw'
- Chapter 3 - 'The Separation'
- Chapter 4 - 'Separation and Betrayal'
- Chapter 5 - 'Portlaw to Manchester'
- Chapter 6 - 'Salford Choices'
- Chapter 7 - 'Life inside Prison'
- Chapter 8 - 'The Aylesbury Pilgrimage'
- Chapter 9 - Sean's interest in stone masonary'
- Chapter 10 - 'Sean's and Tony's Partnership'
- Chapter 11 - 'Return of the Prodigal Son'
- The Alternative Christmas Party >
-
The Life of Liam Lafferty
>
- Chapter One: ' Liam Lafferty is born'
- Chapter Two : 'The Baptism of Liam Lafferty'
- Chapter Three: 'The early years of Liam Lafferty'
- Chapter Four : Early Manhood
- Chapter Five : Ned's Secret Past
- Chapter Six : Courtship and Marriage
- Chapter Seven : Liam and Trish marry
- Chapter Eight : Farley meets Ned
- Chapter Nine : 'Ned comes clean to Farley'
- Chapter Ten : Tragedy hits the family
- Chapter Eleven : The future is brighter
-
The life and times of Joe Walsh
>
- Chapter One : 'The marriage of Margaret Mawd and Thomas Walsh’
- Chapter Two 'The birth of Joe Walsh'
- Chapter Three 'Marriage breakup and betrayal'
- Chapter Four: ' The Walsh family breakup'
- Chapter Five : ' Liverpool Lodgings'
- Chapter Six: ' Settled times are established and tested'
- Chapter Seven : 'Haworth is heaven is a place on earth'
- Chapter Eight: 'Coming out'
- Chapter Nine: Portlaw revenge
- Chapter Ten: ' The murder trial of Paddy Groggy'
- Chapter Eleven: 'New beginnings'
-
The Woman Who Hated Christmas
>
- Chapter One: 'The Christmas Enigma'
- Chapter Two: ' The Breakup of Beth's Family''
- Chapter Three: From Teenager to Adulthood.'
- Chapter Four: 'The Mills of West Yorkshire.'
- Chapter Five: 'Harrison Garner Showdown.'
- Chapter Six : 'The Christmas Dance'
- Chapter Seven : 'The ballot for Shop Steward.'
- Chapter Eight: ' Leaving the Mill'
- Chapter Ten: ' Beth buries her Ghosts'
- Chapter Eleven: Beth and Dermot start off married life in Galway.
- Chapter Twelve: The Twin Tragedy of Christmas, 1992.'
- Chapter Thirteen: 'The Christmas star returns'
- Chapter Fourteen: ' Beth's future in Portlaw'
-
The Last Dance
>
- Chapter One - ‘Nancy Swales becomes the Widow Swales’
- Chapter Two ‘The secret night life of Widow Swales’
- Chapter Three ‘Meeting Richard again’
- Chapter Four ‘Clancy’s Ballroom: March 1961’
- Chapter Five ‘The All Ireland Dancing Rounds’
- Chapter Six ‘James Mountford’
- Chapter Seven ‘The All Ireland Ballroom Latin American Dance Final.’
- Chapter Eight ‘The Final Arrives’
- Chapter Nine: 'Beth in Manchester.'
- 'Two Sisters' >
- Fourteen Days >
-
‘The Postman Always Knocks Twice’
>
- Author's Foreword
- Contents
- Chapter One
- Chapter Two
- Chapter Three
- Chapter Four
- Chapter Five
- Chapter Six
- Chapter Seven
- Chapter Eight
- Chapter Nine
- Chapter Ten
- Chapter Eleven
- Chapter Twelve
- Chapter Thirteen
- Chapter Fourteen
- Chapter Fifteen
- Chapter Sixteen
- Chapter Seventeen
- Chapter Eighteen
- Chapter Nineteen
- Chapter Twenty
- Chapter Twenty-One
- Chapter Twenty-Two
-
Celebrity Contacts
-
Thoughts and Musings
- Bereavement >
- Nature >
-
Bill's Personal Development
>
- What I'd like to be remembered for
- Second Chances
- Roots
- Holidays of Old
- Memorable Moments of Mine
- Cleckheaton Consecration
- Canadian Loves
- Mum's Wisdom
- 'Early life at my Grandparents'
- Family Holidays
- 'Mother /Child Bond'
- Childhood Pain
- The Death of Lady
- 'Soldiering On'
- 'Romantic Holidays'
- 'On the roof'
- Always wear clean shoes
- 'Family Tree'
- The importance of poise
- 'Growing up with grandparents'
- Love & Romance >
- Christian Thoughts, Acts and Words >
- My Wedding
- My Funeral
- Audio Downloads
- My Singing Videos
- Bill's Blog
- Contact Me
'Canadian Loves'

Between 1962 and 1964, I spent my time living and working in Canada. Part of this time I worked in a hotel in Toronto. My work mate there who showed me the ropes was a Bell Hop called Ron. Ron was a gambler, alcoholic and keen angler. Ron loved fishing so much that often he would spend two or three days out in the wild open country with his rod, waist deep in some fast flowing river.
