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I received a letter from Dennis saying he was being paroled in two weeks and that he had arranged to go to a retreat run by monks in Yeovil, Somerset. I was a bit worried about this but it was run in conjunction with a charity called St. Mungo's which was for men with drink and drug abuse. I said I hoped it would work and would help him as much as I could.
I was going on holiday to Whitby with Lel, Jim and the children we all loved Whitby and had been several times. It was August and the weather was lovely. We were having a lovely time and all too soon our holiday came to an end.
I rang Steve to see if he was ok and he told me Dennis had been admitted to hospital for tests on his heart, evidently he had collapsed and on this occasion not through drugs. Steve had hired a car and driven to Yeovil to see him during the week. He said he was all wired up to different machines it looked serious but you never new with Dennis he was such a manipulator. Steve gave me the hospital number and I rang immediately only to be told he had discharged himself the previous day with out any conclusive diagnosis. This was really worrying as I had no idea where he was. The hospital said I should try and make him go back but that wasn't possible , not knowing where he was.
I had been home for about two weeks when I got a phone call from Dennis saying he was fine and that it had been a scam at the hospital he was now in Tiverton, Devon at a big house run by a couple who cared for men who had given up alcohol and drugs. It was run as a family. From what he said it sounded really good. He helped with the gardening and other odd jobs.
He said he was completely off drugs and had put on about 2 stone in weight and felt really good. He gave me the telephone number and said I could ring anytime. I asked about the heart problem and he brushed it aside and said he should have been an actor.
I rang the house a couple of weeks later and Len the owner answered and said Dennis had spoken about me so much that he felt he knew me. He said Dennis was one of the nicest guys he had ever met and such a waste of a good man. Being involved with drugs. This was why we had put up with so much over the years because we knew underneath he was one of the nicest people you could meet but with the drugs a complete Jekyll and Hyde.
Winter was on its way again and I had that horrible journey to work in the dark both going to and from work. I hated it and couldn't wait to retire but that was 3 years away I wasnt sure I could keep going that long but I really didn't have a choice. No one else would employ me at almost 58 yrs old.
Things were not much better at work the other two in the office were still getting on my nerves. The Manager Tom was retiring soon so I was hoping the new manager would possibly improve things but I doubted it. Goodness knows what his clerk would do when he went she would never survive without him, they were as thick as thieves. She was such a trouble maker and he covered for her.
We were all shocked when the manager retired because the clerk also went without a word and we never saw her again. Deep down no one was surprised. The two offices , Transport and Despatch were being knocked into one this would be much better. We also had a new Manager who seemed a really nice guy.