This was the last post for Oliver. I figured he was now old enough to remember his teen years. He has asked me to write one for his 18th birthday. I will do so. I'm quite flattered. Of course I'll be writing about an adult. We may not live together anymore. I do see my children a few days a week. I enjoy taking them to school. I do miss them though.
By the way, it didn't take long before he was a head taller than his cousin. Julia was quite a lot taller than Oliver at that time.
Here's an image of the kids' heights since I was able to take them. The Dad reference is me. You'll see Oliver was taller than me a year ago.
I
suspect this will be the last blog post about Oliver's previous year. I
wrote these because I wanted him to see that he has a father who loves
him, I do think it shows in the writing. It's also a collection of
memories that he can look over when he's older. That's the period that
most people don't remember. Of course he could troll Facebook and look
at pictures and thoughts collected by his mother. But these thoughts are
concise and collected. From now on Oliver will be able to collect his
own memories and experiences - many of which his parents won't know
about and some will be memories that his parents don't need to know
about. It has been a pleasure creating these annual snapshots and
they'll be up here for as long as Typepad keeps its servers alive.
The rules and conditions for this appreciation of my eldest son's 14th birthday today are
- Don't embarrass me
- No pictures
- Don't embarrass me
- And most importantly – DON'T EMBARRASS ME!!!!!
The second requirement is easy. He doesn't agree to have his picture taken, and you can see that he's hiding away in this picture. The other three are more difficult. As it turns out these posts are being scrutinised by his friends at school and hence are bound to embarrass the new 14 year old.
It is through this minefield that I tread with caution. Oliver started at a new school at the beginning of this year. He was due to finish primary school this year and then would have headed onto the traditional schools (very expensive and boarding-type school) that his primary school was a feeder school to. I won't go into the reasons why we moved him to this new school, nor will I disclose that it's not as close to home as his prior school is. But it does appear that we and he made the right choice. It's a co-ed school with a very radical thinking headmaster (first embarrassing error – I used a gender). It's a perfect fit for him. It's not been easy because he is a little shy and very self-conscious and he spent a good few months away from school and cricket due to COVID. This term (third term) is the first one where he has been to school everyday. He's putting in massive hours on the cricket field and is flying academically.
Most importantly for him is that he's got a group of friends that he spends a lot of time whatsapping and god knows what else. They're his mates and are a mixture of girls and boys. I think having girls in class with him is important. He's got his first jol on Saturday – a Halloween do. He claims he doesn't want to go – but I think he wants to go.
He's also shot up. I measured him this week and he's grown 3.5cm in the last three months, he has about half a foot to go to catch up with his cousin in the US, but she is a year older than him. He's also lost a lot of weight. He's skinny. Those large shoulders that he cultivated on the trampoline as a child have been replaced by height. (I have to describe him because I'm not allowed a picture).
Ever the passionate child, Oliver still loves his cricket (another high score of 71 recently, batting through the innings to the last over), will probably not play rugby again and has become very aware of social issues. He's in the right environment to nurture these and to express them. And he gets a daily lecture on Frank Zappa on the way into school and back.
Happy birthday Oliver, I have exercised as much restraint as I can in this missive. You are loved by all those around you and your journey in life now begins on your terms. The world is yours, have it and you'll find it will reciprocate. You're in middle school now, which ends in a few years. Technically it's your last year of primary school. You are no longer a small boy, you are rapidly becoming an adult. You've got a lot on your former school mates, you've established yourself at your school and these people will be your friends for the next five years and possibly forever.
Tradition dictates that I play a Peter Green, Ollie Halsall and Denny Laine song every year. I'm going to stick with Peter Green and Ollie this year, I have another surprise for the third song.
Peter Green would have been 75 this year. I still listen to his music with fresh ears. Those short years that he spent with Mayall and Fleetwood Mac cemented his reputation for many generations to come. I think I hear his playing in Zappa, Bob Marley and an Iranian musician called Kourosh Yaghmaei. My love for Green is my own, neither of my children are showing much, if any, interest.
This is not a Green song, he's on rhythm guitar - this is a Danny Kirwan song. One of the very best opening songs on any album, it just sucks you in.
01 - Fleetwood Mac - Coming Your Way
Ollie Halsall
A great track from his one and only Tempest album. I'm almost running out of Ollie songs.
AND FINALLY – not Denny Laine. It's The Who
Athena is one of Oliver's friends. I love the name, it's such a beautiful Greek name, it's a beautiful name period. The song is the first song off the album "It's Hard", a great and somewhat neglected tune.
OKAY - I really like Denny Laine. I'll concede that his solo stuff is patchy but I grew up with him and found things in his music that might not be that obvious. I have to post a Denny Laine song. Oliver the title says everything about your last five years at school. This will be your most consistent five years until you settle down - enjoy them. Love, get your heart broken and love again. Work hard, make friends and start preparing for your adult life.
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