Rod was in his mid fifties and had been married three times. One night during a quiet shift at the hotel where virtually no custom was to be had, we started talking. Within no time at all, we'd started swapping stories and eventually the topic came around to how he had met his three wives and what had gone wrong with the marriages that had failed. Despite having been wed and divorced thrice, Ron believed in fate and he therefore held the belief that he'd been destined to meet each woman in his life where he'd first seen them and in whatever circumstances he'd come across them. To Ron, everything which occurred in his life happened for a reason.
He told me that he met wife number in circumstances common to many men of his time, at a line dance. His meeting with his third wife was a bit more unusual, as she'd been a nurse who'd attended him in hospital after he'd damaged his back in a fall and had to spend six weeks hospitalised. It was only when he started telling me about wife number two that he really grabbed my full attention.
He'd been spending a week camping and fishing in the Candian Rocky region of British Columbia, a favourite haunt of his where trout, sturgeon and halibut could be caught in abundance. During such breaks, he would sleep out under the stars and would awake every morning with the early birds, and after breakfast, go fishing.
On the morning in question, Ron had gone to a stretch of the river where he always caught something. It was there where he came upon her; wife number two. She was also camping alone in the area; something that few single ladies would ever do unless they were good with a rifle, because of prowling bears.
Ron told me that when he first saw her, he thought he'd died and gone to heaven. She was laid prostrate across a river boulder stark naked, washing herself in the cool water of the flowing river. Ron expected her to jump out of her skin as soon as she realised that she wasn't alone. Instead, she was reportedly as cool as a cucumber, and asked him causally to pass her her towel as she stood up to dry herself off.
Being eager to hear lots more I asked Ron, 'What happened then?'
Ron just smiled coyly and said, 'Being the gentleman my mom had brought me up to be, Bill, there was nothing else I could do in such circumstances after catching her buck naked, except the decent thing. So, I asked her to marry me!'
Their first two years of married life was blissful and the couple were lost in a maze of love, friendship and close intimacy. Ron knew he loved her when his home went from being a place to being a person.Though they moved house three times in their short marriage, he was happy with her wherever they lived. Ron said that though she had faults, he loved her so much that he never saw her imperfections and didn't notice her addiction to drink until half way into their marriage of six years. The woman he loved was alcoholic and despite all his attempts to get her off the drink, he finally had to accept that he couldn't. Ron then said that the only way he could avoid losing her was to stay close to her, even if that meant him becoming an alcoholic also! Six years after they'd married, his wife died from liver failure and despite getting married a third time some years later, wife number two was the only one he said he truly loved. October 1st, 2016. (Amended April, 2018).
Rod was in his mid fifties and had been married three times. One night during a quiet shift at the hotel where virtually no custom was to be had, we started talking. Within no time at all, we'd started swapping stories and eventually the topic came around to how he had met his three wives and what had gone wrong with the marriages that had failed. Despite having been wed and divorced thrice, Ron believed in fate and he therefore held the belief that he'd been destined to meet each woman in his life where he'd first seen them and in whatever circumstances he'd come across them. To Ron, everything which occurred in his life happened for a reason.
He told me that he met wife number in circumstances common to many men of his time, at a line dance. His meeting with his third wife was a bit more unusual, as she'd been a nurse who'd attended him in hospital after he'd damaged his back in a fall and had to spend six weeks hospitalised. It was only when he started telling me about wife number two that he really grabbed my full attention.
He'd been spending a week camping and fishing in the Candian Rocky region of British Columbia, a favourite haunt of his where trout, sturgeon and halibut could be caught in abundance. During such breaks, he would sleep out under the stars and would awake every morning with the early birds, and after breakfast, go fishing.
On the morning in question, Ron had gone to a stretch of the river where he always caught something. It was there where he came upon her; wife number two. She was also camping alone in the area; something that few single ladies would ever do unless they were good with a rifle, because of prowling bears.
Ron told me that when he first saw her, he thought he'd died and gone to heaven. She was laid prostrate across a river boulder stark naked, washing herself in the cool water of the flowing river. Ron expected her to jump out of her skin as soon as she realised that she wasn't alone. Instead, she was reportedly as cool as a cucumber, and asked him causally to pass her her towel as she stood up to dry herself off.
Being eager to hear lots more I asked Ron, 'What happened then?'
Ron just smiled coyly and said, 'Being the gentleman my mom had brought me up to be, Bill, there was nothing else I could do in such circumstances after catching her buck naked, except the decent thing. So, I asked her to marry me!'
Their first two years of married life was blissful and the couple were lost in a maze of love, friendship and close intimacy. Ron knew he loved her when his home went from being a place to being a person.Though they moved house three times in their short marriage, he was happy with her wherever they lived. Ron said that though she had faults, he loved her so much that he never saw her imperfections and didn't notice her addiction to drink until half way into their marriage of six years. The woman he loved was alcoholic and despite all his attempts to get her off the drink, he finally had to accept that he couldn't. Ron then said that the only way he could avoid losing her was to stay close to her, even if that meant him becoming an alcoholic also! Six years after they'd married, his wife died from liver failure and despite getting married a third time some years later, wife number two was the only one he said he truly loved. October 1st, 2016. (Amended April, 2018).